For your viewing enjoyment...

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by gordon30307

Ball hit the mit and he made his call. At least that's how I saw it.

Ball hitting mitt and making the call at that point is still way too fast. The Frank Pulli method looks horrible IMO. Plus, it really doesn't give the PU time to take into account the many variables that can occur.

When the ball hits the mitt is the time to start determining whether the pitch was a ball or strike, not the time to be announcing it. This is where the phrase "proper use of the eyes" comes into the mix for good timing. If you've already made your mind up before the ball comes in there, disaster can easily follow.

[PeteBooth]

[QUOTE]

Originally Posted by BigUmp56

Just a couple of things, John. There looked to be several times where you started coming up out of your stance to call the pitch before the ball made it to the catchers mitt. I'd suggest staying locked in longer.

Tim this is common when working SOLO which is the reason one shouldn't work solo on a regular basis otherwise you get bad habits.

In the one video, the IF was in effect, so perhaps JM had a glimpse of the runners.

We all know or should know to stay down and not come up to quickly however when you are working SOLO with men on base sometimes it's a natural reaction to come up a little quicker than normal.

My question to JM is this.

Why are you working SOLO?

Pete Booth

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by PeteBooth

Tim this is common when working SOLO which is the reason one shouldn't work solo on a regular basis otherwise you get bad habits.

In the one video, the IF was in effect, so perhaps JM had a glimpse of the runners.

We all know or should know to stay down and not come up to quickly however when you are working SOLO with men on base sometimes it's a natural reaction to come up a little quicker than normal.

My question to JM is this.

Why are you working SOLO?

Pete Booth

Pete, with all due respect, you are out of your gourd on this one!

I have worked hundreds of solo games and this has never been a problem. Timing is timing whether there are two, three, four, six or just one umpire.

When working solo games you still have to wait until the action takes you somewhere. Why on earth would you pop up quick just because you are by yourself? That sounds pretty ridiculous to me and it's a flimsy excuse for poor timing.

As to why he is working solo, JM lives in an area, such as I do, where if the game didn't have a solo umpire, it wouldn't have an umpire. Solo games are very commonplace in many larger cities where the volume of games exceeds the number of available umpires. A good percentage of youth games below the varsity level here use one umpire, unless it is a tournament of some kind or a championship games.

[DG]

bobbybanaduck

When do you point to the side on a strike vs. hammer out front?

[bobbybanaduck]

there were some days that i honestly didn't think about which i was going to use. if the first called strike of the game i happened to go out to the side, then i'd go to the side that day. if i happened to come up with a hammer, then it was the hammer for the day. as i said earlier, if i do happen upon any one man games i'll probably use the hammer so there are always eyes on the field.

[PeteBooth]

[QUOTE]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

Pete, with all due respect, you are out of your gourd on this one!

I have worked hundreds of solo games and this has never been a problem. Timing is timing whether there are two, three, four, six or just one umpire.

When working solo games you still have to wait until the action takes you somewhere. Why on earth would you pop up quick just because you are by yourself? That sounds pretty ridiculous to me and it's a flimsy excuse for poor timing.

I commented on the following statement

There looked to be several times where you started coming up out of your stance to call the pitch before the ball made it to the catchers mitt. I'd suggest staying locked in longer.

As mentioned perhaps the reason JM came up too quickly was because there were men on base and maybe a steal attempt in progress etc.

I do not think I am out of gourd on this one.

When working SOLO "something" has to give. IMO, it is not a flimsy exuse for poor timing but a matter of circumstances. You cannot possibly be everywhere when working solo so some aspect of the game will suffer.

Yes you first need to call the pitch but as you mentioned for the most part these types of games are at the modified level so it's not like the pitch is going to "drop off the table" or something like that.

I am simply saying it is difficult to "rate" someone not impossible but when working SOLO inevitably one will develop bad habits because you do have to 'cut corners"

Pete Booth

[RPatrino]

John, just my 2 cents.

I dont' see you having a 'lock-in' mechanism using the stance shown in the video. I use the GD, so I suppose I'm biased. I did not notice any major head movement, however. What would you say is your 'lock in' mechanism is, something you feel everytime you go from A to B?

A small detail, on a pop up near the plate, don't look for the ball first thing. Locate the catcher and he will take you to the ball.

I know that this was a one man game. My impression was that you felt rushed. When doing solo games, it's important, IMHO, to take your primary responsibility first, that is calling balls/strikes. Don't feel the need to make your calls quickly because you are the only umpire. After all, we are only talking about 1 - 1.5 seconds of delay that only WE percieve, but it makes a big difference in the quality of our strike zone.

