Good Umpiring

[tghorley]

My DGD 12u team played in a tournament in Myrtle Beach, SC (beautiful weather by the way) this weekend. In one of our games I saw the best plate umpiring I have seen in a long time. With every ball that was called, he used subtle hand gestures to let the pitcher and batter know if the pitch, in his judgement of course, was outside, inside, low or high. This really helped both pitchers and batters understand his strike zone. He did not make wild gestures or in any way called attention to himself, just let the softball game be played. The best I remember, neither coach groaned or questioned any call that he made.

The funniest thing that happened, in another game, the umpire called a strike that was in the eyes of the batter. The first base coach hollered at the batter that if she swung at any pitches like that, she would be running laps after the game. Unfortunately the umpire immediately admitted that he missed the call to the first base coach and everyone else who was watching the game. I would prefer he just kept quite and if he just had to apologize, do it after the game.

Well, that was the last tournament for the year so let me start seeing my therapist for my withdrawal symptoms.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!!!

 

[quincy]

Most umpires are great, there is 1 I do not like at all.

If they are good they are part of the field and you do not notice them, this is why you need to thank them for doing a good job, win or lose.

 

[MTR]

My DGD 12u team played in a tournament in Myrtle Beach, SC (beautiful weather by the way) this weekend. In one of our games I saw the best plate umpiring I have seen in a long time. With every ball that was called, he used subtle hand gestures to let the pitcher and batter know if the pitch, in his judgement of course, was outside, inside, low or high. This really helped both pitchers and batters understand his strike zone. He did not make wild gestures or in any way called attention to himself, just let the softball game be played. The best I remember, neither coach groaned or questioned any call that he made.

The funniest thing that happened, in another game, the umpire called a strike that was in the eyes of the batter. The first base coach hollered at the batter that if she swung at any pitches like that, she would be running laps after the game. Unfortunately the umpire immediately admitted that he missed the call to the first base coach and everyone else who was watching the game. I would prefer he just kept quite and if he just had to apologize, do it after the game.

Well, that was the last tournament for the year so let me start seeing my therapist for my withdrawal symptoms.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!!!

Sarcasm! Who'd a thunk it?

 

[Comp]

My DGD 12u team played in a tournament in Myrtle Beach, SC (beautiful weather by the way) this weekend. In one of our games I saw the best plate umpiring I have seen in a long time. With every ball that was called, he used subtle hand gestures to let the pitcher and batter know if the pitch, in his judgement of course, was outside, inside, low or high. This really helped both pitchers and batters understand his strike zone. He did not make wild gestures or in any way called attention to himself, just let the softball game be played. The best I remember, neither coach groaned or questioned any call that he made.

Any umpiring clinic I have attended or any tournament I have worked, doing this is not considered to be a proper mechanic and would in fact have gotten anyone who did it called aside after the game. If the catcher wants to know where the pitch missed, they can quietly ask the umpire.

 

[Lozza]

Any umpiring clinic I have attended or any tournament I have worked, doing this is not considered to be a proper mechanic and would in fact have gotten anyone who did it called aside after the game. If the catcher wants to know where the pitch missed, they can quietly ask the umpire.

I think it's OK for the younger age groups as it will help them. Older ones it would drive me up the wall. I'll only ask when I want to know why it wasn't a strike. One of the umpires teases me because if I'm asking, I think he made the wrong call!

 

[tghorley]

Screwball, yes, the coach was joking. This team does not do laps even during practice. They incorporate all their running during intense, structured practices. He was just letting the umpire know he missed one without talking to them directly. The ump and coach had a good laugh about it after the game.

I agree with Lozza. The other team was a very young first year 12u team. The thing I liked about this umpire was he was very subtle with his hand motions and unless you were really paying attention, you would not even notice his gestures sometimes. But the batter and pitcher did learn and hopefully it will help them in the future.

 

[MTR]

I agree with Lozza. The other team was a very young first year 12u team. The thing I liked about this umpire was he was very subtle with his hand motions and unless you were really paying attention, you would not even notice his gestures sometimes. But the batter and pitcher did learn and hopefully it will help them in the future.

I disagree with Lozza. That is not umpiring, it is announcing. Some may even call it coaching. And 12U is no longer considered a young team classification. You want an umpire to do this to help your teams, keep it in scrimmages or practice. Once you start keeping score, the umpire should NOT be there for the kids, coaches, parents or anyone/anything else other than the game itself.

