NCAA Softball Umpires

[azbigdawg]

Originally Posted by TussAgee11

The check swing mechanic is rediculous. Mask off, 3 steps out into foul territory, and a point. Seems a little bit too big if NCAA really wants them to just exist and blend in.

Also, the called strike three mechanic is absolutely hilarious. Arm up, 2 steps to the left or right, then swing it down all the way to your left foot. Give me a break. Hope softball umpires who work 2 man (or woman) don't do this.

Does the signal for "in" in tennis change from clay/composite/grass, men/women, single/doubles? A bit of an exaggeration obviously but you get my point. Baseball and softball obviously stem from the same sport; so what set of umpires changed first? Did baseball umpires in the 1950s used to act like this?

The Check swing mechanic is THE exception to the "dont be bigger than the game concept"

The srtike 3 mechanic is NOT standard, and is allowed to be individualized.

Dont worry, softball umpires make fun of your mechanics (or lack thereof) also.... so bash away...

[Rich]

Originally Posted by azbigdawg

The Check swing mechanic is THE exception to the "dont be bigger than the game concept"

The srtike 3 mechanic is NOT standard, and is allowed to be individualized.

Dont worry, softball umpires make fun of your mechanics (or lack thereof) also.... so bash away...

We'll keep making fun of the strike zone, which seems to be anything in the vicinity of home plate and off the ground. Watching NCAA D-I players get rung up on pitches on the opposite batter's box line makes me shake my head and wonder how these umpires get assigned games.

[WhiteHat Ref]

Look at this post from the softball forum down below. Plate umpires don't have the luxury of turning to the side, what a joke. Considering how long it takes them to make a strike call I just don't get this comment at all. Also what is with the wide stance behind home plate!!

From the softball forum:

I think the 'robotics' are required in softball to do a good job. I think it's a faster game when played well.... and plate umpires can't afford the luxury of turning to the side to perform one of those styling and profiling baseball stike mechanics.

(I think they can be robotic, too, but they just change every couple of years. Lately they've been getting near us.)

I also agree with Texas Aggie's posting. Them boys sure do look purdee in their high dollar uniforms.
__________________

[ukumpire]

Originally Posted by WhiteHat Ref

Now I know this is a baseball forum, and I do umpire baseball, but in watching the NCAA softball tournament this weekend, especially the umpires, has anybody noticed that they are like robots on the field. What I mean by that, is they have no style like baseball umpires. They are mechanical in their calls. Strike calls are right arm straight up no style, and on bang bang plays same mechanic straight up with the right arm. Baseball umpires have their own style in calling strikes, and at least they sell the call on bang bang plays and make it look good.

Anyone been to a Jim Evens Academy? Anyone actually looked at the BU's in MLB? Come on all of you whinging, as someone said in this thread, if you want the big games you have to conform to what the Assc wants, if you want to dance around with bang-bang calls then do it, it looks great, but mind how the coaches and players think about it!

[LDUB]

Another great post from the softball forum.

"Heck, I always have my indicator when I'm BU, with another one in my ball bag (in case my partner forgets his/hers) ... Actually, our org assigns us to 3 games per night. I usually do games 1 and 3 behind the plate, and game 2 on the bases. So yes, my ball bag is with me, but I usually remember to take it off when I'm BU. Sometimes I forget, but hey... it's only rec ball. :P"

[GarthB]

Originally Posted by LDUB

Another great post from the softball forum.

"Heck, I always have my indicator when I'm BU, with another one in my ball bag (in case my partner forgets his/hers) ... Actually, our org assigns us to 3 games per night. I usually do games 1 and 3 behind the plate, and game 2 on the bases. So yes, my ball bag is with me, but I usually remember to take it off when I'm BU. Sometimes I forget, but hey... it's only rec ball. :P"

You have to be careful about making assumptions. What if they were cutting and pasting posts by Canadaump6 or LLDan?

[GarthB]

Originally Posted by ukumpire

Anyone been to a Jim Evens Academy?

If you've been to Jim's Academy, not only would you be expected to know how to spell his name correctly, you would also know that the uniformity in mechanics he requires in his training provides the instructors the ability to compare apples to apples. They are constantly reminding students that many of the "techniques" can be adjusted later.

For example, students are not expected to keep saying, "Strike One, Strike Two, Strike Three, Ball One, Ball Two, Ball Three, Ball Four, TIME!" when they leave school. Those who attend PBUC experience some immediate changes in some mechanics, regardless of which school they attended. In fact, they were encouraged to introduce a little personality into their calls and not be robotic or too mechanical.

When you go to a Single A game and see kids fresh from PBUc working, you will notice several differences from proschool style mechanics. We are fortunate in our association to have a recent PBUC grad who will be working pro ball this year. He has shared much of his PBUC experience with us and we have incorporated some of what he was taught into our mechanics.

[mcrowder]

Originally Posted by RPatrino

Okee Dokee, Mike!!

