ShinySideUp

I worked a U-trip 8U game last night (training game for my 14-year-old son/junior ump!). Home coach is doing the pep talk before his team takes the field, and it's going on too long. From my spot halfway down the baseline (maybe 10 feet from him) I say, "Let's go coach. Let's get as many innings in as we can." and an assistant coach actually holds up his hand in the "stop" signal to me! I walk over and tell the HC "It's time to get them on the field," and he nods, then goes back to the huddle. As soon as the pitcher hit the mound, I called for the batter. Had to wait for the infielder warmup ball to go in, but poor F1 didn't get a single warmup. No problems the rest of the game, though. And it taught my son a lesson about game management. 5 full innings in 96 minutes.

I EJed a coach in a U-trip tourney, and as he turned to leave, he said, "Good! 'Cause I don't want to watch this crappy game." I wanted to (but didn't) say, "Yeah, I feel your pain, but I can't eject myself."

I want to go to THAT church! And, I want to hear their song about preachers!

The association where I get my assignments has a strict "umpire must return the balls to the team that supplied them" rule. It seems some coaches objected to paying for balls, then not getting to use game-used balls for practice. I took a single game fee and bought a box of the league-preferred balls. If I bring-em, I keep-em.

To the OP question ... I was working a 12U USSSA tourney, and F2 was consistently setting up WAY outside, so when he caught the pitch in the middle of his body, it was borderline. When he had to reach for it at ALL, it was outside. My lesson from that game: when the coach began chirping about "perfect pitches" being called balls, I should have addressed it directly. I think now that F2 thought he was in the right spot, because when the coach asked HIM where the pitch was, he shrugged as if to say, "I don't know why it was a ball." I (mistakenly) let the coach chirp about the ball calls ... and when I balked his F1 for pausing his delivery (with R1 and R3) with his stride foot in the air, we got through the balk discussion, but I had to eject the coach when he started complaining about the strike zone. The EJ report said he was ejected because he vehemently argued balls and strikes and said, in the presence of his players, "Your strike zone sucks. You're horrible!" The root cause, though, was I let F2 show me up because I wanted to "be the bigger man" and "let the kids play." My failure to address the issue let the coach get worked up to the point where a balk call sent him over the top. Lesson learned. Never again.

I hope I never work a game with that battery in place. They now know they can bean the umpire and not get tossed, but just get a stern talking-to. This is one of the most obvious eject-able offenses I can imagine.

This is one where the rule set really matters. And the age group, if Little League. In Fed ball, the balk is an immediate dead ball, so nothing that happens after the balk is enforced. Batter returns to the plate, R1 to 2B. In OBR, the balk is a delayed dead ball. On the INT, R1 is out, and BR awarded first. UT ... because all runners did not advance at least one base, then the play is nullified. R1 to 2B, BR back to the plate.

Phantom tag is when the F2 makes a beautiful throw to 2B to retire a stealing R1. F6, in perfect position, receives the throw, and tags the sliding R1 on the thigh, after R1's foot hits the base. Everyone in the park sees the throw, the catch, and the tag. Only the ump sees the tag is late. At least, I think that's ONE example of the concept. Kind of like the neighborhood play, only with a tag on a player instead of a base. Neither is very popular any more, since millions of home viewers will see the replay 1,246,543 times, from six angles, and with commentary by seven experts, if the ump gives the fielder the play.

I experimented with "here we go" for a couple of games, and got dinged on an evaluation. Like so many do, I try to point when there's nobody on, and point and vocalize when there are runners on ... after every "dead ball" or "time" and at the beginning of every half-inning. yeah, sometimes the squirts back out or look back, but it's worth it to avoid the dirty end of the stick.

You know, I've been reading this advice for years, and while I admit I've never seen a MiLB or MLB umpire show "full count," I have seen it on local (D3 and D2) college fields, and most of the umps at the youth level also show the closed-fist full count. The coaches, fans, and players all know what it means. So, honestly, what's the big deal? The pros do a LOT of things I can't get away with.