As Comp noted, it isn't the umpire's job to "announce" the game and those who do will be evaluated poorly. If you want to know what the umpire is seeing, COACH your catcher to communicate with him/her. While the strongest relationship on the field is the battery, the second could be the catcher and umpire. It is not unusual for catchers and umpires to talk the entire game and much of that conversation is letting the catcher know "what" caused a pitch to be ruled a ball. It is up to the catcher to take that information and use it.

[short rant]I love people who sit yards away and declare the umpire just called the "exact same pitch" in the "exact same place" differently. To start, the only person who can see if the ball crossed the plate is the umpire. The umpire's only responsibility once the ball is released is looking through the strike zone. Even the catcher cannot say for sure as his/her job is to catch the pitch and check runners, not look to see if it crossed the plate. And for those who think differently, it is a game of inches and what you may believe to be the same pitch in the same place probably wasn't if the ruling was different.[/short rant]

 

[tghorley]

[short rant]I love people who sit yards away and declare the umpire just called the "exact same pitch" in the "exact same place" differently. To start, the only person who can see if the ball crossed the plate is the umpire. The umpire's only responsibility once the ball is released is looking through the strike zone. Even the catcher cannot say for sure as his/her job is to catch the pitch and check runners, not look to see if it crossed the plate. And for those who think differently, it is a game of inches and what you may believe to be the same pitch in the same place probably wasn't if the ruling was different.[/short rant]

[short rant]I love umpires who think they call the "exact same pitch" in the "exact same place" the same every time.[/short rant]. Just kidding. I know that is the goal of every umpire and most of the time they do. But like the call in my first post, the ball was definitely in the batter's eyes and he called a strike. Probably 99.9% of the time he gets it correct, but this one time he missed it. They are human, not robots, so they will make mistakes at times. Umpires are not always right, but they are the umpires and are deserving of any and all respect.

As for the people in the stands, they are called fans and they are usually biased one way or the other. They paid their money to get in so let them have their opinion as long as they don't get ugly. A good umpire never hears them anyway.

And on this Thanksgiving day, I want to give my thanks to all the men and women who umpire not only softball but any sport. I know I could not do it.

 

[marriard]

I umpired several sports over time up to the D1 level and I don't envy softball/baseball umpires - there is a lot of isolated judgement calls to make both with strikes/balls and close base running plays amongst other things.

The best umpires - well at least the ones I like - do the following:

- Good solid sized strike zone. Give me knees, corners and numbers or at least that sized zone. Don't make the pitcher throw it in a ball sized box or have to throw it in the hitters 'zone' to get a strike called. Especially for younger divisions - I can't stand umpires who wont call close strikes for a first year 10U pitcher throwing to some tiny first year player or umpires that only call strikes on waist high, middle of the plate pitches.
- Understanding the level you are umpiring (see above). Also take every level you umpire seriously - everyone deserves your best effort in 8U as much as 18U or college and every level in between.
- When an appeal is made, if asked to, go talk to the other umpire. There is no reason not to even if you 100% have the call and it is 100% your call to make. So the conversation you have is "I saw it and got it right" and they reply "Uh huh. OK". Don't be defensive. Be willing to discuss. Communicate. Even if you miss a call you can make it easy on yourself by good communication.
- Solid understanding of the rules. I - as a non-umpire - should not know the rules better than you do. If you tell me 'the hand are part of the bat' or you can't properly explain the 'lookback rule' then you shouldn't be out there.
- Don't 'coach' players without one of the player's coaches out there with you. For example, if you want to talk to a pitcher about an illegal motion or whatever then call the coach in.

As others have said, if you barely notice the umpire is there then they are doing a fantastic job. If they understand how to communicate properly then most situations will be handled without problems.

And +1 to say thanks to all those who umpire this and any other sport.

 

[MTR]

When an appeal is made, if asked to, go talk to the other umpire. There is no reason not to even if you 100% have the call and it is 100% your call to make. So the conversation you have is "I saw it and got it right" and they reply "Uh huh. OK".

Nope, would not agree with this under any circumstance. What you just proposed is lying to the coach. It also puts your partner a precarious light. If the coach honestly believes you missed part of the play, you have just thrown your partner under the bus just to make yourself look amicable.

If an umpire believes it is possible s/he may have missed part of the play, there should be no question about going for help if asked. An umpire should ask the partner a specific question as it pertains to the coach's concern. If you ask a question, expect a direct and honest answer. If you have no doubts you had the entire play, just tell the coach you had the play and move on.

Oh, BTW, this isn't not an appeal, just simply asking an umpire request assistence from his/her partner.