Great Plate Mechanics Video

[PonyUmpire]

Hey guys.  I was browsing the web for umpiring videos, as I sometimes do, and came across this gem.  This umpire in this video has almost flawless plate mechanics: no head movement, perfect timing, ideal head height, great stance, crisp verbals.  If I was giving a new umpire a crash course on working the plate, this is the video I'd show him.

 

 

Let me know what you think.

 

 

 

[HeadHunterLA]

Solid, must be a cold gym.

[JaxRolo]

Solid! Maybe a tad high.

 

 

Oh- Jacket tucked in!!!

[mstaylor]

 

Oh- Jacket tucked in!!! 

 

     

[SAB_UIC_TX]

Only thing I would say to do different is to keep your eyes on the plate when calling a strike and not turn so you can't see the plate.

[JaxRolo]

Only thing I would say to do different is to keep your eyes on the plate when calling a strike and not turn so you can't see the plate.

I agree. I believe in keeping your eyes forward when making the strike call.

 

One of the reasons I  switched to the hammer strike. Makes it easier.

[th3]

i had a strike at 1:00

[johnnyg08]

i had a strike at 1:00

 

 

Me too.  Interesting that it was the first pitch to a lefty.  

[JaxRolo]

i had a strike at 1:00

Me too. Interesting that it was the first pitch to a lefty. Shows that you can look solid but still suck! lol

[johnnyg08]

 

i had a strike at 1:00

Me too. Interesting that it was the first pitch to a lefty. Shows that you can look solid but still suck! lol

 

 

 

that's my motto Jax!  

[blue23ll]

Pretty good, good luck in your pony league games.

[PonyUmpire]

Pretty good, good luck in your pony league games.

 

Thanks! The funny thing is, I've branched out into travel, and will be doing HS next year.  My username is making less and less sense lol.

[catsbackr]

Only thing I would say to do different is to keep your eyes on the plate when calling a strike and not turn so you can't see the plate.

Why?  What else does he need to see?

 

Fix your timing and you can turn any way you want.

[stl_ump]

 

Only thing I would say to do different is to keep your eyes on the plate when calling a strike and not turn so you can't see the plate.

I agree. I believe in keeping your eyes forward when making the strike call.

 

One of the reasons I  switched to the hammer strike. Makes it easier.

 

BTW... if you do a hammer strike how do you signal an out?  How would one watching know when you've got an out vs a dropped 3rd strike and not an out?

[Mike Prince]

Only thing I would say to do different is to keep your eyes on the plate when calling a strike and not turn so you can't see the plate.

I agree. I believe in keeping your eyes forward when making the strike call.

One of the reasons I switched to the hammer strike. Makes it easier.

BTW... if you do a hammer strike how do you signal an out? How would one watching know when you've got an out vs a dropped 3rd strike and not an out? On the out I will "hold" the hammer. On a D3K I will signal the strike quickly, verbalize "no catch", and hold both arms out by my side with clenched fists.

[RichMSN]

I turn to the side and always have.

 

By the time I'm calling the pitch a strike, it's already on the way back to the pitcher (or pretty close to it).  Nothing is happening then.

[blue23ll]

I only point strikes. I reserve the hammer for outs only. I have found this reduces confusion on a D3K. So, on a D3K, it will go like this, I point the strike, give the safe sign if there is confusion whether the ball was caught, and hammer the out if the runner is tagged by F2.

[KLAH316]

He doesn't have a THROAT GUARD..........

[flastyle727]

If you use timing you should rarely have non swinging D3Ks. Simply because it the catcher is that bad, quit rewarding him with crap strikes. Also, vary up your K3 call verbally. I've never run into a problem.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

[grayhawk]

I only point strikes. I reserve the hammer for outs only. I have found this reduces confusion on a D3K. So, on a D3K, it will go like this, I point the strike, give the safe sign if there is confusion whether the ball was caught, and hammer the out if the runner is tagged by F2.

 

Same, except I give the safe sign whether there is confusion or not.  I will hold it longer if there is confusion.  

[CS-Blue]

I use the hammer as well (especially since I came up doing a lot of one-man). On a D3K, I signal the swing with the hammer, then verbally say "no catch" with a safe signal. Never once (even at the younger levels) have I had anyone get confused. And if the kid can't run on the D3K (occupied 1st with less then 2 outs) I give the hammer and verbally say "batter's out." That way even if the coach is screaming run (like they always do) the batter and catcher know he is out and we don't play "throw the ball all over the infield."

[blue23ll]

Defensive Coach:  Why is that runner at 1st? You called him out.

Umpire: No, I didn't, I called a strike.

DC : It looked like an out, and what was all that arm waving about?

 

Offensive Coach:  Why did you call my runner out, the catcher dropped the strike.

Umpire: No, I was calling a strike.

OC: Well tell that to my runner, he stopped because he thought you called him out.

[umpire_scott]

For all strikes I give sort of a half hammer in front of my chin.  Basically I just close my fist open side facing me.  There is not a lot of arm movement.  I saw an MLB umpire doing it a few years back (have no idea who it was) and it looked simple.  Another reason I used it was because at the time I was doing softball as well and I could get away with using the same mechanic for both sports.  I would just make sure my delay between the verbal and signal was more pronounced when doing softball.

 

My only difference in calling strike 3 is my verbal is louder and emphasis is on the "3" not the "strike".

[flastyle727]

I'll say it again, proper timing abd verbal mechanics will negate 99% of these problems.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

[Haid D' Salaami]

Only thing I would say to do different is to keep your eyes on the plate when calling a strike and not turn so you can't see the plate.

it is not that big of a deal.. most assigners dont even care.