FED UMPIRES Manual, Let's Start the rewrite
 

Folks,

For those of you who do not do much at NFHS.org, take a look at this thread:
NFHS Forum: Missed 1B Mechanic

I know we have at least one person with influence on the FED Rules Committee who blesses us with his presence, and there are others who have pull in their state.

IMO, this situation in the NFHS thread is a reason why the FED manual needs to be rewritten, immediately if not sooner. If there are lots of inexperienced FED people who umpire, then their manual needs to reflect that reality.

Any opinions?

Anyone willing to start the rewrite?

Why re-invent the wheel? The CCA and Redbook are both widely available and much, much better. Evans' new Mechanic Bible, based on the Redbook, is the best out there.

Our state does not use the Manual. So who cares what you write. ;)

Peace

Page 1: See the CCA Manual.

Page 2: The End

JM

I used to agree.

What CCA had going for it were its expanded visual aids and discussion. I think Evans' new tome surpasses CCA in both areas and others. It will take some time, but I believe it will replace the CCA and the Redbook as the top alternatives to the FED manual.

why not start with the rule book, then worry about the maual.

The answer would basically be the same: Throw it out.

Men, you know better than this
 

Yes, I know we all have our favorite stuff for mechanics, mine being the six weeks of notes from Harry's in 1985 when I was there.

But you and I all know that FED is not going to adopt CCA mechanics, or an expensive Evans book, also when both are set up for higher levels of baseball than FED is.

And until we all who work BB move to JR's state, we are stuck with FED.

If you work FED, and your assocation tells you to use the FED manual, then that is what you have to use. Not everybody owns the CCA or Evans manual, and even if they did, it's still out of line to do things differently than how the league trains you to. The solution to disagreeing with the FED manual is to not work any more of their games, rather than going against the directions of supervisors and evaluators.

Take the Baseball Ontario umpire's manual for example. It might be a bit different than what is taught in the pro schools, but we go by the Baseball Ontario manual because the majority of people who are carded under OBA haven't been trained PBUC mechanics. For example, PBUC says to go out on any flyball that pulls the center fielder towards the right field line. OBA says to go out on any flyball that pulls the right fielder towards the line. We do things the Ontario way because that's what we are told to do, not because some umpires decide that their way is better than the rest without consulting the book publishers.

I haven't been "stuck" with FED since....ever. I have never seen a mandate from FED that their manual must be used. From what I've seen on this board, many areas do not work FED mechanics. I believe someone posted that the entire state of Oregon has abandoned them. It also appears that at least parts of Wisconsin, Illinois, New York, California and other states also have left FED mechanics behind.

That said, if your association has endorsed FED mechanics, perhaps you are stuck. My sympathies.

You seem to be confusing not using FED rules in a FED game as opposed to not working FED mechanics in a FED game.

The answer to FED's crappy manual is to, as an association, adopt another one.

So you're saying that rather than coping with the mechanics manual of the organization they work for, many umpires knowingly go against what the manual teaches them?

No umpires as such work for NFHS. As independent contractors, we work (around here at least) for assignors and leagues. Those organizations do not have their own manuals.

Our association uses the red book.

I greatly appreciate what you are saying men..
 

However, you are missing the point. Nobody I know of uses pure FED baseball mechanics, and everyone says "Amen."

But, even though we all teach mechanics differently than FED, we have to remember that: 1. Most FED umpires don't work at it as hard as we do. 2. Most FED umpires need to be told how to do certain things in clear terms.

I mean how many of us really needed to know that you call people safe at 1B if they miss the bag as they go by? Well, there are a lot of FED guys who don't know, and won't know until it is in the FED mechanics book. Also, there are some good points to the FED manual, at least for umpires who work and study only for FED baseball.

The manual could be so much better then it is, if someone (TEE?) would start pushing for changes in what the manual has in it.

MrUmpire,

While I do not own the new Evans/Nelson mechanics manual yet, I understand it is outstanding.

I would suggest the CCA manual simply because it is more affordable and, in addition to 2-man mechanics, covers 3, 4, & 6 man as well. Probably a little more realistic that a majority of umpires might actuallu acquire one.

JM