Another Difficult Situation

[umpire_scott]

So I was put on a field today with 2 guys that had 7 games. I basically came in and did 3 plates and one base so that they would not have to do as many plates while doing their 7 games. These guys are very experienced umpires and made it clear in the beginning that they wanted to call the game in such a way that the games stayed on time. They rushed the coaches during the pregame even after the coach indicated his team was not ready. They also complained about how tight they thought my strike zone was during my first game, even though the first game ended in 1:34 and the time limit was no new inning after 1:40.

My first inclination is to stick to my guns and say that I will call my game the way I see it and you just need to deal with it. The problem with this approach is that I'm new to this area and these guys claim that they do a lot of high school and even college games. They say they get a lot of games because they know people and are well respected. So I don't really want to burn any bridges.

[yawetag]

I don't know that "anybody can do the bases..." I've seen guys that are solid behind the plate but horrid on the bases, so I think your assumption might be a bit off.

Agreed. In fact, I find that the more plates I work, my base work suffers, and vice versa.

[mstaylor]

The phrase,"Anybody can do bases" makes my skin crawl. It right there with "anybody can paint." Both are definite skills that anybody can do but most can't do well. "Doing bases" requires you to watch many things, know rotations and follow certain mechanics and have nothing close happen all game, then bang, a play blows up. Yes you advance off your plate work but you will be in more situations on the bases. It will also require you to know odd rules. To do bases it is every bit as difficult and demanding.

[bam]

The base umpire does most of the running and pivoting. He's responsible for more bases and for more runners. And thn there's 3 man.... The base umpire is really the one doing all the work.

[BRUMP]

The phrase,"Anybody can do bases" makes my skin crawl. It right there with "anybody can paint." Both are definite skills that anybody can do but most can't do well. "Doing bases" requires you to watch many things, know rotations and follow certain mechanics and have nothing close happen all game, then bang, a play blows up. Yes you advance off your plate work but you will be in more situations on the bases. It will also require you to know odd rules. To do bases it is every bit as difficult and demanding.

Mike I agree with you, but this begs the question why when we start out at a new level are our first assignments usually bases?

[scrounge]

The phrase,"Anybody can do bases" makes my skin crawl. It right there with "anybody can paint." Both are definite skills that anybody can do but most can't do well. "Doing bases" requires you to watch many things, know rotations and follow certain mechanics and have nothing close happen all game, then bang, a play blows up. Yes you advance off your plate work but you will be in more situations on the bases. It will also require you to know odd rules. To do bases it is every bit as difficult and demanding.

Mike I agree with you, but this begs the question why when we start out at a new level are our first assignments usually bases?

That's odd, we make no such distinctions in our area. I think people just get fooled into thinking it's easier because it's not readily apparent that the BU is involved in every play. And on many plays he isn't. People think that 90% of the time it's obvious, so it must be easy. But if the BU isn't trained or isn't good or isn't attentive, that 10% can be so spectacularly bad that it blows up completely.

[mstaylor]

I assign an unknown or inexperienced umpire to the bases so I can watch him. If he has bad timing, bad judgement, doesn't know rotations or coverages I can cover from the plate. If he is on the plate and I go out, I have no idea if he is covering the runner. Also if he has no feel for pace I can't help him from the bases, I can from the plate. Plus if he butchers a slide play second, he will get chewed. If he misses the same thing at the plate it is a run and an explosive situation.

[yawetag]

^{I wonder how many of these "bases are easier than the plate" people actually watch every runner they're responsible for and ensure they touch the base. That alone can be one of the hardest things to do well, even more so when you have responsibility for the ball, too.}

[Jocko]

Bases require hustle, determination, attention, and judgement. Just because you may only have 2 whackers all day doesn't make it easier. It actually makes it harder. If you don't keep your mind sharp and on the game, you'll almost surely get caught aslepp and miss the one call that you needed to be on your toes for.

"Anyone can do bases"

HORSESH*#!!!

