Watch this LL Umpire

[njdevs00cup]

I thought the plate umpire in the No. Cal. v. So. Cal. game had an excellent zone. The zone was tight, but consistent.

[MrUmpire]

Originally Posted by njdevs00cup

I thought the plate umpire in the No. Cal. v. So. Cal. game had an excellent zone. The zone was tight, but consistent.

I thought he struggled a bit with the outside breaking pitch resutling in some inconsistency.

In the close-ups, he had the look of a an umpire trying very hard to focus and overcome stress. I think he worked hard and performed better than most I've seen so far.

[socalblue1]

Originally Posted by MrUmpire

I thought he struggled a bit with the outside breaking pitch resulting in some inconsistency.

In the close-ups, he had the look of a an umpire trying very hard to focus and overcome stress. I think he worked hard and performed better than most I've seen so far.

I agree. Had trouble with the outside corner the 1st few innings, then finally seemed to relax & dial in. Trying too hard can mess you up as bad as lack of concentration.

[zm1283]

Is the gray ball bag thing a mandate or something in LL? I've seen parts of about three regionals now, and the PU is always wearing heather gray ball bags. They look awful in my opinion.

Some of them also look like they need to buy plate pants. Either their combos are too small or they're wearing base pants behind the plate.

[kylejt]

No mandate for ANYTHING in LL. Cup, mask, shin guards chest protector and a mask. The rest is optional. Oh, the rule books says to carry a rule book, which no decent umpire does.

Yeah, the ER PU looked like a hobo. It was as if his shin guards were trying to escape. "Hey Elvis, try the relaxed fit!". And adjust that mask too, Mr. Flinchy.

[umpjim]

Mid Atlantic, NY - NJ, again combo or base pants with grey ball bags. I can't believe those pants can last a season with the stress and strain at the knees. But, I'm starting to think maybe the uniforms were supplied. Why else would the New England and Mid Atlantic umpires have shirts that only softball uses where I call. The other regionals had the MLB blue shirts so maybe somebody ordered the shirts with all the logos and screwed up in addition to getting grey ball bags and combo pants. I know, it's a fashion nitnoid. Or maybe the East coast is way ahead in the fashion business.

[jwwashburn]

Very few folks agree with me but, I like the Gray bags with gray pants. As long as they are the same color gray.

[kylejt]

Originally Posted by umpjim

But, I'm starting to think maybe the uniforms were supplied. Why else would the New England and Mid Atlantic umpires have shirts that only softball uses where I call.

Okay, let me correct myself. You get hats and shirt (and jackets at WR) for regionals. But BYOP. (and one's that fit, for God's sake. I mean, your Mom is watching)

[RPatrino]

I Tivo'd the WR final, and have only had the time to see the first 3 innings. I agree that the guy on the dish had trouble with the breaking ball on the outside corner. His zone was tight, and consistant for 2 innings, and then opened up a slight bit. I thought this caused a bit of confusion. My feeling is that if you are going to be tight in the 1st, you need to be tight until the end.

Another question I had is about the batters stepping out of the box after every pitch. In HS we don't allow this, and I don't recall allowing it when I worked LL. Some of the batters seemed to walk half way to the coach after every pitch. Is this now common place in youth ball?

[jwwashburn]

I remember in years past, on the LLWS, seeing every batter keep a foot in the box.

I remember when they changed the rule in High School...we called a few strikes and the word got around and then they spent time playing baseball instead of Hargroving around.

[SethPDX]

Originally Posted by umpjim

So the NE and Mid Atlantic regional ump shirts were supplied by LL. Thanks. Probably a screw up. (Thats how I ended up with one). Anyway, they match.

The league hosting the Regional is responsible for supplying shirts and hats to the umpires, so you get whatever color and brand the tournament director/UIC decided on.

[Fittske]

Originally Posted by SethPDX

The league hosting the Regional is responsible for supplying shirts and hats to the umpires, so you get whatever color and brand the tournament director/UIC decided on.

This is usually true at the local and state level, but for regionals, there is usually an "umpiring coordinator" that sits on the regional umpiring staff that orders regional shirts for the pre-selected umpires. Each umpire is contacted for their shirt and hit size, and uniform number (for regions that use them) It is up to the umpire to select the correct size. As far as uniform color, this is totally up to the regions. Most regions usually run there regional softball tournament one week prior to the little league tournament, so what happens is the umpire shirts for both tournaments are ordered together and a lot of times they end up being all softball colors. Here in the southern region there are some pretty good umpires that sit on staff. Most do high school and college ball so they usually do a good job at keeping the softball colors away from the southern regional tournaments.

[SethPDX]

Originally Posted by Fittske

This is usually true at the local and state level, but for regionals, there is usually an "umpiring coordinator" that sits on the regional umpiring staff that orders regional shirts for the pre-selected umpires. Each umpire is contacted for their shirt and hit size, and uniform number (for regions that use them) It is up to the umpire to select the correct size. As far as uniform color, this is totally up to the regions. Most regions usually run there regional softball tournament one week prior to the little league tournament, so what happens is the umpire shirts for both tournaments are ordered together and a lot of times they end up being all softball colors. Here in the southern region there are some pretty good umpires that sit on staff. Most do high school and college ball so they usually do a good job at keeping the softball colors away from the southern regional tournaments.

In the West where I am I was contacted directly by the tournament director in Missoula for the Regional I worked to get my shirt size. He ordered our shirts and hats. From talking to other umpires I know who have gone to Regionals I have the impression that out here, each tournament director/UIC decides separately what the umpires are wearing. This is at least how I think it is in the Western Region.

The LL Baseball Regionals (the level that gets on ESPN) in San Bernardino have been using black and cream shirts for a while now.