My first college game....ever.

[umped up]

Ok, here I am getting ready for my first ever college game. Without going into too much detail, it's game 2 and I'm behind the dish, it's the TOP of the 2nd w R-1 and R-3. I get back into position behind the catcher, look down for a moment at my feet and when I do this I hear "balk". Coach from the dugout is hollering, "are you kidding me, he hasn't been called on a balk in 2 years". I have no idea what the balk was. The pitcher, when I looked up at that instant was still in his "stretch" position. I'm thinking, "what the fk did this guy possibly do"? Oh well. After the rumbles from the coach and fans simmered a tad, I position myself back behind the catch and again glancing down at my feet and again...."BALK". S#!@ hits the fan. I look up and the pitcher has his hands to his side, palms up as to say "WTF" and I am clueless of what he did. Side note: Just to keep people from responding about me looking down at my feet (which yu should) I do it occasionally and have never had an issue until this back to back moment. How weird is that.

Onward.

The coach comes storming out of the dugout and meets the U1 close to the mound. I, at this point am observing and waiting to see what happens next. I'm noticing that voices are getting louder (including my partner...a big no no) and a little posturing going on and I'm thinking, ok, here we go. I start to walk out there to restore order and get the game back on track. I position myself next to them potentially getting myself between them to break it up and move the head coach away and start barking at me. As soon as I said, "ok guys, lets keep it down a tad here", the head coach directed his attention to me and yells," THE REASON I'M YELLING IS BECAUSE THIS IS THE ONLY WAY I GET MY PLAYERS ATTENTION, SO I THOUGHT IF I KEEP DOING THIS MAYBE I CAN GET HIS ATTENTION AND MAKE SENSE OF THIS SH!@. I said, "alright coach, he then said " all I want him to do is explain to my pitcher what the balk was. And I thought this was my first college game and here is this guy with many years of experience yet to explain it. As the coach said this to me, my partner says, "coach, I have already explained it to him, if maybe you would explain the rules better to him, he may be able to understand what a balk is. I immediately put my hands up towards him before the coach could respond and said," would you please tell the pitcher what he did to cause the balk. I gently put my hand on the coaches shoulder and walked off the mound with him. (I know people say never put your hands on a coach) I just wanted play to resume. My partner was so out of line!!!! I have my suspicions of a few things but my feeling is that I better not say.

After the game, I put the balls in the home teams dugout and headed toward the parking lot and my partner looked up at me and said, "later" and walked away. Obviously, he had nothing to say about it. I then waited until he left the lot and patiently waited for the home coach to finish his post game and motioned him over to me. And to no surprise, he welcomed me with both hands behind his back with a glaring look as to say, "what the fk do you want"? I then extended my hand and said, "what was your name again"? He extended his and said, John. I then wanted him to know that I cared about the situation and if he was satisfied with the calling. NO! He still had no clue what the balk was about. He then called his pitcher over who explained to me that he was still unsure of his balk He said "from what I can surmise, I think blah blah.

Heres the deal. He called a balk on him while in the stretch position because he threw the ball to his glove hand while on the rubber, still in the stretch position mind you. Twice! He simply had the ball in his throwing hand and once he stepped on the rubber, he tossed it into his glove while ready to recieve the signs. And I thought that in college ball the umpires would be good. Since he didn't talk with me, I have no idea his thoughts or what he "thinks" he saw but given that.......

My first college game........... :hopmad:

[UMP45]

And if I ever found out you did this I would never work with you again!! If you are worried about what the coach thinks become a scorekeeper! :hopmad:

[umped up]

And if I ever found out you did this I would never work with you again!! If you are worried about what the coach thinks become a scorekeeper!

And I can say to you, I agree! When I look back at it, that was the wrong thing to do. That just shows my inexperience. Live and learn. Ur ass taste nasty BTW :ph34r:

[mstaylor]

Since it was your first game and your past experience was limited you will somewhat of a pass but don't ever do that again. Don't hang around to talk to the coach, especially at the college level. 99.9% of the time it will end badly. It is twice as bad because you really didn't see the balk so it is hard for you to explain it. Never do what your partner did and just leave. Always stick and leave at the same time as your partner. The manager wasn't in a talking mood and I doubt you really made it any better. You may have but you will never know. Do you still look at your feet? This is something that guys do some but it should be done sparingly.

All in all if the coach wasn't on you, your first college plate sounds like a success. Moving out to be ready to rodeo is good, I like that. I have steered coaches by touching them in the past, sometimes it works, sometimes not.