[SanDiegoSteve]

[QUOTE=PeteBooth]

I commented on the following statement



As mentioned perhaps the reason JM came up too quickly was because there were men on base and maybe a steal attempt in progress etc.

I do not think I am out of gourd on this one.

When working SOLO "something" has to give. IMO, it is not a flimsy exuse for poor timing but a matter of circumstances. You cannot possibly be everywhere when working solo so some aspect of the game will suffer.

Yes you first need to call the pitch but as you mentioned for the most part these types of games are at the modified level so it's not like the pitch is going to "drop off the table" or something like that.

I am simply saying it is difficult to "rate" someone not impossible but when working SOLO inevitably one will develop bad habits because you do have to 'cut corners"

Pete Booth

And I'm simply saying that it is not "inevitable" to develop bad habits. It is possible, but certainly not inevitable. I don't cut any corners when I work solo. I give it my best effort. If someone is stealing, oh well. The play is still either going to be safe or out no matter where you call it from. You don't raise up early on steal plays. You come up and give it the lean and look when the catcher comes up throwing.

I have worked solo games where the pitching was first class, and the ball did drop off the table, and the pitchers were throwing in excess of 85 to 90 mph. There are one-man Colt and Palomino games here that have great pitching. You still don't umpire differently than you do with a partner. You just have to get the best distance and angle you can on each play. The coaches know this and are theorhetically supposed to cut the umpire some slack, especially on stolen bases. I find working solo easy as pie. No pesky check swing begging, no "ask the other guy" crap, just you VS them.

[UmpJM]

Gentlemen,

My thanks to each of you for your feedback (public and private).

I'll just comment on a couple of points that were raised.

Many of you commented on the "quickness" of my timing on ball/strike calls. This was actually the second game I had evaluated and both evaluators commented that my timing was fine on "ball" calls but too quick on "strike" calls. I honestly didn't know what they were referring to until I saw the video. Then it was clear to even me that I was much too quick on the strike calls. I believe my timing is better now, but I'd kind of like to see another video to be sure. I don't believe this is a result of working solo (my first evaluated game was 2-man & the evaluator had the same comment), but just a part of my learning process.

As to Pete Booth's question regarding why I am working solo, as SD Steve suggests, the norm around here is for most "lower level" games to be covered by a single umpire. As a "new guy", I was mostly working lower level games this past season. About 1/3 of the games I worked I had a partner and about 2/3s I worked solo. I certainly prefer working with a partner, but I also prefer working solo to not umpiring at all.

A couple of things I've changed since the video was taken....

I no longer "shop around" the count - I just give it straight ahead to the pitcher.

I still "point" strikes, but I do it pretty close to horizontal & keep it lower than my shoulder. (I swear that Dick Nelson taught me the "high point" at the Desert Classic last year on the last day when we were allowed to personalize our strike mechanic. So many people told me that it didn't look good that I changed it.)

On strike three I don't point and then punch anymore. Just punch out on a called K3, hammer on a swinging K3.

Finally, a number of you commented on no visible "lock-in" mechanism. I try to use my "slot arm" resting on my thigh as my lock-in. The clip below shows a couple of pitches to a LH batter where you can see this.

Click here to watch UmpJM2

Thanks again for the feedback. I appreciate it.

JM

[SanDiegoSteve]

I still "point" strikes, but I do it pretty close to horizontal & keep it lower than my shoulder. (I swear that Dick Nelson taught me the "high point" at the Desert Classic last year on the last day when we were allowed to personalize our strike mechanic. So many people told me that it didn't look good that I changed it.)

I believe that the high point strike call is known as the "John Travolta Disco Point."

[Steven Tyler]

Originally Posted by UmpJM (nee CoachJM)

So many people told me that it didn't look good that I changed it.

Believe me when I say I'd take it over Ed Montaque's strike and punch out mechanic any day. You'd think bees are swarming around him. Thank goodness the World Series didn't go seven games. If I was to compare myself to any MLB ump it would probably be Tim McClelland.

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by Steven Tyler

If I was to compare myself to any MLB ump it would probably be Tim McClelland.

McClelland's mechanics are absolutely horrific, so that figures.

[gordon30307]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

McClelland's mechanics are absolutely horrific, so that figures.

Let see. He's in the show. He must be doing something right.

[SanDiegoSteve]

So he's in the show. What does that have to do with mechanics? My mechanics were always better than McClelland's and I wasn't a pro umpire. I was only speaking of his mechanics, not of his overall umpiring abilities or his longetivity in the major leagues.

[Steven Tyler]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

So he's in the show. What does that have to do with mechanics? My mechanics were always better than McClelland's and I wasn't a pro umpire. I was only speaking of his mechanics, not of his overall umpiring abilities or his longevity in the major leagues.

You're just going to have to put some video on here so we can take a look see..........