I don't think anyone here is saying the softball mechanics are wrong, just different. However, I have noticed that attitudes like yours are quite prevalent in softball.

To each his own, and have a wonderful day!!

To the contrary ... it seems to me that EVERYONE here is saying that they are wrong in one way or another.

[greymule]

But in the real world . . .

I did 25 college softball games this spring, including a district tournament. I use the GD stance/system, make strike calls simultaneous with the raising of the right arm, and would quit if I had to mimic those umps on TV.

At preseason meetings, they talk about proper uniform, arriving early, staying in communication with the assigner, etc., but not how to make calls. Our assigner attended several of my games and never said anything about my mechanics. No coach or player has ever complained that I don't look like the TV umps. (Frankly, if they did, I'd be pleased.) In fact, of the umps I work with, none resemble those TV umps.

When I traveled out of state to do the tournament at the end of the season, I was somewhat fearful that the other umps would expect me to be Mr. Robot. They were very serious about their 3-man mechanics, which I'm not used to, and they were top-notch officials, but they didn't look anything like the TV umps.

But to be "one of us" and do the World Series, that's another story.

PS. In an interesting irony, a few years ago I attended a clinic (not NCAA), and the main instructor was teaching the robot mechanics. We all practiced saying, "Strike," waiting a second, and then standing up and giving the robot arm signal. I could have thrown up. Anyway, a few months later I went to see Princeton play Dartmouth in a double-header, and this guy is working the games. So he used the mechanics he taught, right? Wrong. He made his calls quite conventionally, and boy, could he sell them. Three straight runners safe at 1B on close plays, and he sold the outs so well that nobody even peeped. And a very good ball-strike guy—with good old baseball technique behind the plate.

[WestMichBlue]

Originally Posted by TussAgee11

Well then SDS, when did softball become so main stream?

About 1895.

"Main steam" probably would suggest 1932 when ASA was established and created a single rule set for all national play. By '32 softball was THE national rec sport, having long ago supplanted baseball. And international also, having been spread around the globe by the US military in WWI.

Where did they get their umpires from (baseball I'd presume?)

Of course! "Indoor baseball" was a derivative of outdoor baseball. Why do you think softball is pitched underhand? Because that is the way baseball was pitched in the late 1800's.

And were the baseball mechanics at this time that softball really got going representitve of the mechanics that we see in softball today?

I seriously doubt that baseball mechanics today are at all what they were 120 years ago.

Just asking, I'm not old enough to know much about this.

Are you looking for agreement on that.

WMB

(From the SB side)

[GarthB]

Originally Posted by WestMichBlue

About 1895.

"Main steam" probably would suggest 1932 when ASA was established and created a single rule set for all national play. By '32 softball was THE national rec sport, having long ago supplanted baseball. And international also, having been spread around the globe by the US military in WWI.



Of course! "Indoor baseball" was a derivative of outdoor baseball. Why do you think softball is pitched underhand? Because that is the way baseball was pitched in the late 1800's.



I seriously doubt that baseball mechanics today are at all what they were 120 years ago.



Are you looking for agreement on that.

WMB

(From the SB side)

So in other words, softball is a sport that hasn't evolved?

[UmpJM]

Garth,

Maybe it was just intelligently designed.

JM

[Steven Tyler]

Doesn't the NCAA trust anyone besides the same three umpires to work the entire WCWS?

(Each and every year)

[greymule]

I seriously doubt that baseball mechanics today are at all what they were 120 years ago.

Last night I watched some pre–World War I baseball films that had been transferred to DVD. One PU stood straight up for the pitch, and then signaled with the right hand straight out for strikes and the left hand straight out for balls. No surprise that his zone was a bit high. The umps also wore widely varying protective equipment, which probably contributed to their varying mechanics. None looked like robots, though.

Didn't see any diamond helmets.

[WhiteHat Ref]

Again, look below at some of the comments. I would not necessarily agree that you have to be in better shape to do softball than baseball. They have no idea what it is like to work a one man game on a baseball diamond. Also how can you say that there is more action in 2 innings of softball than in baseball.


From the Softball Forum:

Go back and check the number of infrequent posters here and on the baseball board that make the reference. To me, that is a whine for those who seem to need an excuse for bad mouthing others. Or is it an excuse for making themselves feel better because they do not have the opportunity to get the national and international games? Most of the posters on here don't go over to the baseball board and mock the manner in which you do things, so why does it seem important for so many to do that to us?

BTW, I worked the little ball for 22 years, mostly youth to JUCO and some as a gypsy. I left the game at the ripe age of 36 because I was bored to tears. There was not challenge. Don't get me wrong, FP softball tends to bore me at times which is why I concentrate on SP. There is more action in two innings of SP ball than what you may see in an entire baseball game.

And let me break some news to you. To work softball, an umpire needs to be in the same, if not better, physical shape as anyone needs to do baseball. If you don't believe it, you are only fooling yourself