Pause, Read, React

[Richvee]

My summer season is over. Overall I'm happy with the progress I've made. I think my timing has improved, my consistency with my strike zone has most definitely improved with my changing to the GD stance. I'm happy with my footwork and positioning on the bases, and I was happy with my evaluation during a 4th of July clinic and tournament. One thing that was pointed out to me in my evaluation is my lack of pausing/reading/reacting on trouble balls. I'm horrible. It's the number one thing I want to work on this fall. 

 

I'm wondering if anyone has any pointers for me? Any "tricks" or tips on reading the fielders or the ball. How long to pause before reacting? I think it's just the lack of repetitions that makes it difficult to get better at. Any pointers would be appreciated. 

[Jocko]

I'm sure you've heard this before, but always read your outfielders before the pitch.

[Richvee]

I'm sure you've heard this before, but always read your outfielders before the pitch.

I've been doing this. It helps. My main concern is I'm not pausing long enough to "read" correctly. Monday night, fly ball to CF I saw F8 moving in, I thought....no, scratch that, I guess I didn't "think" at all. I just busted inside. Next thing I know, F8's on his stomach  holding his glove up. My partner calls the catch from just in front of the pitcher's mound, and all I could think was, "dammit, miss-read another one. Should have gone out"

[Magic]

I'm sure you've heard this before, but always read your outfielders before the pitch.

I've been doing this. It helps. My main concern is I'm not pausing long enough to "read" correctly. Monday night, fly ball to CF I saw F8 moving in, I thought....no, scratch that, I guess I didn't "think" at all. I just busted inside. Next thing I know, F8's on his stomach holding his glove up. My partner calls the catch from just in front of the pitcher's mound, and all I could think was, "dammit, miss-read another one. Should have gone out"

You have a lot more time than you think. It took me a very long time to realize that. Slow down. And remember you aren't going to beat the runner into 2nd anyways. So you are going to have to get a good angle. Which allows you more time to read the hit and the fielders before you have to make a decision.

[Forest Ump]

You have plenty of time to move in to the infield. Don't worry about having to come in and pivot. Take a moment and read the fielder. Is he charging in hard? Are two fielders converging? Is it a ball towards the wall with a fielder going back? Take a moment and read it. Then decide. You may go out on a few you don't need too but given time there will be less of those.

 

Once you do make the decision to go out, build an angle towards the play. Don't go directly at the play. Stop and be set when the play happens. Even if you have not gone far, you still need to be set when the play occurs. You can always move towards the play after it happens and sell it hard.

[umpstu]

I'm sure you've heard this before, but always read your outfielders before the pitch.

I've been doing this. It helps. My main concern is I'm not pausing long enough to "read" correctly. Monday night, fly ball to CF I saw F8 moving in, I thought....no, scratch that, I guess I didn't "think" at all. I just busted inside. Next thing I know, F8's on his stomach  holding his glove up. My partner calls the catch from just in front of the pitcher's mound, and all I could think was, "dammit, miss-read another one. Should have gone out"

Just stop. Not necessarily a pause, but more of a stop and then read your fielders. As long as you beat the guy to second then take your sweet time watching the fielders. When you do bust in are you still watching the fielder? Remember, watch the ball/fielder, glance at the runner.

[Richvee]

 

 

I'm sure you've heard this before, but always read your outfielders before the pitch.

I've been doing this. It helps. My main concern is I'm not pausing long enough to "read" correctly. Monday night, fly ball to CF I saw F8 moving in, I thought....no, scratch that, I guess I didn't "think" at all. I just busted inside. Next thing I know, F8's on his stomach  holding his glove up. My partner calls the catch from just in front of the pitcher's mound, and all I could think was, "dammit, miss-read another one. Should have gone out"

 

 When you do bust in are you still watching the fielder?

 

No. Maybe a glance, but I'm busting in, pivot, watching the touch of 1st. 

[noumpere]

It's the hardest thing to learn, because we don't get much practice.

 

Try working som 3-man when you can stay even on routine fly balls (because U3 will have second).  That will get you used to the pause part.

[MidAmUmp]

First, it really should be called: Read, Pause, Read, React.

 

As others have already mentioned it all starts with Pre-Pitch Positioning.  Know where your outfielders are playing.  That will give you a good idea if the ball is going to be trouble or not.

Then...

READ - the direction of the ball off the bat. You will now know 2 things - if the ball is hit in your coverage area & where the fielders are located.

PAUSE - step up, open up to the outfield.

READ - the fielders - do they (or the ball) meet one of the criteria for going out?

REACT - If yes, go out. If no, get in the infield.

 

I always hear from umpires: "If I pause too long then I get in the runner's way."  You must know when to sprint, run, jog and walk on the baseball field.  Pausing, Reading and then deciding not to go out is a time to sprint.  Either that or let the runner clear 1st and then you have to sacrifice distance for angle and fight to get to the back of the mound, then get distance if there's time.  There's nothing wrong with that because the ball is your first priority.  I just wouldn't make a habit of doing it that way.

[maven]

No. Maybe a glance, but I'm busting in, pivot, watching the touch of 1st.

This is a peeve of mine. Let's say it's a fly ball to LF, so no chance I should go out. Keep your eyes on the play until you need to turn and pick up the touch at 1B.

 

For one thing: absolutely nothing is happening at 1B until that BR gets there. Don't watch the base sit there.

 

For another: which is more likely, a tricky catch/no catch in the outfield, or a missed base that matters at 1B? Yes, BU's responsibility is the touch, but I see too many umpires staring at that base with nothing going on while leaving their partner high and dry on a messy call in the outfield. If BU had eyes on it, then there's a better chance of getting it right.

