Baseball
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...
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...
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....
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...
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 Shine Behind the Plate
With baseball's spring training upon us, I wanted to cover a few things involving plate work that helped me out a lot in my...
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...
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...
