Baseball
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...
You Say It Best When You Say Nothing At All
I’ve always felt the following are some of the greatest sayings relating to speaking: “You can’t be misquoted for something when you say nothing.”...
Improve Your View of the Play
When an article says that using your eyes properly will improve your umpiring skills, your immediate reaction is probably, “No kidding.” But upon closer...
When To Stop A Game
When to stop a game because of darkness or weather are among the toughest calls of an umpire's career. Next to those, you might think...
11 Hacks for Onfield Umpires
With a new baseball season rolling along, here are a few tips and hacks involving plate work that can help you out as an...
How to Keep Calm During Rundowns
Rundowns are usually the result of a runner being too aggressive. Depending on the level of play, players may go into panic mode. Umpires...
How Should We Relate To Catchers?
A long-standing topic of debate in baseball circles is how we should relate to catchers. There are several schools of thought.
I’ve heard some umpires...
Pre-Pitch Checklist For Improved Focus
Over the years, I found that the best way to stay focused and lessen the chance of a screw-up is to go through a...
Use Fundamentals When Changing Field Size
We’ve all been there. It’s your night off. You’re settling into your seat to watch your kids or your friend’s kids play a game...
10 Tips to Move Up the College Baseball Ranks
An umpire buddy was planning a presentation to a high school umpires association on how to advance to the college level and asked me...
