Call game from behind pitcher?

[Lancerdad]

I have to do a LL Juniors game tonight by myself. I am thinking of calling it behind the pitcher. Has anyone done tihis before? What are your opinions on doing it this way?

Thanks,
Brian in MI

[jicecone]

Originally Posted by Lancerdad

I have to do a LL Juniors game tonight by myself. I am thinking of calling it behind the pitcher. Has anyone done tihis before? What are your opinions on doing it this way?

Thanks,
Brian in MI

Listen, anything is possible but, this is NOT a standard umpiring technique. I guess you could say your working the ABC position ??

Then again the 1 man system is not standard either. Approx. 80%(guess) of the game happens right at home plate calling balls and strikes. Why not be a little closer to the action. I tend to think you get a better view there and therfore can give a better job.

Most associations have a preference, you should check with them.

[Jimology]

Did it once.
Never again.
Get behind the plate.
Then the mask off and out from behind plate.

[Eastshire]

The only time I recommend calling from behind the mound is when you get pulled off another field to be the only umpire calling the game.

[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.

[LMan]

There is one advantage...you are ~ 75 feet further away from the stands.

[PeteBooth]

I agree in that most assoications want one to work behind the dish when working SOLO, however, IMO the key phrase in the OP is this.

have to do a LL Juniors game

For the most part LL Juniors is by far the worst ball one will eno****er. It's not uncommon for the games to take "forever" and have F2's that can't catch and you end up playing dodge ball back there.

In Summary: For the most part when working SOLO go behind F2 BUT
when umpiring LL Juniors or any other type ball that is terrible, then I would go behind F1 because in the scheme of things it will not matter.

Pete Booth

[archangel]

Originally Posted by Eastshire

The only time I recommend calling from behind the mound is when you get pulled off another field to be the only umpire calling the game.

Do you mean pulled off another game where you were BU and no equip to put on? If so, why wouldnt you have your equip?

[Eastshire]

Originally Posted by archangel

Do you mean pulled off another game where you were BU and no equip to put on? If so, why wouldnt you have your equip?

Yes, I do. Frequently in this situation, I will only be on the field until another umpire is found, at which point I will return to the original field.

[LilLeaguer]

I've done a number of LL Juniors games solo over the years, and behind the plate works very well. First, the game moves slowly enough that you'll have time to get out from behind the plate for most plays; calling steals can be difficult, but possible if you step out from behind the catcher for a good angle while the ball is in the air.

You'll want to be where you can find the most strikes, or it is difficult to keep the game moving.

[mcrowder]

Originally Posted by LilLeaguer

I've done a number of LL Juniors games solo over the years, and behind the plate works very well. First, the game moves slowly enough that you'll have time to get out from behind the plate for most plays; calling steals can be difficult, but possible if you step out from behind the catcher for a good angle while the ball is in the air.

You'll want to be where you can find the most strikes, or it is difficult to keep the game moving.

My main problem working there is that R2's can lead off by several feet, and you'll never see them.

[canadaump6]

Today I was doing a game at a park with three diamonds. The two umpires for the one diamond were there, I was there, and of course my partner who was doing plate with me that day is late again! And he is the assignor of the league and he always shows up late but this time we needed him because on the final diamond there was a Mosquito game that had no umpires because the scheduel got screwedup or somethign and the guy I was working with was the assingor and they needed umpires. So I wasn't sure if one of the two guys at the other diamond should go and call the game from behind the mound or whether I should go and do that because I thought my partner may shwo up anytime now and call an umpire who lived nearby at the last minute to do that game so I didn't say anything and didn't d oanything. And I was standing around with 4 coaches who were ready to do ground rules and it was 3 minutes till FIRST PITCH and we were already 2 minutes late for the start of groundrules and so I get the game balls fromt he home team caoch and we start groundrules and finallhy he shows up and says "sorry bout that guys. Now what was the ground rule you were talking about?" with a chuckle as if he didn't care and meanwhile we still have no umpires at the one diamond. So once the grond rules are over I tell him he should get there on time becaause he could have helped get an umpire at the diamond with more umpirs and he's like "I'm here to umpire not to assign". So then I say "well yea byt you should have showe d up on time anyways". And am I wrong to think that an umpire should show up at least 15 minutes before game time? Because he does this all the time and it is really starting to annoy me. Had he shown up on time he would have probably had time to arrange so that the little kids get an umprie too and he can call it from behind the pitcher's plate. But instead he had to show up late AGAIN and they eneded up having the coach from the home team call the game from the pitcher's mound.

The thing about it was that it broke my heart to see these kids playing without an umpire, but I thought that it was best if the administration learned from their mistake and learned how to schedule umpires properly. It is still a real frustration though becaus ethey were left without umpires because another umpire didn't show up on time.

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by mcrowder

My main problem working there is that R2's can lead off by several feet, and you'll never see them.

I have had to work solo behind the mound (once for a Varsity game) a couple of times when I was called on my cell at the last minute, with no gear or uniform available. I really don't care what R2 is doing. I will let the ball turn me where I need to look. The best thing to do is just relax and let the ball dictate your next move.

The hardest part of working behind the mound is the fair/foul call, which on screaming liners is sort of a crap shoot. Fair/foul is relatively easy on fly balls, as you can easily get over to either foul line to make the call.

Balls and strikes is a piece of cake; just like watching the game on TV, where we are all experts.

Both times I did the solo mound gig, I got many compliments about the job that I did, as well as expressions of gratitude from the coaches and fans for coming to their rescue. It allowed them to play baseball, instead of having to go home disappointed.

[Welpe]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

I have had to work solo behind the mound (once for a Varsity game) a couple of times when I was called on my cell at the last minute, with no gear or uniform available.

Hey wasn't there a thread a little while back where you talked about what would happen if you had a partner without a uniform....

[LMan]

Originally Posted by Welpe

Hey wasn't there a thread a little while back where you talked about what would happen if you had a partner without a uniform....

They still haven't found the body.