[umped up]

Since it was your first game and your past experience was limited you will somewhat of a pass but don't ever do that again. Don't hang around to talk to the coach, especially at the college level. 99.9% of the time it will end badly. It is twice as bad because you really didn't see the balk so it is hard for you to explain it. Never do what your partner did and just leave. Always stick and leave at the same time as your partner. The manager wasn't in a talking mood and I doubt you really made it any better. You may have but you will never know. Do you still look at your feet? This is something that guys do some but it should be done sparingly.

All in all if the coach wasn't on you, your first college plate sounds like a success. Moving out to be ready to rodeo is good, I like that. I have steered coaches by touching them in the past, sometimes it works, sometimes not.

yeah, Ive learned from this game. My plate game was good, no complaints, just my handling of the situation with my partner......I will never talk to a coach after a game but given my partner was a veteran and left without me, Im thinking....WTF. So I did what I did. No excuse though.

[Minnz]

Have you ever stuck around after a High School game to talk to a coach? If not, why would you do this in college?

[umped up]

Have you ever stuck around after a High School game to talk to a coach? If not, why would you do this in college?

There is the problem. I have never done a Highschool game. Like I said earlier, I have done tons of highschool kids but not "technically" a Highschool game. I just wasn't clued in on the proper etiquette basically, I should have known nevertheless. I was wrong, no question about it and that will never happen agaiin...period. Maybe what had me to believe (at the time) is was ok was in the past two years that I did the college showcases, the coaches were talking with us before, a little between innings and even some after the game. It just didn't dawn on me until it was too late. Lesson learned.

[Kevin Finnerty]

How in hell did you get into a college conference without doing high school?

[umped up]

I'm not one to question the baseball Gods. :meditation:

[catsbackr]

1. Pay more attention.

2. When the coach "storms" out of the dugout, it is not your fight, it's your partners'.

3. During the loud conversation with your partner, it is not your job to try and restore order. Listen to what is being said and wait.

4. You inserted yourself into this situation, you deserved for the coach to yell at you.

5. NEVER put your hands on a coach.

6. Meeting the coach after the game? NEVER DO THIS!

7. I would not work with you again.

[Guest]

...look down for a moment at my feet and when I do this I hear "balk". Coach from the dugout is hollering, "are you kidding me, he hasn't been called on a balk in 2 years". I have no idea what the balk was. The pitcher, when I looked up at that instant was still in his "stretch" position. I'm thinking, "what the fk did this guy possibly do"? Oh well. After the rumbles from the coach and fans simmered a tad, I position myself back behind the catch and again glancing down at my feet and again...."BALK". S#!@ hits the fan. I look up and the pitcher has his hands to his side, palms up as to say "WTF" and I am clueless of what he did. Side note: Just to keep people from responding about me looking down at my feet I do it occasionally and have never had an issue until this back to back moment.

This isn't as big of a deal as you're making it out to be. Plenty of instances in upper level baseball require you to look away from the pitcher - taking a handoff from the ballboy, inspecting a ball for marks, etc. That's why you have a partner. However, the trick is to keep the ball in at least your peripheral vision, not to phase out. To be completely absent minded as to what happened is incompetent.

The coach comes storming out of the dugout and meets the U1 close to the mound. I, at this point am observing and waiting to see what happens next. I'm noticing that voices are getting louder (including my partner...a big no no) and a little posturing going on and I'm thinking, ok, here we go.

Welcome to real baseball. Sometimes, when a coach barks, we choose to bark back. It happens. NBD.

I start to walk out there to restore order and get the game back on track. I position myself next to them potentially getting myself between them to break it up and move the head coach away and start barking at me.

You have absolutely ZERO right to intervene here. You should still be standing behind the plate. You have two situations where you intervene when your partner is having an argument with someone:

1) He is getting gang-banged by more than one coach and / or player

2) He has just ejected someone. And if he does have an ejection and he chooses to continue arguing, at this level, you just stand next to him for a while and do nothing. Especially since he's the veteran and you're the rookie. You're lucky your partner didn't tell you to take a hike, let alone the coach.

As soon as I said, "ok guys, lets keep it down a tad here", the head coach directed his attention to me and yells," THE REASON I'M YELLING IS BECAUSE THIS IS THE ONLY WAY I GET MY PLAYERS ATTENTION, SO I THOUGHT IF I KEEP DOING THIS MAYBE I CAN GET HIS ATTENTION AND MAKE SENSE OF THIS SH!@.

At this point, I would've asked you if you've ever worked higher than tee-ball. Keep it down here? See above point about welcome to real baseball.