Wait. If R1 was on 2B at the time of the pitch, and an infielder (the pitcher) threw the ball out of play on the first throw, shouldn't R1 get two bases from TOP, or home? We usually refer to a runner on 2B as R2 (unlike the FED nomenclature), but MrUmpire's post seems to have an improper award if R1 is on 2B.

Same question: call it, or let it go? 12U USSSA (OBr with safety additions) RHP engages the rubber, then with the ball in his right hand, pushes his glove firmly onto his left hand. Hands come apart, he leans in for the sign, hands come together, and a "normal" pitch follows. Strictly speaking, his hands came together while he was on the rubber, then came apart. But is that too ticky-tacky to call? I talked to the coach and the pitcher between innings, and the pitcher couldn't break the habit. I think he did it on every pitch from the set. After I warned him he pitched only from the windup.

I took a foul directly to the face in a 14U game earlier this season, and it took me ... I don't know, maybe an inning and a half ... before I stopped flinching on high, inside pitches. I'm still working on not flinching on high, inside pitches that are fouled backwards. I seem to be getting a LOT of them now - I've been clipped twice more since the one straight-on shot. Maybe I'm flinching into them ... but to the topic at hand, it's hard to see the swing when my eyes are closed. And yes, I'm working really, really hard, at overcoming the flinch.

My guess is that baseball is the only outdoor sport (in the US, anyway) that involves throwing 5 ounces of leather-covered yarn at up to 100 miles per hour, then hitting it with a stick so it goes back at the thrower at twice the speed. Never mind the potential injuries on the basepaths - even WITH armor, I have no interest in standing behind an amateur catcher with the ball is slippery. Footballs hurt when they hit you when it's -10 degrees, but the players wear pads. Tennis players quit when the conditions are such that baseball could continue. Soccer doesn't count. And you think the basketball players would play in the rain? Not a chance.

Warren, I saw your comment on the article's page. You were articulate and reasonable, but you broje one important rule: Never argue with people who buy ink by the barrel. Also, never try to teach a pig to sing. It doesn't work, and it annoys the pig.

Our association directs us to observe the post-game handshakes, especially if there have been issues during the game (I can't remember the exact wording). We generally observe them from the parking lot.

If an illegal player on defense is involved in a play, and the error is discovered before the first pitch to the next batter, the offense can let the play stand or have a "do over" with the same batter batting again.

I was spectating, and my son was F2. USSSA 14U. R3, 2outs. B1 hits a decent single to right center. R3 scores easily standing up, and BR is thrown out sliding into 2B. 3 outs, fielders are leaving the field. PU walks with F2 toward his dugout, talking quietly with him. At about the warmup circle, PU walks off to his between-innings location. F2 (the last player to reach the dugout) tells his coach that the ump pointed out that the runner had missed the plate, and F2 should have appealed. Which raises all kinds of questions: What would he have done if F2 had said, "OK" and gone out to the pitchers mound where the ball lay, and made the appeal? When (if ever) should an umpire offer that kind of comment?:)

It's the long-awaited return of Bob Pariseau! Great answer!

I'll probably hit a half-dozen Kernels games (A affiliate of the Angels - Nick Adenhart pitched here!) this year, and I hope to get to Des Moines to see the Iowa Cubs. Last year I only made it to two MLB games, and one of those was a freebie that IBM provided when my wife spoke at one of their conferences. You wouldn't believe the IBM box in St. Louis! I'm hoping to make it to the Cubbies and Twins this year, and I may hit the Royals when I'm in KC. My real dream, though, is to spend a week in Omaha for the CWS. My Dad used to buy the ticket packs and we'd go to 15 games in a week. Baseball overload? No Such Thing!

