Umpiring for Dummies

[Sparky Guy]

One of the things I include with my team information at the start of each season is a copy of the softball myths. It seems to have cut down on a lot of the silly things coming out of the stands. For the most part they are confined to the dugout now.

Years ago I had a 10U team. Had a play that involved a steal with a caught foul tip. Had a couple of my parents raising a stink with the umpire about it being a foul ball and the runner having to go back. The umpire was trying to explain the rule to my parents. I stepped out of the dugout and told my parents the umpire made the correct call and I would explain the rule to them after the game. Then I quietly told the umpire he's doing an excellent job calling the game. Please let me educate my parents. They don't pay you enough to add that to your job description. He smiled, nodded and went back to calling the game.

 

[chinamigarden]

That's a pretty ignorant remark. My idea was to help parents avoid embarrassing themselves by saying something stupid and to help them recognize just briefly that umpires are human. Name on trade where everyone is perfect.

You also can't be a quality coach without actually knowing the rules.

The other side of things is that if parents would act with a fraction of the respect that they would demand from their own children, then maybe we wouldn't lose so many umpires in the first year or two of service.

Don't get your panties in a knot. I was (tongue in cheek) addressing riseball and specificly the make it mandatory for parents part of his post. But if you think that there are no umpires who don't know the rules then you have your head in the sand. I will stipulate that the majority (75%) of umps know the rules and do a fair job, but the rest to from middling to darn right poor when it comes to knowing their craft. To deny that is ignorant.

 

[Umpire]

Don't get your panties in a knot. I was (tongue in cheek) addressing riseball and specificly the make it mandatory for parents part of his post. But if you think that there are no umpires who don't know the rules then you have your head in the sand. I will stipulate that the majority (75%) of umps know the rules and do a fair job, but the rest to from middling to darn right poor when it comes to knowing their craft. To deny that is ignorant.

With respect to the terrible 25%, are they brand new umpires working their first season, are the so-called veterans, etc.? What do you know about them? I'm also not sure why your organization/league would have these 25% back so often as to allow you to make this determination.

 

[maksoftball]

I think it's a great idea, and while the attendance would be nil...it is because of priorities. Parents with active kids have a hard enough time scheduling everything, and a class like this would be a too optional.

I have always wanted the rule books to be chained to the fence in front of the stands...or chained to the seats of the bleachers (like bibles in churches LOL). Only thing is this would invite too many interruptions by parents flipping through the books and calling out to blue to look at this page or this rule or etc etc etc...

 

[T.J.]

It's a great idea, however I doubt many will attend. Time is valuable and I don't think many parents will have the interest in adding another thing to go to their schedule....many families have "softball" in one capacity or another 7-days a week.

What I did in the past was this...I gave each parent a binder at the first practice. Part of the binder had a "Rules Explanation Section". In this section I had handouts for the most common rules we see in the games....interference, obstruction, dropped 3rd, infield fly, look back, batter rounding first on a walk, etc. I would spend 10 minutes or so going over each rule (that we commonly see in the games).

Also, as part of my practices I would spend 5 minutes near the end of each practice teaching the kids a new rule. Most parents would watch and listen in.

I found this to be a great way to educate us all.

I know it means adding another thing for the manager to do, but it's all part of teaching the game and if you budget time for it, it can be done pretty efficiently.

 

[chinamigarden]

With respect to the terrible 25%, are they brand new umpires working their first season, are the so-called veterans, etc.? What do you know about them? I'm also not sure why your organization/league would have these 25% back so often as to allow you to make this determination.

Look at what some of the umpires post here. There often times are arguments among the umps about how a rule is applied. As for why umps are invited back, when I have the authority to tell NSA or USSSA or ASA which umps to allow to work at their tourneys I will be king of the softball world. I have seen just about every "myth" perpetuated by an ump. Where do you think parents get the idea that home plate is in foul ground, or that the batters box is some sort of safe haven from interference calls, or that when a batter rounds first on a walk she is out... They got that because in some game they watched an ump made that call.

 

[Umpire]

Look at what some of the umpires post here. There often times are arguments among the umps about how a rule is applied. As for why umps are invited back, when I have the authority to tell NSA or USSSA or ASA which umps to allow to work at their tourneys I will be king of the softball world. I have seen just about every "myth" perpetuated by an ump. Where do you think parents get the idea that home plate is in foul ground, or that the batters box is some sort of safe haven from interference calls, or that when a batter rounds first on a walk she is out... They got that because in some game they watched an ump made that call.

Well, there you have it folks. Parents and coaches have trouble with the rules because an umpire may have made a bad call.

 

[BretMan]

Look at what some of the umpires post here. There often times are arguments among the umps about how a rule is applied. As for why umps are invited back, when I have the authority to tell NSA or USSSA or ASA which umps to allow to work at their tourneys I will be king of the softball world. I have seen just about every "myth" perpetuated by an ump. Where do you think parents get the idea that home plate is in foul ground, or that the batters box is some sort of safe haven from interference calls, or that when a batter rounds first on a walk she is out... They got that because in some game they watched an ump made that call.

Let's think about this for a minute...

If 75% of the umpires know their stuff, and 25% don't (your figures), then wouldn't the correct call be made on these plays 75% of the time?

Why would parents- or anyone, for that matter- assume that the ruling made 75% of the time is the wrong one, while the ruling made 25% of the time is the right one?

If your figures and reasoning are accurate, I can draw only one conclusion: Parents are nuts!

 

[James Smith]

I have an umpire question:

We play with 1 ASA certified umpire, I am good with that and they know what they are doing. We do this to keep our costs down. What would you think about a non-certified umpire as the field umpire? Would this be more trouble to you then it is worth?

 

[eddieq]

I have an umpire question:

We play with 1 ASA certified umpire, I am good with that and they know what they are doing. We do this to keep our costs down. What would you think about a non-certified umpire as the field umpire? Would this be more trouble to you then it is worth?

My opinion is that if you want two umpires, pay for two umpires.