Playoffs Pre-game - Anything to be said other than what said in a regular season pregame?

[Side Retired]

Given the stakes are higher should umpires add anything to the pregame meeting of playoff game beyond what is usually covered in a regular season pregame? Such as clarifying a tight strike zone or will verbalize of a dropped third strike signal or will pay more attention to balk mechanics? If anything, what is recommended? Do you not address the fact that it’s a playoff game?

[beerguy55]

55 minutes ago, Side Retired said:

Given the stakes are higher should umpires add anything to the pregame meeting of playoff game beyond what is usually covered in a regular season pregame? Such as clarifying a tight strike zone or will verbalize of a dropped third strike signal or will pay more attention to balk mechanics? If anything, what is recommended? Do you not address the fact that it’s a playoff game?

Why would you change how you officiate a game because it's "higher stake"?

This is EXACTLY why coaches get frustrated - something that never got called all year suddenly gets called in the final game of the season - either because they've found am ump who consistently calls the rules all year, or, more common, the umpire has decided he better start doing his job in front of the evaluators.

I'd rather the ump be a hard ass in the first exhibition game of the season to set the standard and expectation.

The stakes may be higher, but the approach to judgment should be the same.  Sure, there may be some minor game management adjustments in pure recreational games, but there should not be anything in a playoff game that is handled so differently that it warrants bringing attention to it.

 

[JonnyCat]

1 hour ago, Side Retired said:

Such as clarifying a tight strike zone or will verbalize of a dropped third strike signal or will pay more attention to balk mechanics? If anything, what is recommended?

The plate meeting is not meant to be a pontification from the plate umpire. Short and to the point. Introductions, line up cards, ground rules, play ball. That's it. You can add some things in such as time limits, if any. Some organizations such as Little League want the PU to verify who is the official pitch counter and scorekeeper. If your association wants you to say something particular, then go ahead, but keep it short. Around 2 minutes is about all you should need.

Why on earth would you ever want to talk about the strike zone? Just no, not ever. The plate meeting is not a rules clinic either. Keep it simple and don't waste your breath. Why? It's not necessary, and the managers are not listening anyway. They are thinking about the game and want to get going. Doesn't matter if it's a playoff or regular season game. Keep it the same and short every time. 

Did I mention it should be short?😄

[SH0102]

14 minutes ago, JonnyCat said:

The plate meeting is not meant to be a pontification from the plate umpire. Short and to the point. Introductions, line up cards, ground rules, play ball. That's it. You can add some things in such as time limits, if any. Some organizations such as Little League want the PU to verify who is the official pitch counter and scorekeeper. If your association wants you to say something particular, then go ahead, but keep it short. Around 2 minutes is about all you should need.

Why on earth would you ever want to talk about the strike zone? Just no, not ever. The plate meeting is not a rules clinic either. Keep it simple and don't waste your breath. Why? It's not necessary, and the managers are not listening anyway. They are thinking about the game and want to get going. Doesn't matter if it's a playoff or regular season game. Keep it the same and short every time. 

Did I mention it should be short?😄

Pretty sure OP asked about umpire pregame, not plate mtg

[Velho]

Assuming you mean umpire pregame and not the plate meeting...

It's more a function of familiarity with the crew and the field.

A crew of 4 that are trained the same and have worked together often, at a field they've been to frequently? Nothing special. Have to be there early for extra pomp & circumstance is all.

A group I've never worked with minimally, some of whom were trained differently? We're talking through situations in more detail. Maybe not taking a simple nod or yes as enough.

 

In both cases, a new field we've never been to before (especially a messy one)? We walk the field, talking through this that and the other aspects.

[The Man in Blue]

5 hours ago, SH0102 said:

Pretty sure OP asked about umpire pregame, not plate mtg

Based on the questions asked, I totally got plate meeting.  Why does my partner care about a tight strike zone?  

I would say the only thing that should change is having to introduce more umpires.

"Coach, I've been working solo games all season, so I don't know why they think I need 3 guys for this game.  Took $10 out of my pay, too.  Anyway, that's Larry, that's his brother Darryl, and that's his other brother Darryl.  Play ball.  Oh, and save me a hot dog and a bag of popcorn for after the game."

 

(Since it is post season, I am pretty sure this guy is working it.)

[JonnyCat]

19 hours ago, SH0102 said:

Pretty sure OP asked about umpire pregame, not plate mtg

I interpreted what the OP was talking about was the plate meeting. The OP called it a pregame meeting and not specifically the umpires pregame. I could be wrong, but why would you be talking about those things to your partners?

If I missed the mark, I apologize.

[UAME]

For a plate meeting with the coaches, there's no need to cover any of the things you mentioned.  First round playoff games have as good (or higher) chance of being mercy-ruled than regular games and require the same game management skills (ie., EXPANDING the zone, when appropriate) as any everyday game.  I hope we are all officiating balk rules the same in the regular season as we are the playoffs, or we're doing a disservice to be springing a penalty on pitchers during an elimination game that we haven't called all year because those games "didn't matter."

That said, I DO add this statement to my "sportsmanship" sentence during the playoffs:

"Coaches, we expect the standard for sportsmanship to be upheld by the men standing around this plate.  These young men will have extra adrenaline and testosterone flowing in what for some of them will be the last time they ever get to play this great game.  Let's help them handle those emotions, respect the opponent and respect the game of baseball.  Good luck!"