Maybe I'm lucky, or maybe the association I work for actually is good ... but ... Here in eastern Iowa, there are two primary "travel ball" organizations, both under the USSSA organization. One group runs the league season, and the other runs the tournaments (just about every weekend, with many offering points toward national championships). If a team doesn't show for either a league game or a tournament, the umps get full fee, from the association. It takes a couple of days, but I've not waited more than a week. Tourney games are paid at the end of the day. For tourney ball, un-announced no-show forfeits count as a double loss (with zero runs earned and seven allowed per game) for pool seeding, virtually assuring a last-place seed. The names of coaches who abuse umps in either league or tourney games are shared between the organizations. I know of one ejected coach who served his (league-imposed) suspension during the first game of a tournament, and the TD told the umps before the game what was going on. In one tournament game a coach was giving me #%^& for being out of position on a play at third. The field director heard him shouting, and quietly made his presence known without intruding on the field. I didn't EJ the coach, and the field director talked to us both individually after the game, and backed me. In short, I think I've got it pretty good as an umpire. That said, there are many coaches who are close to the top, and some who are over it. Travel ball on the east coast (where I worked until four years ago) was REALLY bad, and the accountability was pretty much as you described - non-existent. I used to do a lot of games for East Coast Tournament Baseball, and while the association backed the umps right down the line, there were a LOT more EJs and arguments back east than I've seen here.

I not only got to see him play when he was on the Cedar Rapids Kernels field, I have a couple of his cards from the Kernels. Tragic, pointless, and a loss to baseball. I feel for his family.

I guess I made the mistake because I was a rookie, and nervous, and wasn't as good as I thought I was. For the record, I didn't want to show up any ump. I wanted to contribute to the league in a different way and I wanted to improve the quality of umpiring (which I eventually did, though probably not in the first half-season). Even with that stupid call, I can say with confidence that I was a better ump than most who were working that league. Lots of time in the rule book, an investment of probably $200+ on guidebooks and umpire manuals, and HOURS reading and discussing rules, mechanics and situations both online and in-person were completely worthwhile good deeds. True, I discovered that the best seat in the house is NOT in the dugout, and that the job is harder than it appears. And I acknowledge that I made a horrible rookie mistake. It's probable I've even made others that you've avoided. But if the way you responded to my tale is any indication of how you treat others in person, I sure hope you're not in charge of training umpires in your league.

Speaking of punishment ... I was helping coach my son's LL team, and the ump was truly horrible. I guess I pushed him a bit too hard, because he actually used the "If you think you can do it better" line. And I took him up on it. Registered with LL, read the rule books, and that winter went to my first clinic (which was also one of the best clinics I've ever been to). The instructor was both an ump and a manager in this league, and was actually very good at both jobs. Bought my shirt, borrowed a chest protector, and went to work my first real game (I umped my son's practices and scrimmages before the first game). My partner was an "experienced" ump ... I think it was his third year. Middle of the game, runners on 1st and 3rd, one out. Batter swings, ball disappears over my head. With perfect mechanics and a clear voice, I stand, raise both hands, and declare "Foul Ball!" Then I see the F6 settle under the ball and make the very easy catch. Three guesses who the offensive manager was? Yep, the instructor from the clinic. And he ripped me up one side and down the other... and wanted the call of foul to stand, including the "no-catch" ruling because "once a ball is foul, it's dead, and can't be caught. I knew better than to let myself be railroaded, and my partner and I decided it would be a catch, dead ball, runners remain. STILL wish I'd had the cojones to toss the manager! And I can honestly say I've never made any of those mistakes again.

The only state in our great nation where high school baseball is still a SUMMER sport! That's right, our sate tourney isn't till JULY! Not that it matters ... Howdy, y'all! I started umpiring because the umps working my son's games didn't know much about the rules, and I actually fell for the ump's challenge, "If you think you can do better, come on out and try it!" That was 8 years, nine clinics, one camp, and probably 250 games ago. I'd do more games, but one son is still playing, and I help coach his team. That, and I don't want to upset my wife, since her job pays the bills. I've been NFHS certified for three years now, and this year I have my first scheduled HS games (I've done "on-call" duty for the local association for two years). Mostly, I do USSSA season and tournament games from 8U (with my 13 year old son) through 16U. I've learned more from umpire.org, eteamz, and the AmateurUmpire web site than I can say, and since traffic on the other two foums have dropped off, I'm looking for lively discussions. Mostly, I lurk.