I gently put my hand on the coaches shoulder and walked off the mound with him. (I know people say never put your hands on a coach) I just wanted play to resume. My partner was so out of line!!!! I have my suspicions of a few things but my feeling is that I better not say.

What were you thinking? For starters, you still should be standing behind the plate at this point. For another, has the coach bumped your partner? Then why are you touching him? You have no right to do this. You're lucky the coach didn't go off on you at this point.

And I thought that in college ball the umpires would be good.

Well you didn't do much to help sustain that thought.

My first college game...........

Sorry bud but its probably your last for a while too.

The key to having success with anything in life is to act like you've been there before. Frankly, I don't blame your partner for leaving without talking to you.

[Replacematt]

1) He is getting gang-banged by more than one coach and / or player

What kind of games do you work? :wow:

[Guest]

1) He is getting gang-banged by more than one coach and / or player

What kind of games do you work?

Slang for one umpire having to deal with multiple people in an argument, lol

[umped up]

...look down for a moment at my feet and when I do this I hear "balk". Coach from the dugout is hollering, "are you kidding me, he hasn't been called on a balk in 2 years". I have no idea what the balk was. The pitcher, when I looked up at that instant was still in his "stretch" position. I'm thinking, "what the fk did this guy possibly do"? Oh well. After the rumbles from the coach and fans simmered a tad, I position myself back behind the catch and again glancing down at my feet and again...."BALK". S#!@ hits the fan. I look up and the pitcher has his hands to his side, palms up as to say "WTF" and I am clueless of what he did. Side note: Just to keep people from responding about me looking down at my feet I do it occasionally and have never had an issue until this back to back moment.

This isn't as big of a deal as you're making it out to be. Plenty of instances in upper level baseball require you to look away from the pitcher - taking a handoff from the ballboy, inspecting a ball for marks, etc. That's why you have a partner. However, the trick is to keep the ball in at least your peripheral vision, not to phase out. To be completely absent minded as to what happened is incompetent.

The coach comes storming out of the dugout and meets the U1 close to the mound. I, at this point am observing and waiting to see what happens next. I'm noticing that voices are getting louder (including my partner...a big no no) and a little posturing going on and I'm thinking, ok, here we go.

Welcome to real baseball. Sometimes, when a coach barks, we choose to bark back. It happens. NBD.

I start to walk out there to restore order and get the game back on track. I position myself next to them potentially getting myself between them to break it up and move the head coach away and start barking at me.

You have absolutely ZERO right to intervene here. You should still be standing behind the plate. You have two situations where you intervene when your partner is having an argument with someone:

1) He is getting gang-banged by more than one coach and / or player

2) He has just ejected someone. And if he does have an ejection and he chooses to continue arguing, at this level, you just stand next to him for a while and do nothing. Especially since he's the veteran and you're the rookie. You're lucky your partner didn't tell you to take, let alone the coach.

As soon as I said, "ok guys, lets keep it down a tad here", the head coach directed his attention to me and yells," THE REASON I'M YELLING IS BECAUSE THIS IS THE ONLY WAY I GET MY PLAYERS ATTENTION, SO I THOUGHT IF I KEEP DOING THIS MAYBE I CAN GET HIS ATTENTION AND MAKE SENSE OF THIS SH!@.

At this point, I would've asked you if you've ever worked higher than tee-ball. Keep it down here? See above point about welcome to real baseball.

I gently put my hand on the coaches shoulder and walked off the mound with him. (I know people say never put your hands on a coach) I just wanted play to resume. My partner was so out of line!!!! I have my suspicions of a few things but my feeling is that I better not say.

What were you thinking? For starters, you still should be standing behind the plate at this point. For another, has the coach bumped your partner? Then why are you touching him? You have no right to do this. You're lucky the coach didn't go off on you at this point.

And I thought that in college ball the umpires would be good.

Well you didn't do much to help sustain that thought.

My first college game...........

Sorry bud but its probably your last for a while too.

The key to having success with anything in life is to act like you've been there before. Frankly, I don't blame your partner for leaving without talking to you.

Wow! I thought on an umpire forum, I would get some sort of support? I didn't expect this. Even though you both made great points and I definitlety learned from them, it's like I'm the opponent. I'll bite my tongue.......

[yawetag]

Wow! I thought on an umpire forum, I would get some sort of support? I didn't expect this. Even though you both made great points and I definitlety learned from them, it's like I'm the opponent. I'll bite my tongue.......

We're not here to stroke egos. We're here to make better umpires.

[UmpJM]

umped up,

Wow! I thought on an umpire forum, I would get some sort of support? I didn't expect this. Even though you both made great points and I definitlety learned from them, it's like I'm the opponent. I'll bite my tongue.......