[SeeingEyeDog]

Plate meeting? If I'm running it, I will typically add something like, "Congratulations and welcome to the [insert year] [insert state name here] [insert district, regional, state] playoffs." and then proceed with the usual plate meeting (legally and properly equipped, lineups, the field, sportsmanship, etc.), making special note of any playoff specific rules changes. One that newer coaches get confused about is whether our usual 10 after 5 run rule applies. It does and I will remind them of that.

Pre-game meeting with my partners? It's the playoffs. We don't need an overwrought pre-game where you have a power point presentation on an overhead screen there in the parking lot going over coverages but, you do want to have a THOROUGH pre-game. Fair/foul responsibilities, catch/no-catch responsibilities, plays with the ball and plays without the ball and rotational coverages. Discuss dugout coverages. Discuss crew consults (the ENTIRE crew gets together, even if someone doesn't have something to contribute on what happened on the play, if there is a rule application, it helps to have everyone there in case there's confusion about final adjudication. Our custom is the crew chief delivers the final ruling, regardless of whether they made the initial call or not. Your crew may do something different.) In my opinion, this is not time for association gossip, plays from last week or social time. If you don't have something relevant to pre-gaming, keep it professional.

~Dawg

[WIUMP]

When I stepped away from umpiring, I spent time as the commissioner and assignor for a HS-aged summer league. We had a few rule differences in the playoffs—mainly removing regular-season rules that were there for pace and participation. Our playoffs were not intense but some years we were able to play at some nicer college facilities and had more personnel on board (public address, score keeper, score board, etc.).

Here's what I would discuss in addition to the regular pre-game conversation:

• Codified changes or differences in rules and/or enforcement for playoff games.
• Added administrative responsibilities (if present): communicating with an official scorekeeper and press box, lineup submission and verification, ground rules if at a neutral site, game reporting to league or organization.
• Game management strategies. Trust my AD experience, ejections and restrictions are messier in the playoffs, especially in education-based athletics. Not that you should take more SH*# in the playoffs, but discussing game management with your partner may help you both be proactive in avoiding situations before you get to restricting and ejecting.
• EDIT: I should have added additional discussion for working crew of three, crew of four, or crew of six (ha!).

[jimurrayalterego]

3 hours ago, Matthew Turner said:

 

• Added administrative responsibilities (if present): communicating with an official scorekeeper and press box,

Watched an out of town playoff crew at a high level stadium. PU would signal subs with a wave and then a point. He was waving however to the paid skybox behind HP. Scorekeeper box was up behind 3B. They did still get the changes so no harm.

[The Man in Blue]

"Who the hell are you waving at back there?"

"Did you see the third baseman's mom?  Hoping she'll notice me."

[SeeingEyeDog]

What do you guys think about reviewing whatever experiences you've had with either coach or sharing things you're aware of about a coach?

Looking at it conversely...I want to know what I'm walking into. Oh...the last time you had this coach you ejected him for repeated balls and strikes issues? Whatever it is, I think it's important to know if there's a history there.

Anybody have anything else here?

~Dawg

[WIUMP]

1 hour ago, SeeingEyeDog said:

What do you guys think about reviewing whatever experiences you've had with either coach or sharing things you're aware of about a coach?

Looking at it conversely...I want to know what I'm walking into. Oh...the last time you had this coach you ejected him for repeated balls and strikes issues? Whatever it is, I think it's important to know if there's a history there.

Anybody have anything else here?

~Dawg

Absolutely. This doesn't even have to be negative. You or a partner may know that a particular coach uses the player-DH rule or likes to squeeze with R2 & R3, or any other uncommon situation in your area. But you can definitely discuss coaches who may be a problem or rivalry games or teams with bad blood. As an AD, I've reached out to officials, usually football or basketball, when a game was going to have heightened intensity.

Having both coached and umpired, I've had umpires tell me that they pre-gamed for my 1st & 3rd offensive plays and my propensity to re-enter my DH and re-enter the player in who's place he was hitting (which usually got arguments from confused opposing coaches).

[beerguy55]

10 hours ago, SeeingEyeDog said:

Looking at it conversely...I want to know what I'm walking into. Oh...the last time you had this coach you ejected him for repeated balls and strikes issues? Whatever it is, I think it's important to know if there's a history there.

As long you don't mistake "I've umped for this coach once in my entire life" for "history".

 

[TheLovejoy]

On 4/8/2026 at 10:55 AM, Matthew Turner said:

 We had a few rule differences in the playoffs—mainly removing regular-season rules that were there for pace and participation. Our playoffs were not intense but some years we were able to play at some nicer college facilities and had more personnel on board (public address, score keeper, score board, etc.).

Here's what I would discuss in addition to the regular pre-game conversation:

• Codified changes or differences in rules and/or enforcement for playoff games.

  This is how it is for American Legion Baseball games. During the regular season, they allow Re-Entry, courtesy runners for pitcher/catcher, 15 after 3 run rule....then once post-season comes...they go straight OBR rules (with a 10 after5). So, the regional, state, super regionals, all have different rules than what they've been playing all year. 

I do indeed address these differences at the plate meeting for post-season.