What do you guys do to get your "Baseball Mind" back?

[lkasnu]

For me in my area baseball stopped end of July and I feel like over the last 3 months I am in dire need of a refresher for the new season.  Is there something you guys do or some resources I can take advantage of to get my mind back on point?  Ideally a test would be a good start.

[conbo61]

Read.  Referee Magazine has their quiz from last year still up:  http://www.referee.com/resources/sport-specific-quizzes/

2017 NFHS Interps are posted:   https://www.nfhs.org/sports-resource-content/baseball-rules-interpretations-2017/#

Watch MLB Network with an umpire's eye.

Visit this website frequently.

That should get you rolling.

[Thunderheads]

I start reading the rule book now and of course, I'm always here  ....   @conbo61 is correct .... read, read, read ...articles, rulebooks, links, watch TV ...anything.  I always have my umpire camp in mid February and that usually starts "kicking things off for me" ......

That all being said .....we're umpires, .....do we ever NOT have a baseball mind?  

[Aging_Arbiter]

Clinics and Chapter meetings. 

Considering we had a decent snow yesterday, this is a great topic.  As you have already discovered, UMPIRE-EMPIRE.COM is an excellent resource to get your "baseball mind" back. Uh, wait.  ............or was that to lose your mind..............never mind. 

Clinics - There is a lot of little league in our area- so district & regional clinics help

Chapter meetings - Here in PA our first "play date" for HS ball is March 24.  However, our first HS chapter meeting is this coming Monday (Feb 24).  Rules review and discussions go a long way.

I'm sure there are MANY more soon to be posted, but this is the basic and "annual" ritual for me.

 

[JSam21]

I like to watch the COG videos on YouTube. Local spring clinics and association meetings also help

[conbo61]

The 2017 quiz was just posted this morning

http://www.referee.com/resources/sport-specific-quizzes/

[kylejt]

Our local TV station starts playing Padres rebroadcasts right after the Super Bowl (Funny, the Friars always seem to win those.) Just watching a full game will get you back into the rhythm of The Game.

So while I'm doing that, I'll drop into my stance when the umpire does. Good way to get your squats in.

More? Drop by the local batting cages, and sit behind the plate and watch the ball come in. No, not Happy Gilmore style, stupid. Behind the net.

Tests, charts, and classrooms have their place. But you also need to get into game rhythm. Getting that focus as the ball is being thrown at you. Following the ball around the infield. The sounds of the game, etc. Can't do that sitting on the head taking a quiz on your iPhone.

 

 

[Sut'n Blue]

 

Don't mean to go too far with the subject but the gym I go to on an almost daily basis is at a local, small college that has a baseball team. They just started indoor practice and are often practicing when I go in for my workout. I would love to jump in their cage and call balls and strikes. If anybody out there has done something similar, I would appreciate hearing how you approached it, what kind of obstacles you faced (for example, liability issues) and how/if you got feedback from the coaches /players. I'll probably never reach college ball but working the plate, even indoors in a cage, at college level can only help my game. And what a great way to get my head back to the game after winter (hopefully a long winter with lots of fresh powder).

[conbo61]

Our local HS allows us to come down on Sunday mornings and call pitches in their hitting cage.  GREAT way to knock the rust off of your eyeballs after a long winter. Live pitching and hitting, can't beat it.

We don't interfere with their workouts in any way and do answer RULES questions (no judgment issues.) The kids and coaches seem to appreciate the "feedback" of an umpire making calls. 

[conbo61]

2 hours ago, Sut'n Blue said:

 

Don't mean to go too far with the subject but the gym I go to on an almost daily basis is at a local, small college that has a baseball team. They just started indoor practice and are often practicing when I go in for my workout. I would love to jump in their cage and call balls and strikes. If anybody out there has done something similar, I would appreciate hearing how you approached it, what kind of obstacles you faced (for example, liability issues) and how/if you got feedback from the coaches /players. I'll probably never reach college ball but working the plate, even indoors in a cage, at college level can only help my game. And what a great way to get my head back to the game after winter (hopefully a long winter with lots of fresh Explain your goals and reassure the coach that you will be as unobtrusive as possible.

Introduce yourself as an umpire to the coach in charge and ask if you can observe for a while.  After a few practices ask if they would mind if you called pitches for a few batters.   Give the staff and team some time to get comfortable having you around and you will be able to judge the skills of the players as well.

Explain that you will not hold them liable,  but make sure you have NASO or ABUA insurance.  They may still ask you to sign something, but it all starts with an introduction.

[lkasnu]

Thanks for the tips guys.  I planned on going through my rulebook again, but reading is never enough for me, so that test is what I need.  I probably will attend a practice or two also.