From where I'm sitting you ARE getting support, from ump_24 and most of the others who have posted on this thread.

The only thing ump_24 said that I would take "mild" issue with is when he said you belonged behind the plate when the conversation between your partner and the coach started to get animated. I subscribe to the theory (which is what I've been taught) that if things start to get "heated", you move within hearing distance of the conversation - but you certainly don't insert yourself into the conversation, as ump_24 said.

So, I'm not going to "pile on" with regard to the things you might have done differently (i.e. there's no need to look at your feet - stop doing it; your only role in your partner's Sitch is to keep other people out of it; don't touch the coach; don't hang around after the game to talk to the coach about some controversy that happened during the game.)

But, I've got a question for you. Why do you think your assignor gave you this game?

You didn't say, but from your description, it sounds like this was a "real" college game, rather than a JV pre-season contest or an intra-squad scrimmage or something like that.

Your assignor was NOT doing you a favor or "recognizing your umpiring excellence" by giving you a college game when you've never even worked a HS game. He was "throwing you to the wolves".

Yes, I'm sure.

He was using you, and you looked bad as a result. As ump_24 suggests, it may very well have set you back in terms of your progression and development as an umpire. There are some assignors who only care about "getting a warm body on the field". You don't want to work for one of them.

Find yourself a mentor who is willing to help you, and pick his brain about all the "little things" that demonstrate that an umpire belongs at the level of game he is calling.

From your posts on this board it seems you have great enthusiasm for umpiring, you're eager to learn, and you've advanced quickly. Those are great qualities. Now learn to realize when you're in over your head and how to survive when you are. Develop a thick skin and learn from your mistakes. If you come here with something and people are a little harsh, don't take it as "getting ripped", take it as people telling you what you need to hear because they want you to get better. We've all been there.

JM

[mstaylor]

I think it is great that you are willing to place your first game out there for discussion. It is tough, you had a weird situation and you made some serious rookie mistakes. You got double whammied by virtue of the fact that not only were you a rookie at the college level, you weren't far from being a complete rookie. What I was taught coming up is it is better to a year late than a year early. An umpire that is going to work at the college level when he is a relative newcomer needs to have some serious training beforehand. Having strong mechanics and good judgment is great but game management is something that you just have to develop.

Now, you are working JUCO and small college so it is important to learn as much as possible to bring your management skills up to your on field abilities. If you get spanked here a little, it's to help make you better. You have to watch ump24, he's from Canada and you know they have no social skills.

Some of the guys have said they wouldn't want to work with you after pulling a bonehead move with the coach. Normally that would be true with somebody with more experience. Hang in there and keep improving.

[BT_Blue]

Hell, I remember when Ump_24 first came onto this site something like two years ago or so. I remember he got seriously got ripped on by plenty of people on here (including me). If anyone can vouch for becoming a better umpire because he was ripped a little on U-E it is him.

[mstaylor]

Wow! I thought on an umpire forum, I would get some sort of support?

Just remember, support doesn't necessarily mean agreement. I have been doing this a long time and I have had my mind changed more than once from discussions here. Hopefully I have changed a few too.

[hckyosgood30]

You learn more for failure then success. This is one of the only jobs that we are hated, start at perfect and are expected to get better with every pitch. If you can't take us helping you.... well.... then I don't know what else to tell you. I would prefer that guys tell me the truth and give a damn then just leave and don't care about you and telling you so you can get better.

[umped up]

I think it is great that you are willing to place your first game out there for discussion. It is tough, you had a weird situation and you made some serious rookie mistakes. You got double whammied by virtue of the fact that not only were you a rookie at the college level, you weren't far from being a complete rookie. What I was taught coming up is it is better to a year late than a year early. An umpire that is going to work at the college level when he is a relative newcomer needs to have some serious training beforehand. Having strong mechanics and good judgment is great but game management is something that you just have to develop.

Now, you are working JUCO and small college so it is important to learn as much as possible to bring your management skills up to your on field abilities. If you get spanked here a little, it's to help make you better. You have to watch ump24, he's from Canada and you know they have no social skills.

Some of the guys have said they wouldn't want to work with you after pulling a bonehead move with the coach. Normally that would be true with somebody with more experience. Hang in there and keep improving.

Thank you mstayor. What you said is the exact way I would expect it in a learning environment, not with the "venom" that was there from the others. Maybe this is the way the umpire "fraternity" treats you. I guess it's like tough love. But you did say that that's the way these guys educate you (my words). I get that, just not used to the style..