 

So by all means, get your touch at 1B. And if the catch and the touch happen at the same moment, you'll have to choose the touch. But try to have eyes on that catch attempt when you come inside.

[maven]

First, it really should be called: Read, Pause, Read, React.

 

As others have already mentioned it all starts with Pre-Pitch Positioning.  Know where your outfielders are playing.  That will give you a good idea if the ball is going to be trouble or not.

Then...

READ - the direction of the ball off the bat. You will now know 2 things - if the ball is hit in your coverage area & where the fielders are located.

PAUSE - step up, open up to the outfield.

READ - the fielders - do they (or the ball) meet one of the criteria for going out?

REACT - If yes, go out. If no, get in the infield.

 

I always hear from umpires: "If I pause too long then I get in the runner's way."  You must know when to sprint, run, jog and walk on the baseball field.  Pausing, Reading and then deciding not to go out is a time to sprint.  Either that or let the runner clear 1st and then you have to sacrifice distance for angle and fight to get to the back of the mound, then get distance if there's time.  There's nothing wrong with that because the ball is your first priority.  I just wouldn't make a habit of doing it that way.

 

That's a good point: there is a "read" moment first, and it's worth picking up the ball off the bat.

 

Some umpires have trouble with this mechanic because they're not really doing it. Oh, they might pause, but they're not really thinking about going out. They're just pausing.

 

One of the advantages of 2 umpires over 1 umpire is the ability of the BU to go out on trouble balls. Assuming that you have a PU who moves, next time resolve to go out more. I tell my partners that I love to go out, and that I'm one of those guys who errs on the side of going out. Sometimes I'll be out there ruling on a can of corn.

 

Is that bad? The downside is that my partner has to get his butt up the line to see the 1B touch and be ready for any call on the bases. But we have eyes out there for the ones where F8 (moving to RF) or F9 makes a diving catch. And frankly in my games I see plenty of routine fly balls that crap outfielders turn into an adventure.

 

So you might consider changing your default: plan to go out on a ball in your coverage area, and let your reaction bring you inside if you're not needed in the OF.

[Big_Mac14]

I think the most common mistake is to be too quick with your decision. Pause, Read, React is a point that I too need to improve upon and I find that I am often too quick with my decision and I end up going out on routine plays or going in on balls that sail over F9's head.

I worked with a guy this year who had been to pro school twice, and the biggest thing I took from him is how long he waits to make his decision on whether to go out or not! The first time he did it I felt he took so long that I wasn't sure if he knew what he was doing! However his methodical decision making allowed him to make the right decision every time and after the game he told me that gaining distance on the play is not as important as gaining the right angle and making the right decision on whether to go out or to go in!

Hope this helps!

[noumpere]

 

 

 

One of the advantages of 2 umpires over 1 umpire is the ability of the BU to go out on trouble balls. Assuming that you have a PU who moves, next time resolve to go out more. I tell my partners that I love to go out, and that I'm one of those guys who errs on the side of going out. Sometimes I'll be out there ruling on a can of corn.

 

Is that bad? The downside is that my partner has to get his butt up the line to see the 1B touch and be ready for any call on the bases. But we have eyes out there for the ones where F8 (moving to RF) or F9 makes a diving catch. And frankly in my games I see plenty of routine fly balls that crap outfielders turn into an adventure.

 

It's not really a disadvantage because PU needs to go to (about) the same spot to rule on the catch as he does to take the BR to second.

 

It's better to be out wishing you were in than in wishing you were out.  And, that saying applies to umpiring as well.

[Richvee]

Great stuff guys. Appreciate it all. I got dinged on my evaluation because I ended up going out on a play where I thought F4 and F9 were both going for the ball, but after deciding to go out, F4 pealed off and F9 had a easy catch. A few innings later, line drive to CF I misjudged as a single, ended up being a shoestring catch by F8 as I was pivoting. I agree 100% I need to err on the side of going out more often. I also agree it's tough to learn because we don't get to "practice" it a lot. 

 

Then there's always the nightmare partners. Especially at the JV level around here. One game in particular this year, we pregame pretty well, discuss him taking the BR if I go out, and sure enough, 1st batter of the game, linedrive down the RF line, I turn, ball lands fair, I look back and my partner's watch the game from behind the plate as BR is steaming into second. I had to make a call at 2nd from short RF as that's as far as I was able to get because I knew my partner wasn't going to do anything.

 

 It's no excuse, but it does make me hesitant to go out when I've got a partner I don't know.

 

 

 

No. Maybe a glance, but I'm busting in, pivot, watching the touch of 1st.

This is a peeve of mine. Let's say it's a fly ball to LF, so no chance I should go out. Keep your eyes on the play until you need to turn and pick up the touch at 1B.

 

For one thing: absolutely nothing is happening at 1B until that BR gets there. Don't watch the base sit there.

 

For another: which is more likely, a tricky catch/no catch in the outfield, or a missed base that matters at 1B? Yes, BU's responsibility is the touch, but I see too many umpires staring at that base with nothing going on while leaving their partner high and dry on a messy call in the outfield. If BU had eyes on it, then there's a better chance of getting it right.

 

So by all means, get your touch at 1B. And if the catch and the touch happen at the same moment, you'll have to choose the touch. But try to have eyes on that catch attempt when you come inside.

 

I do try to see the play if BR isn't around the bag at that time..Maybe I give more than a glance. 

[JHSump]

@maven says, "...frankly in my games I see plenty of routine fly balls that crap outfielders turn into an adventure.

 

So you might consider changing your default: plan to go out on a ball in your coverage area, and let your reaction bring you inside if you're not needed in the OF."

 

I think that is great advice!  I also see plenty of routine fly balls become much much more interesting than they should, for the baseball I do.  I think I am going to change to this default.