Don’t Get An ‘Oh, S—!’ Reputation
By Jeffrey Stern
I’m guessing you can fill in the blanks in the title of this post. If you haven’t used the word even once...
Pleasure Crews
"Perception is reality.” When it comes to officiating team sports, that’s often the absolute truth. It doesn’t matter what sport you’re officiating, crew cohesion...
Slap-Hitters and Bunters Force You To Think Outside The Box
With first base only 60 feet away from home plate in softball compared to 90 in baseball, the left-handed slap hit is a major...
Optimal Positioning at Home Plate
The evolution of the mechanics of calling plays at home plate has been fascinating to observe.
Plate umpires can make decisions on 250 to 300...
Advanced Softball Mechanics
Today’s players are quicker, faster, stronger, smarter, more athletic and better coached. Ask yourself: are our mechanics keeping pace with the rapid development of...
Rare Rulings Well Done
No one has ever attempted to rank fouls in the order of the difficulty in calling them. However, it’s clear there is a pecking...
Slot Machine
The most important job in a game, and often the most difficult, is calling an accurate strike zone. In order to be accurate, you...
Changing a Call
For many years, an umpire changing a call was considered a sign of weakness. The current thinking at all levels of play is that...
Take Your Line Judge Game to the Next Level
Line judging, at any level, has its challenges. The game can move quickly and there are so many things to watch and think about...
Hold(er) Everything
When thinking of players associated with the kicking game, the usual focus is on those who kick the ball and team R players attempting...
From Zoned Out to Zen Master
In the 1984 College World Series, I had the plate in a semifinal game. Pitch one was a slider on the edge of home...
Rungs of the ladder
In my time as a minor league and collegiate umpire and supervisor, I was often asked what umpires should do to move up the...
Two Batters, One Pitch and a Wild Cubs-Cardinals Brawl
In a 26-year career as an NL umpire, totaling 3,743 regular-season games, Terry Tata says few stand out. Aside from the high-profile, postseason and...
Focus on the Feet to Get Traveling Rulings Right
There are those who proclaim that the block/charge call is the most difficult in basketball. Consistently getting traveling rulings right at the end of...
Do You Take The Easy Way Out?
The officiating culture can be brutal. An easy way out of a tough situation might seem like a good idea sometimes. After all, certain officials...
‘In’s’ and Outs
There are two rules that often give umpires pause during a game — infield fly and intentional drops. The rules regarding each are relatively...
Keep a Watchful Eye on Baserunners Into Bags
Any time there is a close play at a base, umpires have a lot to focus on. This is especially true when there is...
Hit by Pitch Doesn’t Always Mean a Base Award
The earliest umpires didn’t have much of a decision to make when a batter was hit by a pitch. A pitch hitting the batter’s...
Passer Gets Extra Attention
Philosophies, rules and mechanics have increasingly stressed the need to officiate through the passer — in other words, pay particular attention to contact on...
Safety Glasses
The opening kickoff sails over the goalline. The ball is muffed in flight by the receiver and rolls away. The ball is recovered and...
Batboys
Where are all the batboys? What happened to them? And when did they disappear?
In this context, I’m referring to the little kids (usually but...
Early Movement By Either Team May Call For Flags
O
ffensive players are prohibited from committing a false start before the snap. There are two movements that are illegal for all team A players:...
Handling Tough Situations on Difficult Pitches
One of the toughest jobs for a softball umpire is ruling on inside pitches. There is a lot happening at once and there are a lot of moving...
Teaching Lessons in Blow-Ups
Many of you have heard or read about and have an opinion on the Serena Williams outburst during the U.S. Open tennis tournament recently....