Hands Free Umpire Customer?

[grayhawk]

Keep in mind, this is a series from EXPERT Village:

The backwards cap, indicator in the right hand, the position behind the catcher, head height and timing, the verbal swinging strike. This series is GOLD!

[yawetag]

Where have you been the past three years?

[JaxRolo]

Great stance I wonder what it's called

[yawetag]

Great stance I wonder what it's called

Horrible. Or Guessing.

[mstaylor]

Andrew, I think he has added to his series.

[yawetag]

Andrew, I think he has added to his series.

Oh, really? This should be interesting.

[MT_Blue]

Most of this is a shining example of what NOT to do......only thing I remember is him talking directly to both teams for his 'pregame confrence'....I stopped watching directly there after

[grayhawk]

Where have you been the past three years?

Well, I figured something this great wouldn't get missed by this group, but I figured that the comedy provided by this series was good enough to have another look.

[mstaylor]

It's always good to be reminded what not to do, plus the cimic relief is always good.

[semper_fi_72]

What a gem.

This guys is a legend in his own mind.

Wonder how many guys trying to figure out umpiring watch his crap and try to apply it :censored:

[ukce1861]

Wonder how many guys trying to figure out umpiring watch his crap and try to apply it

Guilty...

Two years ago when I started out, I didn't know anything, so I scoured the internet and ran across this guy. Seemed a little goofy, but he spoke with confidence and a video was more illustrative than reading stuff. Luckily it didn't take me too long to figure out he didn't know what he was doing...

[christheump]

If my co-ordinator saw me wearing a hat backwards I would be pulled off the field and never invited back...and I didnt see one ounce of chalk around the plate....

[tiger49]

Great stance I wonder what it's called

The Smitty Dip

[tiger49]

Also at the end the coach is allowed to warm up the pitcher without a mask.

[Dragon29]

Also at the end the coach is allowed to warm up the pitcher without a mask.

Without a mask? In LL, a coach isn't allowed to warm up a pitcher at all - doesn't matter if he's in full body armor.

(BTW: I almost made the same comment, but then I thought they could've been between games in that shot.)

[wek29]

So not to hijack the thread, but are there any good videos on the internet for instruction? Long story short, our organization does not provide much training at all. I want to stay there because it's where a lot of kids are learning the game and they deserve better. So it's up to me to do this on my own. At some point I'll have saved up enough to invest in either videos/books or actual instruction but until then is there anything worthwhile on the web?

[Rich Ives]

Also at the end the coach is allowed to warm up the pitcher without a mask.

Without a mask? In LL, a coach isn't allowed to warm up a pitcher at all - doesn't matter if he's in full body armor.

(BTW: I almost made the same comment, but then I thought they could've been between games in that shot.)

I don't think it's chartered LL.

[JaxRolo]

So not to hijack the thread, but are there any good videos on the internet for instruction? Long story short, our organization does not provide much training at all. I want to stay there because it's where a lot of kids are learning the game and they deserve better. So it's up to me to do this on my own. At some point I'll have saved up enough to invest in either videos/books or actual instruction but until then is there anything worthwhile on the web?

Try You tube. You should be able to tell the difference between the good and bad ones.

Or fInd a Mentor in your association and spend a few hours with him on the field.

[mstaylor]

The evans balk video is pretty good.

[Dragon29]

Also at the end the coach is allowed to warm up the pitcher without a mask.

Without a mask? In LL, a coach isn't allowed to warm up a pitcher at all - doesn't matter if he's in full body armor.

(BTW: I almost made the same comment, but then I thought they could've been between games in that shot.)

I don't think it's chartered LL.

You may be right - It's often hard to tell. The guy in the video uses the phrase, "Little League", but a lot of people use that to mean any one of a varity of different youth baseball organizations.

Either way - I admire the guy for wanting to help, but cringe every time I think about him calling a game or instructing anyone!

[JaxRolo]

The evans balk video is pretty good.

I was going to mention that but he is looking for free stuff.

[wek29]

Thanks mstaylor and JaxRolo. As far as a mentor goes I'm afraid I may end up being that person. There are other umps there that have done this for a while, but they would be more of the type that I am trying not to become. I'm not trying to slam anyone there. There are some good people who put a lot of time in with little to no compensation, but there is a real need for some leadership. I am hoping to learn the right way and lead by example so as not to rock the boat. Make sense? I'll search Youtube and see what I can find. I'll look into that video, but is it as the title says and focused on bulks? If so, maybe some day, but I have a lot to work on before that. Thanks again!

[sdix00]

Back to reality.

I have a new college DIII baseball team playing at my home park. I asked the coach if any one of his guys would like to help out and umpire with my LL, and got a call from one of the players about a week later.

He is a great kid. He has been umpiring LL in TX for EIGHT years and is a member of TASO. Great game management, gets along with the managers and handles controversy pretty well.

I had him work as an emergency fill-in the first time and he showed up with gray undersleeves. I handed him a uniform and some equipment and he tried to put the leg guards on the outside of his tightish slacks and turned his white hat backwards. I stopped him and said "Uh kid, we do it this way", and fixed everything but the gray sleeves and sent him on to the field after he promised never to wear under sleeves, of any color, again.

At that point I thought he was the lovechild of the guy in this video and the guy in this video.

Mechanics were straight from the Youtube. No details necessary other than to say he looked exactly like the cartoons that Jim Kirk sends out if you ordered equipment in the last 90 days. Only the other umpires (most of them about 14 years old) looked at him funny. The managers thought he was the greatest umpire they had ever seen. He asked me to recommend him for the local umpire association which provides paid umps to other leagues. I said we would talk about it.

After his game, he asked for another game and I gave him my 14U game that evening and he handed me the ball bag I gave him and told me he didn't like to use them. STOP. I looked him right in the eye and told him I thought he was a good guy, but if he wanted my recommendation or any more games he would need to fix about a dozen things before we even talked about a job.

He was a mess during the first inning of the 14U game. I told him I was taking off and left him because I didn't want him focused on all the things I just asked him to fix. I meant, "fix them over the next few games", not "fix them now". My son worked his bases and said he did fine after I left.

The next evening I asked him where he got most of his training. And yes, he replied, "Lots of places, but mostly the Expert guy from the Bronx, on Youtube."

[amarillo]

All you have to do to be a TASO member is pay the dues I know of one youth league around here that doubles your pay if you are a member. hmmmmm 40 dollar dues and instead of 20 bucks a game I get 40