Call game from behind pitcher?

[mcrowder]

The only time I've called from there was when I was pulled out of the stands after watching my daughter. The game they wanted me to umpire was a 14U, and I had no equipment --- no way was I getting back there, and both teams understood that.

That said - if you have sufficient (for whatever age group you're doing) equipment, I would NEVER work from behind pitcher. You can't accurately call a good zone from there, you can't hear the tell-tale sounds for several different things that happen with a batter (CI, maybe HBP, especially hands, etc), and importantly, you can't see all 4 bases from there, so you can't see runners leaving early, touches, etc. In fact, with multiple runners, you are better off staying in foul ground to see everything you need to see, so why start in the middle.