Umpete

From the clinic I attended this past weekend: "Plate work gets you hired, base work gets you fired."

I attended this clinic in Harrisonburg, VA this past weekend. I was a little unsure about attending because it was billed as an opportunity for college umpires to improve and move up, but I am very glad I went. The main emphasis was 2 man mechanics with about 2 hours of classroom instruction in the morning talking about basic responsibilities, followed by about 1 1/2 hours on-field demonstrating how to get where you needed to be and why. We also had some time in the cage working on plate stance and seeing the strike zone. Both afternoons we all had the opportunity to work the plate and bases during real games. Our on-field instructors and game evaluators were two AA minor league umpires, both of whom were Evans Academy graduates (one of them is a current instructor, I think). Both of these instructors were great as they were "living" 2 man mechanics and working hard to move up. I have been umpiring for 3 years without much formal instruction and this clinic was a tremendous benefit to me - fixed many of my bad habits (most of which I was ignorant about) and gave me some good stuff to work on and improve. Pete

I noticed Tim McLelland wearing some type of forearm protection in a game he was doing the other week. At the time I was wondering whether he was being proactive or reactive. First time I have ever seen a MLB ump wearing anything on that area. I too have been hit there and it hurt for weeks!

Look at the video at about the 1:29 mark: Hernandez comes out from behind the plate after calling the balk and slaps his left leg. I don't know what that means, but he seems to be indicating that something that Buerhle has done with his stride leg is the reason for the balk. I would like to get an explanation from Hernandez. I have watched several Buerhle balk clips and I just don't see why they are called. I'm not saying that he's not balking - I'm just not seeing it. :HS

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=11866487&topic_id=9780550&c_id=mlb When I saw this play live last night I thought everything looked OK. But watching the replays, it looks like U3 calls Patterson out before the Rays make the play on him between 3rd and home when the PU calls him out. You see U3 point and call Martinez out, but then he points at Patterson and says "He's out too" before the PU calls him out on the tag.:shrug:

Fall ball starts for us on Saturday. My son is moving up to the big diamond for the first time so I have moved to "the dark side." I'll try to behave myself! I am attending the MAC/MEAC Clinic in Harrisonburg next weekend, however.

Just got an e-mail on my S. O. S. order - complete refund. Ordered 4 Smitty shirts and a pair of Smitty base slacks and requested no substitutions.

I'm not sure I was watching the same game. F3 tripped over the bag. The ball was ruled fair. R1 was ruled out on the force at 2B (4 - 6) I never saw anyone ruled out for interference???

The President and CEO of Little League was at the game and was looking at a TV monitor. He directed the Assistant Director to "make the call right." So not only was IR not to be used at this level, it wasn't even used in the manner prescribed by LL to be used at the WS level. Slippery slope indeed!

Television camera angles can be deceiving. I don't think he could see when the F6 tagged Upton, or when Upton's touch of second occurred. In real time (not super slo-mo) this was a close play, and terrible angles for Foster on the tag and touch of second. Look at the replay farther along in the video, at about :45 to :50. I was watching on ESPN last night. Not sure what Leyland said, but it didn't matter. He was so mad he was drooling, and you could read Foster's lips: "You spit on me! Get outta here!"

Last night in the Valley League (NCAA Summer Wood Bat League) game in Staunton, a large skunk was spotted behind home plate around the padding on a concrete wall (in play). Time was called briefly, but the skunk "disappeared" and play resumed. An inning later, the skunk re-emerged, lumbered up the first base line in foul territory, took a left and eventually exited under the fence in center field. After another inning, a smaller skunk emerged, wandering in the same general direction, but took a slight detour under the bleachers on the first base line before leaving under the fence in right field. Provided a little excitement to an otherwise lackluster performance by both the Braves and the Turks (in other words, the game stunk!).

