One Man Mechanics abd Balks

[Brandon7]

Hey guys. 

This week I'm umpiring a 13u game in Idaho. I am going to be the only umpire on the field for this game. I have worked one man mech. before, but I am always willing to learn new techniques from more experienced umpires. I also have a lot of trouble calling balks when I am behind the plate. Any suggestions on this as well? 

Thank you. 

 

[Jimurray]

29 minutes ago, Brandon7 said:

Hey guys. 

This week I'm umpiring a 13u game in Idaho. I am going to be the only umpire on the field for this game. I have worked one man mech. before, but I am always willing to learn new techniques from more experienced umpires. I also have a lot of trouble calling balks when I am behind the plate. Any suggestions on this as well? 

Thank you. 

 

Don't go down into slot until you see a stop. 

[The Man in Blue]

Be willing to “sorry coach, that’s what I saw/didn’t see”.  

If you are only going to hire one ump, you only get one set of eyes.

There are going to be things you cannot see.  Only call what you can see.  If they don’t like it, see above.

 

[agdz59]

10 minutes ago, The Man in Blue said:

Be willing to “sorry coach, that’s what I saw/didn’t see”.  

If you are only going to hire one ump, you only get one set of eyes.

There are going to be things you cannot see.  Only call what you can see.  If they don’t like it, see above.

 

I always bring that up at the plate meeting in these situations.

[grayhawk]

3 hours ago, agdz59 said:

I always bring that up at the plate meeting in these situations.

Level dependent, but I am not a fan of calling attention to the limitations of working solo at the plate meeting.  I mean, there are limitations of the 2 man system as compared to three man as well.  Do we point those out in 2 man games?

[maven]

I agree.

Calling attention to how "few" umpires there are is what we might call "pre-confrontational." It puts the idea that we will miss something into a coach's mind, in order to pre-argue that we can't do any better.

I had a partner who would (with 2 umpires) announce, "we're going to miss some calls, but we're working hard!" This sort of announcement is an example of what psychologists call 'priming.'

Here's another example: research shows that by asking college students who are about to take a test how many of the 10 commandments they can name, they become many times less likely to cheat on the test (regardless of how many they can name). The mere question primes them to be more ethical.

So we teach: don't prime coaches to become confrontational. If an issue comes up, deal with it in the moment.

[The Man in Blue]

Just like @agdz59’s statement primed me to expect this discussion again.  

[Biscuit]

Working solo, there's not a lot of balks (other than the obvious stuff) that you're probably gonna get. Do your best, get what you see, but don't be bothered when you hear complaining about balks. Or steals at second. Or swipe tags behind the SS. Or any of the other billion plays you have to guess on working solo. 

[Aging_Arbiter]

15 hours ago, Biscuit said:

Or any of the other billion plays you have to guess on working solo. 

I understand where you're coming from, but 1) I don't work solo, and 2) I don't guess.  Either I saw a (insert scenario here), or I didn't.  Never guess.

[The Man in Blue]

Sorry coach.  I’ll let you know when I hear back from my partner as to what he had on that play.

[beerguy55]

On 9/29/2019 at 6:45 PM, maven said:

 

So we teach: don't prime coaches to become confrontational. If an issue comes up, deal with it in the moment.

instead - prime them to be passive and accepting.  This is usually accomplished by handing out pot at the plate meeting.

[Replacematt]

54 minutes ago, beerguy55 said:

instead - prime them to be passive and accepting.  This is usually accomplished by handing out pot at the plate meeting.

Make sure it's indica and not sativa.

[GPblue]

Have only worked one 1 man in the last 10 years, which I did this year(had an off day in my college schedule and my HS assignor needed a favor and field was in my back yard).  The only thing I said in the plate conference was "guys I am going to work hard for you. if you have a question please call time and ask me in a professional manner, and I will give you what I have"

Just remember, we are independent contractors and have made the decision to agree to work the one man game.  If you feel that you have a call, stand by your judgement and let them know "from this angle, that is the call I have."

If you feel that one man isn't something you want to manage, consider that when accepting or declining the assignment.

[The Man in Blue]

  Why tell them you are going to work hard for them?  Do you not work hard during a game normally?  Why for them?  Do you not work hard for other coaches?
 

