Baseball
Head of the Class
Early in my umpiring career I took a cavalier approach to the rules. I got by because I had played the game and knew...
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...
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...
Right Foot Forward
It’s a basic rules concept that the location of a fielder’s feet in fair or foul territory has no impact on the fair/foul determination...
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...
Don’t Take a Knee When Calling Pitches or Plays
Don’t take a knee. No, I’m not referencing protests during the national anthem. I mean don’t take a knee when calling pitches or plays....
Education or Evaluation?
Decades ago, when I got started, umpire clinics and camps were almost unheard of. (To me, a clinic is a one- or two-day event...
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...
Reality of Calling A Checked Swing
Many umpires would agree that there are very few judgment calls in baseball that are tougher to make than a checked swing. Whether you are the plate umpire...
Players Can Drop Clues to Help On Tough Calls
I didn’t get away with much as a kid. If I’d broken a family heirloom or eaten the last piece of pie, I’d crack under even the...
The Stands Have Eyes
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or roughly the first half of my amateur umpiring career — which lasted from 1966-2016 — umpires could go about their business without having...
The Debate: Hammer or Point?
By Mike Droll
Whether it’s at an umpiring clinic, professional umpiring school or just learning from a buddy who is getting you ready for your...
Double the Trouble
Unlike in football and basketball where referees must determine the legality of athletes crashing into each other on almost every play, baseball is a...
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...
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...
Handling Interference by Spectators, Coaches and Umpires
Interference in a baseball game does not happen very often and some umpires are ill prepared to deal with it. Getting the uncommon plays...
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...
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...
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...
It’s 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...
Level Up?
Many new umpires want to advance to the major college ranks. Some will, most won’t. Some who fall by the wayside will be perfectly...
Hip, Hip No Way: Yankees vs. Dodgers 1978 World Series
Reggie Jackson earned the nickname Mr. October because of his bat. But a baserunning play swung the 1978 World Series in favor of Jackson’s...
Do More, See More With Better 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...
Take a Wedge
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...