...... the way I’m envisioning this based on the OP, correctly or not, is the runner ran into the fielder, who was in the baseline…full on, body-to-body contact with no attempt to avoid…as the fielder came up to tag him from where he fielded the ball ..... An accurate description of the situation. If the F1 had not yet fielded the batted ball when the contact occurred, I would have no trouble with the call of interference. But because the ball had been fielded and F1 was attempting to make a tag, I'm not so sure. I agree with Rich that not all collisions are illegal. I see lots of collisions in youth baseball that are avoidable (this was one of them) but not illegal.

A side issue to the question, but brings up a good point about positioning. I believe from where the BU was camped in C behind F6 he could not see the dropped ball. If it would have been me, I would have moved in to the area behind the mound for a closer look when I saw the ball hit slowly up the first base line.

Rich, Ripken basically uses straight OBR. They do have a rule about no collisions at the plate "with an obvious intent to dislodge the ball" being an out and an ejection, but they do not have a specific slide/avoid rule.

Cal Ripken 12U District Tournament game last night. I am in the stands because my son is playing. R2 with BU in C, batter hits a dribbler right up the first base line. F1 fields the ball standing in the baseline, raises up to tag the BR who collides with him. F1 drops the ball (which the BU does not see). BU calls BR out (on the tag). Coach is screaming about the dropped ball, PU upholds the out call. In a "discussion" over the call, BU tells the coach the BR was out anyway saying he can't just "plow over" the F1 like that. Realizing HTBT, under what circumstances would you have interference, or just a train wreck (contact was not malicious)?

Played from LL through high school as F2.

I find that using an indicator, whether in the field or behind the plate, actually helps me relax and stay more focused. I have worked a few games behind the plate without one, and I was definitely more consciously concerned about not losing the count. I don't look at it as often as I did when I first started, but just turning the wheel and hearing the "click," I know I've got the count and can be more aware of other things that are or could be going on. I admire and respect a PU who can do a game without one, even thought at one time it was a goal to shoot for, but I've changed my mind.

I don't have my rulebook in front of me, but I'm almost sure in Cal Ripken 60' there is a special pitching regulation to deal with illegal pitches that says it is nothing, but warn the pitcher and if it continues the player can be removed from the game as a pitcher (not an EJ). Nowhere does it say an illegal pitch is called a ball.

Fed rules: R1, ground ball to F4. As R1 goes in to second, the 1B coach yells, "Break it up!" If indeed R1 takes out the F6 in violation of FPSR, would you consider running the coach (in addition to enforcing FPSR)?

Thanks for all the help. I actually had both of these Tuesday (F5 coming in, and F3 coming in). Since it was the first game of the year for me and my partner, we had a lengthy pregame, but did not cover that particular situation.

In 2-Man with runner(s) on and BU in B or C, who has the responsibility for a catch/no catch on a soft liner to F3 or F5 coming or diving in towards the plate?

From Fox Sports: With critics calling for expanded video review of umpires' calls and some players pushing to expand the first round of the playoffs, Baseball commissioner Bud Selig established a committee of managers and longtime executives.... "This is not a reaction to some of the things that happened during the playoffs," Selig said. "I'm not saying that it didn't keep moving me along in this direction because it did, but frankly I had this in mind for a long time." Selig repeatedly said "there are no sacred cows." While he has opposed expanding the use of instant replay, he said "I will be guided by what this committee comes up with." No players or umpires were included. Full Text: http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/121409-selig-committee

They look like Wilson DaviShins.

1) 2% wrong 2) Replay is fine the way it is - don't change it. When's your homework due?

Absent the obstruction, no way R2 makes it to 3B on this one! (IMHO) This was part of my thought process, but I failed to mention it in the OP. Probably because it was so obvious to me at the time. I remember thinking when R2 took off from second, "What the heck is he doing? He's going to be out by a mile." But there is this part about the runner giving up his attempt to advance that troubles me because of a ML play I remember seeing a few years ago. Miguel Tejada (then with the Orioles) attempting to score on a base hit is obstructed by F5 rounding third. About 2/3 the way to home, he gives up and begins pointing towards F5 asking for the call, jogging into an easy tag by F2. He was ruled out, even though obstruction was called.