Baseball
When ‘Time’ is Right
Most baseball games are routine in terms of the calls the umpires must make. We know the plate umpire has to call balls and...
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...
Reducing Apparel Costs Works For Umpire Recruitment
The Fox Valley Blues Umpires Association (FVB) is a baseball umpires association in the Chicago metropolitan area which has been in steady growth mode...
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...
How Minor League Umpires Are Made
More than just baseballs get thrown at the Minor League Baseball Umpire Academy, nestled in Historic Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Fla. Attendees seeking to...
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...
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...
Manage Dead Time for the Right Pace
Baseball is played without a clock, but increasing game times are very much on the minds of many involved with overseeing the game, particularly...
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...
Which Strike Do I Get?
An old adage that we hear from time to time is, “When in doubt, call ’em out.”
While that is a myth that shouldn’t be...
