“You got to get the player out of you�

[Sayhey]

I misspoke too. Ted Barrett did mention being a fan. He wants us to get the player out of us and the fan. Players want to win. Umpires want to be fair and successful at the craft. By success I mean competent or skilled. I guess Ted's comment caught me by surprise. I had never thought about it.

[Thunderheads]

I'm not sure why I am confused either. I did just read Big Umpires post and that turned a light bulb on. His post about a former college player at Harry's school watching a fly ball instead of reading the fielder is helpful. Thanks for your patience. Still don't understand why being a fan is detrimental to being a good umpire. Thanks for the respect comment. I certainly need to be more respectful to others on this site. We need to support each other.

I just wanted to be clear with the context of my question so it wasn't taken the wrong way.

 

In regards to the bold comment:  Because an umpire isn't a "fan", he's an umpire, he see things with his eyes, not his heart.  Totally unbiased

[Sayhey]

Oh, ok. Makes sense. Would being a "pitcher's umpire" or a "batter's" umpire fall into this category? I was a lead of hitter bunting and hitting singles. I have a tendency to call all shots down a line fair. As a hitter, I wanted that call. By calling most screamers down the lines fair, am I biased? Is that the player in me? Is that what Ted was saying? Or, what U r saying?

[Thunderheads]

Oh, ok. Makes sense. Would being a "pitcher's umpire" or a "batter's" umpire fall into this category? I was a lead of hitter bunting and hitting singles. I have a tendency to call all shots down a line fair. As a hitter, I wanted that call. By calling most screamers down the lines fair, am I biased? Is that the player in me? Is that what Ted was saying? Or, what U r saying?

Yes, ...that's not only a player mentality, ...but it's not umpiring, and it's not calling what you see.

[zm1283]

Oh, ok. Makes sense. Would being a "pitcher's umpire" or a "batter's" umpire fall into this category? I was a lead of hitter bunting and hitting singles. I have a tendency to call all shots down a line fair. As a hitter, I wanted that call. By calling most screamers down the lines fair, am I biased? Is that the player in me? Is that what Ted was saying? Or, what U r saying?

 

That or you're just not very good.

[Sayhey]

Smart ass reply from Am 1283. Unnecessary and not appreciated.

[Sayhey]

We all have tendencies. Some mlb umpires are pitcher's umpires and some aren't. I call what I see. I think we can have tendencies that influence how we see situations. That's not right but it is a human condition.

[zm1283]

Smart ass reply from Am 1283. Unnecessary and not appreciated.

 

 

We all have tendencies. Some mlb umpires are pitcher's umpires and some aren't. I call what I see. I think we can have tendencies that influence how we see situations. That's not right but it is a human condition.

 

You were suggesting that since you were a singles hitter or something, that you purposefully call anything close down the line fair just for the hell of it because the hitters want it. That's not a tendency, it's not following the rules to suit your preferences. 

 

Besides that, you should actually see every fair/foul call and have a pretty good idea what it is. 

[alan2703]

I agree I was a catcher for 25 years while it ahs helped me the strike zone, and the flow of the game my first year whenever I did the plate I would find myself calling pitches and locations in my head and would sometimes catch myself looking for that pitch it took a while before I was able to stop that and read the pitch at the release point and track accordingly. In the B and C first year groundball at me I did start to breakdown like I was gong to field it, but that problem was easy fix as the only time I was infiled as player was during BP with my mitt.

[RingEmUp]

I don't think it is necessary to have been a player to have a sense of the game in order to be a good umpire.  Does it help?  Probably.  I met a D-1 umpire that says he never played baseball and now he works SEC games and went up to Double A or Triple A before being released by MLB. 

 

As a hockey ref, I can tell you that you really need to have been a player because of the anticipation required.  Hockey is always in motion and you need to understand what the players might do.  What the players should do versus what they actually do can be completely opposite.  We've all seen those head scratchers when there is an easy third out play at 1st base only to see the ball thrown home on a non-force play. 

 

I've rambled a little but hopefully it makes sense.

[hbk314]

I feel like it helps to have a good understanding of the game as far as being able to ideally position yourself, but obviously you don't want to overdue it in case a player makes the unexpected play and you get caught out of position.