[Julio Caliente]

It was a good weekend, not only because it was the last weekend of Babe Ruth/travel team tournaments around here, but also I got to work with a guy who is regarded as a good umpire in our area and is well respected. During our pre-game discussion I asked him to critique me (I was the PU) and let me know what he think I need to work on.

Here is what he said:

1) My strike zone is slightly different for LH vs RH batters (I am more apt to call an outside strike on a LH than RH). Besides just having somebody pitch or go to a batting cage anybody have any ideas on how I can work on this? Drills or anything?

2) He said I need to work a little more on my timing and suggested calling strikes in a mirror. He said its not bad, but it could be better (he said he would have given me a 7.5 on a scale 1-10)

3) He liked the way I moved around. Coming out and looking for a pulled foot at 1st, heading to the library on plays that could be coming to 3rd, etc (basically just not standing around the plate all the time) He was especially grateful when I busted my butt down to 1B when there was a rundown with a picked off runner yelling "I got 1st, I got 1st".

4) He thought my zone was great and consistent (expect for the LH thing)

5) He thought my game management skills were excellent.


All in all he said he wouldn't hesitate for a second to walk on a field with me. That statement meant a lot to me.