position and seeing the whole plate

[26101ump]

in my short tenure as umpire, i am finding that I have a couple of problem areas, one of which has been brought to my attention in post game conversations with coaches, fans and parents.

i position myself where i split my body with an imaginary line straight back from the inside portion of the plate. my two areas of trouble are the knees and below and the outside. i have since been moving my body to the outside and seem to be making more consistent calls there. what advice do you have for see the low pitches and being consistent? maybe its me, but i might not be following the ball all the way to the catchers glove, idk? any suggestions?

[ukce1861]

Start here: Slot Mechanics. This is a post from this thread.

Sounds to me like you're working too far outside and possibly too far back from the catcher.

[calablue]

in my short tenure as umpire, i am finding that I have a couple of problem areas, one of which has been brought to my attention in post game conversations with coaches, fans and parents.

i position myself where i split my body with an imaginary line straight back from the inside portion of the plate. my two areas of trouble are the knees and below and the outside. i have since been moving my body to the outside and seem to be making more consistent calls there. what advice do you have for see the low pitches and being consistent? maybe its me, but i might not be following the ball all the way to the catchers glove, idk? any suggestions?

If you work on the outside you are going you're going to catch some nasty foul balls in places your gear does not protect. Bad place to be.

[mazzamouth]

Start here: Slot Mechanics. This is a post from this thread.

Sounds to me like you're working too far outside and possibly too far back from the catcher.

Dude im not sure where you got this pic from..but that is a great view of where to stand/stance.....

[spiritump]

work the slot--if you can not see the outside of the plate move up at first you will think you are to far up--but you should be no more than 10" to 14" from the catcher--and never listen to parents.

[kwiggie]

With your right hand wrapped and you left across you "guts" (as in the pic) what are you using as a lock-down mechanic using this type of stance?

[ukce1861]

With your right hand wrapped and you left across you "guts" (as in the pic) what are you using as a lock-down mechanic using this type of stance?

That's why I put my right hand on my leg, right above the top of my leg guards.

[kwiggie]

Yes, that is what I do as well and I wrap my left hand behind my knee. I have seen a couple of guys in this area use the stance in the pic and was wondering if this is somthing new being taught?

[D62 blue]

Yes, that is what I do as well and I wrap my left hand behind my knee. I have seen a couple of guys in this area use the stance in the pic and was wondering if this is somthing new being taught?

im the one ,d62 blue who posted the slot mechanics file origanlly:nod: . this isnt new , in my area this has been taught(LL to HS) for the last 4 years . down load the file and pay it forward to youre association . everyone will be the better for the information .

d62 blue

[D62 blue]

Dude im not sure where you got this pic from..but that is a great view of where to stand/stance.....

d62 blue at youre service , glad it helps .

[kwiggie]

this isnt new , in my area this has been taught(LL to HS) for the last 4 years

Well enough, but I would still like to know what is your lock-down mechanic?

[D62 blue]

Well enough, but I would still like to know what is your lock-down mechanic?

im not sure what u mean "lock down" mechanic ? for rh batter i rap the lh & arm across my belly , rh & arm tucked behind and tight to my torso or right side . slide down(my back)on the imaginary wall , to keep me straight . i suppose at this point im "locked" in position . here is a photo of me , does this help ?

d62

[mstaylor]

D62, did that photo come from an AK presentation. I have the same or similar diagram somewhere.

[noumpere]

my two areas of trouble are the knees and below

Are you calling too many strikes here? Suggests a timing problem.

[D62 blue]

D62, did that photo come from an AK presentation. I have the same or similar diagram somewhere.

not sure what ak means ? the attached photo is of me though , can u clarify ak ? the pdf file from my op , was handed out during a (2 day) weekend clinic , about 4 years ago . the clinic was for HS and any other level up or down of bb . im not sure where it originated from .

d62

Edited June 6, 2010 by D62 blue

[26101ump]

Are you calling too many strikes here? Suggests a timing problem.

i believe i am inconsistent in calling them, that is the problem. i have a hard time judging how low they actually are. I try and make myself wait until the ball has been caught or at least passes the plate before making a call, didnt know if i needed to be watching the catchers glove or is this something that comes with time

[26101ump]

my stance for the most part is the same as what is shown in d62's example. i am as close or maybe even closer. could be that i need to turn my body so that i am looking across the plate (say between the pitcher and r4, instead of at the pitcher himself) i place my lh on top of my left knee and lock it. my rh/arm comes across gut. thats the only difference i can recognize.

[D62 blue]

my stance for the most part is the same as what is shown in d62's example. i am as close or maybe even closer. could be that i need to turn my body so that i am looking across the plate (say between the pitcher and r4, instead of at the pitcher himself) i place my lh on top of my left knee and lock it. my rh/arm comes across gut. thats the only difference i can recognize.

depending on RH batter or LH batter , youre correct . with LH batter what u describe above is correct , with RH batter reverse what u are doing . u shouldnt be too close to f-2 . dont turn youre torso , stay square to the pitcher for youre protection to work , youre neck and head may turn slightly . study the hand outs on the pdf file, practice in front of a mirror, this will help alot as u can see what u are doing right or wrong . also u must track the ball all the way into the glove of f-2 . make no call till you see in the glove , dont move youre head either . its no call till u make it . other than that , the more pitches u can see the better more consistent u will become . if u are a tall man like me , get a nice wide stance especially for LL , so u dont have to crouch so low .

d62 blue

[Mike Prince]

i believe i am inconsistent in calling them, that is the problem. i have a hard time judging how low they actually are. I try and make myself wait until the ball has been caught or at least passes the plate before making a call, didnt know if i needed to be watching the catchers glove or is this something that comes with time

It will come with time, your timing will improve as well. From your post above it sounds like you are a bit quick with your calls.

[mstaylor]

AK is Andy Konyar. He used a similar or the the same diagram in his presentations. I have a copy of it somewhere but not sure where. I suspect he got it from one of the schools but who knows.

[kwiggie]

im not sure what u mean "lock down" mechanic ?

A physical point of reference for the pitch to come. Some sort of mechanic that locks you into the same head height (as a base) every pitch per batter.

[noumpere]

didnt know if i needed to be watching the catchers glove or is this something that comes with time

It doesn't always come with time, but it usually comes with timing.

[Umpire in Chief]

First I'll say the low-outside corner is the toughest to call. It takes some getting use to because it is so far from you and your "points of reference" are also not right there.

Keep working on it. Follow the pitch and as noumpere suggested slow your timing down and get another second to recall exactly where that pitch was.

[noumpere]

I'd also suggest having someone watch you. I can't tell you how many times I've heard "I'm in the right spot and using good timing but I'm struggling with the xxxx pitch." When I've gone to watch either or both the stance (location or something specific about it) or the timing needs to be changed. A session in the cage (or on the side, or in the back yard) helps.

[Astrosdawg07]

You guys are truly lucky to be in an association that offers cage sessions during the season. The only cage session we get is the one during our clinic right before season.