In another recent thread RADcatcher suggested I start a thread about what are and aren't proper things for an umpire to discuss with a player (especially the C).
I will go over my personal first inning spiel and a short laundry list of things I have talked to catchers about in the past. Remember, some of this is level-dependent, not because of improper content but because of applicability.
1st inning (while looking at the warm-up pitches from in the slot)
Hello, what is your name? I am either Ed or Mr. Lovrich, whichever you prefer. Blue is a color or the name of a hunting dog. What pitches has she got for me today? Does she throw them all anywhere in the count?
That will usually do it.
If the pitcher starts to look in on calls she disagrees with, I will call time and clean the plate between pitches, looking at the catcher, "Go out and tell her where those pitches are. Nobody wants me to be the one to have to deal with someone arguing balls and strikes." This of course presumes that I have been letting the catcher know when a pitch just misses and we have worked out what is and isn't a strike. The same thing if the dugout has been getting chirpy. I will tell the C that she is a leader on the field and needs to talk to the bench jockey before I have to.
In addition, and this is where knowing what the skill level of the game is, I MIGHT have a catcher go out and talk to a P about something mechanical that is getting borderline to being a violation. Honestly, this happens more in baseball where there is something that is close to a balk, but I wil let a C know if her battery-mate is getting close to a quick pitch.
Some might think this last part is coaching rather than preventive umpiring and I get that viewpoint. What do you coaches here think? What about you catchers? How much is too much? What is the difference between coaching and preventive umpiring?
There is one other thing I might say to the two players who can hear me talk (the batter and the catcher). If I have called a pitch that should have been a strike a ball, I will take a moment and tell the batter, "I wouldn't let that pitch go by again, I might have missed it"
I will go over my personal first inning spiel and a short laundry list of things I have talked to catchers about in the past. Remember, some of this is level-dependent, not because of improper content but because of applicability.
1st inning (while looking at the warm-up pitches from in the slot)
Hello, what is your name? I am either Ed or Mr. Lovrich, whichever you prefer. Blue is a color or the name of a hunting dog. What pitches has she got for me today? Does she throw them all anywhere in the count?
That will usually do it.
If the pitcher starts to look in on calls she disagrees with, I will call time and clean the plate between pitches, looking at the catcher, "Go out and tell her where those pitches are. Nobody wants me to be the one to have to deal with someone arguing balls and strikes." This of course presumes that I have been letting the catcher know when a pitch just misses and we have worked out what is and isn't a strike. The same thing if the dugout has been getting chirpy. I will tell the C that she is a leader on the field and needs to talk to the bench jockey before I have to.
In addition, and this is where knowing what the skill level of the game is, I MIGHT have a catcher go out and talk to a P about something mechanical that is getting borderline to being a violation. Honestly, this happens more in baseball where there is something that is close to a balk, but I wil let a C know if her battery-mate is getting close to a quick pitch.
Some might think this last part is coaching rather than preventive umpiring and I get that viewpoint. What do you coaches here think? What about you catchers? How much is too much? What is the difference between coaching and preventive umpiring?
There is one other thing I might say to the two players who can hear me talk (the batter and the catcher). If I have called a pitch that should have been a strike a ball, I will take a moment and tell the batter, "I wouldn't let that pitch go by again, I might have missed it"
