Lookin for an eval
 

3rd game in after two year layoff. I felt good, was looking for some feedback.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DzzO...e_gdata_player

The link appears broken.

I hoped edit worked. Had wrong link. Tx

Hmm,
 

First, welcome back.

We expect certain things out of our umpires that I am not seeing in this clip.

When a ball is hit to the infield we expect a lot more hustle and movement out of our PU. You really aren't even leaving the dirt circle.

We also require our umpires to keep batters in the batter's box. We remind them not to forget that one foot must always be in the box once an a bat starts.

We would like to see you stay down longer on pitches. This starts with staying down on "Balls." This makes it easier to stay in place long enough when it is a tough strike call.

The funniest thing about your video is right after a guy is called out on strikes the catcher appears to dust off the outside corner of the plate.

I am not trying to be too critical as 85% of what you do looks great! Just concentrate on the details and all else will fall into place.

T

How did you go from a ground ball out to a foul ball?

What was the input your partner gave you that caused you to change the call and why didn't he help you from the get-go?


Ditto here on the timing (not unexpected after a layoff) and the hustle (no excuse) issues.

Thank You T!
 

Good to be back and hear from you!

I'm glad you didn't mention my toss-backs, :). I'm still healing from a broken arm.

I appreciate the feedback, agree 100%

Most of what you're doing looks fine. I agree with the comments about getting out from behind the plate further. You also need to exit to the left of the catcher, in my opinion. The one thing that caught my eye, is that it appears you are still dropping into position as the pitch is on the way. I would suggest setting up slightly quicker so you can track the pitch from a stationary position instead of while you're still dropping down.

Great question!
 

[QUOTE=asdf;837579]How did you go from a ground ball out to a foul ball?

Learned from a mistake I'll never make again. I read the play through as it happened and the batter didn't react in a way that told me he was hit, and I was straight lined, so I let play go. Coach came out and asked for help, I obliged, first mistake. Second was my P saying it hit him. My first thought was why didn't you kill it, but I went with getting the call right and changed the call, second mistake. The call was right to begin with:eek:

[QUOTE=REFANDUMP;837593]The one thing that caught my eye, is that it appears you are still dropping into position as the pitch is on the way. I would suggest setting up slightly quicker so you can track the pitch from a stationary position instead of while you're still dropping down.[/QUOTE]

Agree with the above. Looks like your head is still moving as the pitch gets there. Also, looks like you may actually, be getting a little too low behind the catcher.

I work with a guy that does this and it drives me nuts. He went to Jim Evans Academy a few years back, and says that it is how he was trained, to drop down when the pitch has just left the pitcher's hand. I questioned him on this and he insists he's doing it right. It really weirds me out, truthfully. If I tried getting set that late I would totally miss pitches. Which he does, IMO. He is a pretty damn good umpire in all other areas, he just freaks me out with his setup. I set when the pitcher kicks his free foot.

I set when the catcher does. I don't want to be moving when the pitcher releases the ball.

Me too. Me neither.

For the record, a lot of us (self included) don't toss anything back. I hand the ball to the catcher.

throw back
 

Many years ago, just starting out, I had situation where I had pitcher looking straight at me and when I tossed ball back he lost it in sun and took a shot right in middle of chest. I didn't throw it very hard and he wasn't hurt but I felt terrible and have not tossed back since. Lesson learned.

I had a partner hit a kid in the cup. I'd never done it since then and don't do it now, unless it's a soft toss from a few feet away (usually after the catcher takes a hard shot).

+1

I set when the PITCHER does [starts to, actually]. If I'm moving when the delivery starts, I screwed up and wasn't paying attention.

And I think it was Tee that helped take the bone out of my head that made me want to throw balls at the pitcher, when there is a young fellow on the field whose JOB includes that task.

I will throw a ball to the pitcher when it saves time. I do it because I like doing it. It's fun.

I was taught no tossbacks and I still have the accuracy of Greg Maddux! :D

"It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt... then it's just fun."

I played baseball exclusively as an F4 from the age of 8 to 18. I still don't trust my arm.

Tommy Platteborze Jr., lookin' good out there. Raucous teenagers, everyone appears to be having fun! Well done! ;)

xtreamump
 

I went to the Jim Evans MLB Umpire School in 2008 and I can say one thing, You had better be set when the pitchers hands are together.

Jim's mission statement is, "One Umpire, One Mechanic".

I used Davis, dropped my rear down, and brought my head up at the same time the pitcher started his motion. Too hard to be a statue.

Love this forum!
 

I have to agree. Had a game yesterday and I tried to set sooner as most have mentioned, and it seemed like I was waiting forever for the pitch. After two innings my legs felt like we were in the ninth. Maybe there's a happy medium. Could be due to layoff too. I did make a conscious effort to hustle on every play and began to feel like myself again.

I did realize I was setting too low as mentioned, but I think I was just trying to hide behind the catcher to protect my healing broken arm. After I gained trust in my catcher I began to loosen up and open myself up a little more. I didn't throw anything back to the pitcher, short backstop. I usually only do it to speed up the game and help the catcher out.

I did learn another thing. I don't want anyone throwing balls to me! Accident waiting to happen:D

Thank You All very much for your feedback! I really appreciate your time and will work on improving using your suggestions.

Any links to others games? Would love to see them!

Thank You!