Quote:
|
Originally Posted by 1bigump
I have been getting beat up behind the dish the past 2 weeks. I have good equipment and trust it, but have found myself flinching and bailing out on balls in the dirt. I have been umpiring for quite a while and cannot remember a time that I have been beat up so bad.
By the way these are high school aged kids. Any advice on how to stop the bailing out instinct?
|
I use the Gerry Davis stance and find that it does help me stay locked in position on everything except the high inside pitch that looks like it's coming right at my face. Even though 99% of the time the catcher reaches up and snags that pitch and it doesn't hit me, my instinctive reaction to that pitch is to flinch my head away.
To counter that tendency, I've adopted the imperfect solution of .... closing my eyes instead of flinching. The only downside is if the batter makes an offer at the pitch, I won't get a good look at whether he went or not. What I'm not worried about is calling the pitch - if it's up there in my face, in the "flinch-zone" then it's no strike, no way no how.
As discussed in other threads, the GD stance in a good slot position will keep you from getting battered (on flesh) too much. Most foul balls whiz by your ear, and the pitches in the dirt the catcher can't handle usually don't do anything but bounce off your shinguards or plate shoes.