Baseball
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...
Hot Buttons
You can’t teach an old dog new tricks, and apparently you can’t get umpires — old, new or in between — to clean up...
Listen Up to Go Up
“Keep your mouth shut and listen.”
Although it sounds harsh, it might be one of the most important pieces of advice an aspiring umpire can...
Always Assume You Are Being Assessed
For roughly the first half of my amateur umpiring career — which lasted from 1966-2016 — umpires could go about their business without having to deal with rating...
Seeing Is Believing
No matter what umpiring mechanics are being used in a particular game — whether it’s a single umpire working a youth baseball game or...
No Happy Accidents
Last summer, I was working the bases as part of a two-person crew when it became apparent the defensive team was thinking about making...
All Eyes Are On You
There are close plays all over a baseball field and in every game. Half-steppers at first base. Fingertips on stolen base attempts. Pitches at...
Catcher You Later
By Jon Bible
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...
Eye Didn’t Miss It
Umpiring a baseball game is full of visual challenges. Some are unusual and others are more common. In a recent game, the uninformed runner...
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...
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...
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...
5 Time-Tested Tips to Be Great Behind the Plate
There is nothing quite like the feeling of walking off the field after a stellar performance behind the plate. But having a great game calling balls and strikes...
A Major League Road to Fitness
“If you slow down, life will stab you on the back,” says Mackie Shilstone. “Disease will find you.”
It’s a strong message delivered to a...
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...
8 Ways to Avoid Perception Issues
It’s always useful to review a few perception issues that can get umpires off on the wrong foot at the start of a contest or create negative feelings...
High Time to Talk Timing
U
mpires always stress the importance of good timing behind the plate (and on the bases, but that’s a topic for another day). But to...
How to Have a Playoff Mentality On and Off the Field
For those lucky enough to be chosen for postseason assignments, it’s a reward for a job well done during the season. But there can be pitfalls. Most umpires do...
Tips for When You Struggle on the Bases
What do you do when you’re struggling on the bases? We’re all going to have bang-bang plays where we do everything right but freeze-frame...
Eight Habits to Improve Your Play Positioning
Does your association have “good umpires”? Certainly it does. But are there a few umpires acknowledged to be better than the rest of the...
‘Feel It’ at First Base
While extra education at camp is invaluable for umpires who are dedicated to working on their craft and/or looking to advance to a higher...
Pick the Proper Protocol with Pitchers
Every umpire will encounter pitchers who aren’t happy with him or her. I had a generous strike zone, but even so a pitcher would...
Unexpected Calls Require Strong Voice, Signals
We are all taught early in our umpire training that some plays will occur that need to be sold harder than others. The type...
