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...

Supplemental Signals

On a force play when the ball initially beat the runner, but the fielder had leaped or pulled his foot off the base to...

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...

Timing Is Everything

“Timing is everything!” That expression is cemented when it comes to baseball umpiring. You can read rulebooks, study mechanics, go to camps and clinics...

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.”...

No Place For Intentional Pitches at Batters

On Aug. 16, 1920, in a game against the New York Yankees at the Polo Grounds, Cleveland shortstop Roy Chapman was hit in the head by a pitch...

Collision Course

An area that has received a lot of attention in recent years from rules committees at various levels of baseball involves malicious collisions between...

Nail the Postseason Transition to a Larger Crew

As high school baseball enters the postseason, umpires face a major transition beyond the mere increased intensity of the games. In many states, the arrival of postseason play brings...

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 inspection, many umpires...