Without boasting, I have a lot of respect from my league as a player and I think it has carried over into my umpiring (at least I get a head up) My passion is baseball and I bleed it. The transition has been fairly easy except for the rules portion. That was the eye opener but the mechanics, positioning and understanding why things are done the way they are was easy. I was a quick learner and cared. I took it serious. I have always respected the game of baseball as a player (ie; you would never catch me walking off the field or on the field, regardless of the weather, and not limited to just that, etc.) I'm old school when it came to that. I carry the same stance in the umpire world. I've been around the game for 38 years with "interest". Baseball was all I ever cared about (weirdo) but that's the fact.

From what I've been told from evaluators and umpires is that I umpire way above my experience. Noone would guess (last year) that I only had 2 years in. Again, I'm not bragging, Im just telling you what I've been told. Everytime that I have a new partner, they always think (when vocalized) that I have many years of experience. I of course let them think this so, so that they don't lose confidence in me.

In the 3 day clinic last year doing college level, I was in the parking lot with my partner and before we needed to be at our field for our 2 innings, we were swapping stories, experience, etc, we then headed to the field and did our duties. I had the plate in this round. After we finished, we walked back out to the lot and he said to me, "I gotta tell ya, you are the best umpire I've ever worked with given your experience". This guy had 15+ years and I'm sure he thought I was going to be crap. That's the same game that the assignors called me over and asked of my experience ( I stated in earlier post about this)

In this camp (2nd one) all the instructors had video cameras to record you. They would talk into the camera while evaluating you so that you can simply insert the disk on your laptop and get the evaluations. Between innings, they also talked to you but most of your critisism was on the disk. This eliminated the paper work that they usually did evals on and the timing in which you receive them. Very cool. When I was behind the plate during the recording, I was evaluated by an instructor who had done the college world series and is known as one of the best plate umpires. My mechanics were great, according to him. Of course, I'm getting feed back like...don't throw the ball back to the pitcher, get further up the line, dont pick up the bat, you need to get in this position on the field yadi, yadi. But overall, he said that I did a great job behind the plate with my mechanics, slotting, timing, being still, no head movement and consistency. (yes, I know this doesn't cover all the other nuances of calling the plate)

Why did my assignor give me a college game(s) Where do I begin? In the last two years, I have been to both three day clinics (Topeka premier umpire clinic) in which he was an instructor. In the two college showcases that I umpired in, he was there. We umpired together in the MSBL double header. After that game, he had nothing bad to tell me except some of the nuances of the job. He was gaining faith (also an insructor). Side note: I had only three games scheduled this year (three too many according to some of you) and the first one was Feb 11th and it was cancelled due to cold weather. I was scheduled with my assignor BTW for obvious reasons. My second game was the one in which is in discussion.

Another AA minor league umpire (now D-1) which plays in my league and has umpired with me says I could be doing college ball. Hey, this is what I'm getting here. His best advice to me is (and I think someone on this site also said) act like you know what the f... you are doing out there. Hustle and work hard. He told me that I look like I know wtf is going on and my mechanics and demeanor are right on.

Another umpire that has been at his craft for 20yrs and doing college for the past 4 yrs asked me if I was interested in doing a highschool tourney for the entire weekend with him? I'm like, hell yeah. He sold the coach on having the same two umpires the entire weekend (13 games) and we are quality umpires. When he told me that, I was like...wow. He thinks I'm a quality umpire. Trust me, Im my own worst critic and to hear that coming from a very respected umpire made me feel great.

In saying this, I know there are tons of things that I need work on. I've learned from my last game about what an umpires responsibility is during an outrage. One thing I wish was covered in these clinics is the etiquette of the umpire. I guess they just focus on mechanics and positioning. Well, what do you expect? I guess with all there is to learn shoved into 3 days, whatcha expect?

I know I'm all over the place with this rant but someone asked why I got a college game without doing a highschool game? Well, I've put myself in front of a lot of qualified coaches, assignors, umpires and they placed me.

And not to dig up bones but my first college game was great except for the way that I handled the situation with the coach and my partner. I learned from that one and now know what the protocol is on that. (when to approach an altercation and where to be)

And, after I talked with my assignor about the situation with the coach,(he was called about the situation from the head coach) I asked if he said anything about me and he said that I did a great job both behind the plate and in the field. He did say though that he was surprised that I came to the mound during their argument and then approached him after the game. (which we all agreed that was the wrong thing to do) Now I know.

I now need to go get seasoned, work, work, work, work....

[Welpe]

Sorority?

[umped up]

Sorority?

Here we go. :stir

[Replacematt]

<headslap>

[umped up]

<headslap>

I see....