[yawetag]

"Anyone can do bases"

HORSESH*#!!!

Well, anyone can do bases, but only a select few can do it well.

[NFUA_44]

So I guess the MLB guys that only get to work the dish every 4 days, or about 1/4 of their total work load, must really be at a disadvantage.

As Andrew pointed out there are significant opportunities to miss something when your responsible for a majority of the field, touches, safe/out, etc.,etc.,etc. Especially when your working two man. Without hustle, knowledge of mechanics, and the ability to put your head on a swivel to catch it all you can blow stuff up quickly.

Normally I get a guy who wants the dish all the time, I'm usually looking at somebody that just doesn't want to move from behind the plate and would rather try to just run the show. That's gonna lead to it's own set of issues. The job requires that we're able to do it all, last I checked there isn't any manual, umpires or mechanics, that teaches only one side of the equation.

[yawetag]

Without hustle, knowledge of mechanics, and the ability to put your head on a swivel to catch it all you can blow stuff up quickly.

And if you have a coach that knows his umpire mechanics, he will appeal to a base you weren't watching, simply to come out and say something similar to "How do you know he touched it? You weren't even looking there!"

[Guest Guest]

So I was put on a field today with 2 guys that had 7 games. I basically came in and did 3 plates and one base so that they would not have to do as many plates while doing their 7 games. These guys are very experienced umpires and made it clear in the beginning that they wanted to call the game in such a way that the games stayed on time. They rushed the coaches during the pregame even after the coach indicated his team was not ready. They also complained about how tight they thought my strike zone was during my first game, even though the first game ended in 1:34 and the time limit was no new inning after 1:40.

My first inclination is to stick to my guns and say that I will call my game the way I see it and you just need to deal with it. The problem with this approach is that I'm new to this area and these guys claim that they do a lot of high school and even college games. They say they get a lot of games because they know people and are well respected. So I don't really want to burn any bridges.

Scott - Stick to your guns. Call the game YOUR way. They may not like it, but, tough noogies (can I say that?).

[Jocko]

So I was put on a field today with 2 guys that had 7 games. I basically came in and did 3 plates and one base so that they would not have to do as many plates while doing their 7 games. These guys are very experienced umpires and made it clear in the beginning that they wanted to call the game in such a way that the games stayed on time. They rushed the coaches during the pregame even after the coach indicated his team was not ready. They also complained about how tight they thought my strike zone was during my first game, even though the first game ended in 1:34 and the time limit was no new inning after 1:40.My first inclination is to stick to my guns and say that I will call my game the way I see it and you just need to deal with it. The problem with this approach is that I'm new to this area and these guys claim that they do a lot of high school and even college games. They say they get a lot of games because they know people and are well respected. So I don't really want to burn any bridges.

Scott - Stick to your guns. Call the game YOUR way. They may not like it, but, tough noogies (can I say that?).

Not as an anonymous guest 6 months after-the-fact :fuel:

[noumpere]

 

So I was put on a field today with 2 guys that had 7 games. I basically came in and did 3 plates and one base so that they would not have to do as many plates while doing their 7 games. These guys are very experienced umpires and made it clear in the beginning that they wanted to call the game in such a way that the games stayed on time. They rushed the coaches during the pregame even after the coach indicated his team was not ready. They also complained about how tight they thought my strike zone was during my first game, even though the first game ended in 1:34 and the time limit was no new inning after 1:40.My first inclination is to stick to my guns and say that I will call my game the way I see it and you just need to deal with it. The problem with this approach is that I'm new to this area and these guys claim that they do a lot of high school and even college games. They say they get a lot of games because they know people and are well respected. So I don't really want to burn any bridges.

Scott - Stick to your guns. Call the game YOUR way. They may not like it, but, tough noogies (can I say that?).

Not as an anonymous guest 6 months after-the-fact

What a waste.  I thought guest posting wasnt allowed and it shouldnt be just for this reason.