Baseball
Trip Advisor
The emphasis on pace of play in both pro and NCAA has resulted in significant changes to the traditional rules on conferences to include...
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...
On Your Mark, Get Set … Stay There
Recently, I came across a couple of film clips taken from major league games played decades ago. In one, an umpire called a tag...
The Mindset of a Successful Umpire
Consider the top umpires at any level. What mindset do they have? How do they get it? For me, the key ingredients for the...
Find Those Stray Baseballs
Before a half-inning begins, remember to check the field and backstop for stray baseballs. That’s especially important before the top of the first inning....
Order of Operations
Some umpires are unabashed about their love of double plays; they do serve to shorten the inning. Double plays can occur in a variety...
Just Deal With It!
I
f umpiring were simply confined to ball/strike, fair/foul and safe/out rulings, it would still be a game fraught with disagreements about arbiter judgments, but...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Dead Ball Ground Rules Needed For Quirky Ballfields
Very few baseball fields are identical. While infields are all alike, size-wise, the shape of the outfield will vary and the alignment of outfield...
Come to Terms With Definitions
This winter, I was approached by the leadership of my local high school umpires association about serving as a classroom instructor in preparing brand-new...
Lineup Language
College baseball will feature several new wrinkles during the 2021 season as a result of rule changes approved by the NCAA during the offseason.
The...
Pass Judgment
If two runners pass each other on the basepath, one of them is out. The out is immediate, just as if a tag had...
Homeward Bound
By George Demetriou
Grand larceny is a term used to designate theft that is large in magnitude. Grand larceny can be contrasted with petty larceny, theft that is...
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...
Make an Adjustment
Good umpiring is the ability to adjust to things that happen that you don’t expect.
Having observed many umpires, I see they have a tendency...
Tips for Handling Baseball Time Limits
While there are some pace-of-play initiatives introducing a clock to the game of baseball, the traditional game doesn’t worry about a clock the same...
Abandonment
A walk-off is a run-scoring event in the bottom half of the last inning of the game that gives the home team the win....
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...
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...
