All Ball
The NFHS Softball Rules Committee approved a change in the penalty for an illegal pitch starting with the 2018-19 school year. An illegal pitch...
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...
What’s Your Angle?
Esse Baharmast had the key angle to make the right call.
During the 1998 World Cup, Baharmast, NASO’s 2011 Gold Whistle Award recipient, awarded a...
Help Yourself
I stumbled upon a couple of clips of MLB games and got a chuckle out of how the announcers reacted to two situations. It’s...
Location Notation
While watching MLB’s World Series last fall, I heard the plate umpire, who was wearing a microphone, call, “Ball, outside” after a pitch was...
Muff May Affect Protection
A
fair catch is, in effect, a trade. The receiver gives up his right to advance in exchange for freedom from contact by the opponent....
Pace Commander
How to set and maintain a good pace to a game is not often discussed at camps and association meetings. But if players are...
The Stands Have Eyes
F
or roughly the first half of my amateur umpiring career — which lasted from 1966-2016 — umpires could go about their business without having...
Best Selller
The score is tied in the championship basketball game with less than a minute remaining. The fans in the packed arena are on their...
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...
Sure Thing
Officiating is all about making decisions. That’s arguably the one and only reason they give us a paycheck. Sometimes, in the process of decision-making,...
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...
Fair Ball
Coaches have all sorts of creative ways to question the ethics and integrity of officials. During the pregame meeting, they are often curious about...
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...
Collision Course
So you think baseball is not a contact sport?
Look at the photo that accompanies this article, captured during the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Division...
Forgive, But Don’t Forget
We’ve all had one. Or two. Or 102. That moment when stark reality hits and you realize you have just kicked the ever-living daylights...
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...
Arrive And Shine
How you enter the arena, stadium, field or other facility says a lot about you. Do you casually stroll in? Are you laughing, confident,...
Solid Ground (Rules)
Like everyone else, I like to be prepared when someone asks a question. That is particularly true when I’m umpiring a game. That gives...
No Lollygagging
One of the largest complaints from softball umpires is games take too long. And while we can’t control the score, whether a pitcher throws...
Proper Path
In the top of the seventh inning in Game 6 of the World Series on Oct. 29, 2019, the Washington Nationals had Yan Gomes...
Like a Boss
A
fellow brother in blue, who passed away much too soon, had a mantra he used both in life and on the field. That mantra...
‘Big Time’ Attitude Is for Small People
By Jeffrey Stern
Virtually every local association or chapter has at least one official who has “made it big,” the member who has worked a...
Don’t Fan The Flames
Between the lines, sports officials have every right and can take immediate action to eject a player or coach from a game for unruly...