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Originally Posted by BretMan
One thing that was new to me- at least from the aspect of having it taught in a clinic- was the "one fist" distance we were directed to set-up behind the catcher. But I had read a discussion about that being taught on this forum sometime in the past year.
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I saw that mechanic about 3-4 years ago at a NCAA tournament with umpire evaluation. IMO, that is too close. If someone can handle that, fine, but I don't believe it should be a point of focus.
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A little variation on how the "safe" signal was taught. Raise hands to chest, extend arms palm down- just like always- then relax them at sides. I recall the "old" method of first returning the hands at the chest, instead of dropping them. The instructor's comments led me to believe that was a fairly recent change.
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I went back as far as the 2000 ASA umpire manual and there is no mention of returning the hands to the chest. To be honest, I don't ever remember returning the hands to my chest, but I have seen others use it.
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But the thrust of the clinic does seem to be aimed at newer officials.
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That is the biggest complaint I get from umpires when they return from a national school. It is a shame, but many areas no longer conduct a regular, full-scale mechanic school and push them toward national schools.