Head position...

[urout17]

First off, I've never been to a professional umpire camp. With that said, I'm not a professional nor do I claim to be. The highest level I work is DII. Are they teaching a lower setup position for calling pitches?  The last three umpires in the WS have had their eyes almost at the same height as the catcher more so than not.  If I did that, I'd get reamed by my organization (and maybe a few head coaches).  I'd just like to know.  Thank you.

[grayhawk]

I think some of these guys have

[grayhawk]

So...

[SeeingEyeDog]

We have four guys at the MLB level from my association. There is by no means a mandate on "working low" but, the guys who are doing it, are doing it because the data indicates it gives them the best accuracy.

~Dawg

[Jimurray]

Looks like a “super slot”. Used when they are squeezed by the lean. Not recommended for us amateurs. 

[rcjhyman]

These guys weren't being squeezed. I noted Porter doing it for every batter.

[BLWizzRanger]

1 hour ago, rcjhyman said:

These guys weren't being squeezed. I noted Porter doing it for every batter.

As I mentioned in the other thread where I personally noted his style, he does it for every game every batter.  And amateur or not, it helped me when I tried to emulate him.

[BigBlue4u]

9 hours ago, rcjhyman said:

These guys weren't being squeezed. I noted Porter doing it for every batter.

And, FYI, Porter missed only four pitches the entire game.!

[JHSump]

I think it is easier to judge low pitches when you are closer to the height of those low pitches. You can try this out in your living room. Put a chair near a bookshelf. Stand up over the chair and try to judge the height of the chair's seat relative to some point on the books, or whatever. Then crouch down so your eyes are nearly at the seat level. Now judge the height of the seat relative to the books. It will be obvious which is the better look.

Of course, you might lose some judgment on the outside corner. But every position is a matter of compromise. You gain on judging the lower level of the zone, lose on the outside edge. Standing high gives you a better look at the outside corner, but lesser look at the lower boundary.

Maybe they are more concerned with that low pitch. I can understand that.

[catsbackr]

This is my typical positioning.

[MidAmUmp]

There are 2 schools of thought. 
One is put your chin at the top of the catcher’s head and maintain the same head height on every pitch. 
The other is put your eyes at the top of the zone and adjust to the height of each batter - get your eyes under the batter’s elbow. This is what I do. If my eyes move up, the pitch is a ball. My eyes do not strain on a low pitch until about 2 balls below the knee. My Trackman reports reflect that I’m getting those pitches correct. 

[The Man in Blue]

On 10/31/2025 at 5:15 PM, BigBlue4u said:

And, FYI, Porter missed only four pitches the entire game.!

Yeah, but he MISSED FOUR pitches!  Come on, Alan, get better!  

 

On 11/25/2025 at 8:29 AM, JHSump said:

I think it is easier to judge low pitches when you are closer to the height of those low pitches. You can try this out in your living room. Put a chair near a bookshelf. Stand up over the chair and try to judge the height of the chair's seat relative to some point on the books, or whatever. Then crouch down so your eyes are nearly at the seat level. Now judge the height of the seat relative to the books. It will be obvious which is the better look.

Of course, you might lose some judgment on the outside corner. But every position is a matter of compromise. You gain on judging the lower level of the zone, lose on the outside edge. Standing high gives you a better look at the outside corner, but lesser look at the lower boundary.

Maybe they are more concerned with that low pitch. I can understand that.

I like that chair exercise!

Inside/outside shouldn't  be a place where we lose much judgment (I know that is much easier said than done) as those boundaries do not change.  This is an area that I work on new umpires to NAIL: call the plate, it doesn't move.  Figure out your method for determining where the inner and outer edges of he plate are and make knowing the plate second nature.  Outside: Are you lining up your inside foot?  Are you flaring your elbow (as in @catsbackr's picture) to touch the line?  Are you "grooving" a line in front of the plate when you brush the plate off?  Are you using the batter's box lines?  Inside: are you lining up your chin/nose? Your belly button?  Whatever it is, figure out your method and call the plate, it doesn't move.

Yes, at the amateur level we often adjust that zone, and that is fine.  In order to tell me you are calling two balls off the plate for a sloppy JV game, you first have to know where the plate is.  Calling those intentionally is NOT the same as calling those because you are missing them.

 

On 12/5/2025 at 7:12 PM, catsbackr said:

This is my typical positioning.

 

It's all about angles and how we read those angles individually.  Personally, I think you look very high up, but that could also be the angle of the photo.  That said, if it works for you, it WORKS for you.  I don't believe in telling somebody they should adhere to the cookie-cutter model as long as what they are doing works for them.  I believe in changing things only when something isn't working.  Same philosophy I had when I coached players.  It drove me up a wall to hear parents saying "raise your elbow, step further, turn more!" before a kid even took a pitch.  I don't care if your kid looks like a hitter, I want them to be a hitter.

 

On 12/6/2025 at 12:05 AM, MidAmUmp said:

There are 2 schools of thought. 
One is put your chin at the top of the catcher’s head and maintain the same head height on every pitch. 
The other is put your eyes at the top of the zone and adjust to the height of each batter - get your eyes under the batter’s elbow. This is what I do. If my eyes move up, the pitch is a ball. My eyes do not strain on a low pitch until about 2 balls below the knee. My Trackman reports reflect that I’m getting those pitches correct. 

This is my preferred method as well.  If you have made the plate second nature, that leaves you with just one "uncovered" boundary that you need to define: the bottom.  I don't think we talk enough about the bottom.