Back to seriousness ... It’s not always assigned as a one-umpire game ... but yes, I agree @GPblue that it is something to consider if it is known before game time.

[beerguy55]

If a coach doesn't inherently understand the limitations of a one many crew he is either a class A moron, or is literally coaching his first game of his life.

I'm a coach - you have no requirement to tell/warn/prime me to the potential pitfalls of a one man crew....nor do you have to assure me you're going to do your best.  My assumption is you have a job, you're paid to do that job, you're going to fulfill your professional duties to the best of your ability.   The fact that you're alone, rather than with a partner, is not going to impede your ability or desire to hustle, and i don't need to  be reminded of that.

As a coach, my only ask (which I would never say between the fences, but will in casual conversation outside) is to not guess, project or extrapolate...call what you see, don't call what you don't see.   Everything else comes out in the wash.

[The Man in Blue]

Oh come on @beerguy55!

EVERYBODY knows a single coach sitting on a bucket from a side angle can see the whole game!  Heck, even that lone nut untrained parent sitting 4 rows back in the bleachers can see it all!  (Granted, we all know about the magical properties of chain link fence and that helps  ...)

Why the heck can’t the one guy getting paid to see it actually see what is happening?!  It’s so obvious to everybody else!

Come on!  
 

 

 

I shouldn’t need this, but ...

 

 

[Biscuit]

On 9/30/2019 at 2:23 PM, Aging_Arbiter said:

I understand where you're coming from, but 1) I don't work solo, and 2) I don't guess.  Either I saw a (insert scenario here), or I didn't.  Never guess.

Agreed, that was partially in jest. An assignor has to be willing to pay me at LEAST two fees before I'm willing to work solo. He'd be paying that much for two any way (luckily, I don't live in the part of the country where working solo ever happens outside of someone screwing up. 

[mbates50]

On 9/29/2019 at 5:45 PM, maven said:

I agree.

Calling attention to how "few" umpires there are is what we might call "pre-confrontational." It puts the idea that we will miss something into a coach's mind, in order to pre-argue that we can't do any better.

I had a partner who would (with 2 umpires) announce, "we're going to miss some calls, but we're working hard!" This sort of announcement is an example of what psychologists call 'priming.'

Here's another example: research shows that by asking college students who are about to take a test how many of the 10 commandments they can name, they become many times less likely to cheat on the test (regardless of how many they can name). The mere question primes them to be more ethical.

So we teach: don't prime coaches to become confrontational. If an issue comes up, deal with it in the moment.

With all due respect, I'd tell that "partner" to shut the f..k up!!!

[BobUmp]

On 10/1/2019 at 12:57 PM, GPblue said:

Have only worked one 1 man in the last 10 years, which I did this year(had an off day in my college schedule and my HS assignor needed a favor and field was in my back yard).  The only thing I said in the plate conference was "guys I am going to work hard for you. if you have a question please call time and ask me in a professional manner, and I will give you what I have"

Just remember, we are independent contractors and have made the decision to agree to work the one man game.  If you feel that you have a call, stand by your judgement and let them know "from this angle, that is the call I have."

If you feel that one man isn't something you want to manage, consider that when accepting or declining the assignment.

The "from this angle, that is the call I have." line has worked great for me in the past.. And at all levels of play where I was working solo either due to a) injury b) no-show c) schedule screw-up or last minute game add, or d) lower level/ lower age planned one-man game.. never have to bring up anything at a plate meeting to prime them - when the inevitable back-swipe at second on a steal happens, I just pull that line out on whichever coach questions the call (depending on what call i made). When they are asking about a a no-call on what they thought was a balk, It's modified to "from my angle, i did not see a balk".

A good suggestion from above that works in 1 man (2 or 3 man as well) is to not lock yourself in until the pitcher stops in his set and starts his pitching motion.  Part of my timing is to stay up until that point then come down and lock in (it helps when you have catchers that move around pre-pitch as well, you can make small adjustments to ensure you have a good lane in the slot to look at the pitch). That way you got a good look for the most common "obvious' balks that may cause consternation from coaches if you miss them.