The Umpire's List of Lists
 

Hey, everybody:

I've just published a new book, The Umpire's List of Lists. Here's the Foreword that explains what it does:

Unfortunately, I have lost the name of an umpire who last year emailed to say I needed to make lists of what umpires needed to do: for a game, for a season, for a career.

His idea: There are training manuals, Power Point shows, magazine articles: all kinds of media to let an umpire know where he should stand, what he has to do; how and when to make a call. But as far as he knew, there wasn't a simple list of bullet points an umpire could read before he went to work.

The Umpire's List of Lists is going to solve that problem. Think of it as the Cliff Notes of working baseball. I make it easy for you to review the material before you take the text.

Here's an example. Every mechanics manual will explain that an umpire behind the plate should track the ball from the pitcher's hand all the way into the catcher's mitt. Not to do so means the umpire might fall victim to "tunnel vision." Moreover, failure to track the pitch to its end means the umpire may make up his mind too early. The pitch that looks so good at the cutout suddenly breaks, and the catcher must dive for the ball. That's covered in the List of Lists this way: (1) Track the pitch. (2) Don't call the pitch too soon.

You want to know the steps involved in calling plays at first base? There's a list. What goes into an ejection report? I've got a list. What are effective techniques for controlling a game? The Umpire's List of Lists "lists" them. To paraphrase the guy on the TV ad: "You're gonna like the way you read."

Check it out at my website.

Get the book NOW for $5.25 at Amazon.com

My standard guarantee for the last twenty years applies: Buy the book. If you don't like it, I'll refund your money and you can keep the book.

Free 2-day shipping for Amazon Prime members, too.

Just ordered. Thanks Carl.

Please let us know if any electronic versions will be coming out?

Thank you Papa C.

Hard to pass up for $5.25

I'm gonna give it a shot.

Let me know what you think after you get the book. Pay close attention to the Afterword. It's a proposal in which we all get a chance to improve the level of amateur umpiring.

That's what we do this for, right? The batter we are, the better the game is. The better the game is, the better the participants turn out later in life.

If we didn't believe that, I don't think we'd put with half the nonsense we do.

Don't misunderstand. I'm not falling for that old saying: "It's for the kids."

It's for everybody!

Thanks again.

As a member of the NFHS publication committee:

Printed media is dead.

See Marshall McClune;

"The media is the message."

T

I still read the paper every morning with breakfast. Even as a paid paper subscriber, the company wants me to pay $1.99/month to read stories on the website. Short sighted unless that's the plan - to convert everyone away from the paper.

I still appreciate a good read. Most everything I read now is purchased for the Kindle (or the Kindle app on a tablet), but for $5.25, I'll let Amazon ship me a book.

Everyone makes their own decisions.

Newsweek leaving publication is a start.

Getting a newspaper that is 2/3 sized . . . see Indianapolis daily . . . clearly shows the trend.

Rich, i have a master in Journalism and I am disgusted at the tend . . . internet unproven articles . . . I am lost

The most shocking thing I saw this week was that CNN bought the cesspool that is Bleacher Report and will be using that as their default sports site instead of Sports Illustrated. If you've ever read anything on Bleacher Report, you'll understand why I'm disappointed and wonder if anything will ever be as good as it used to be.

One of these days I guess it will all seem like the new normal, but not yet.

Gosh, Tee: I didn't know the National Federation had stopped publishing rule books. I must have missed their announcement. Uh, I guess I also missed the notice from the Giddeons International society.

And don't brag about your post to anybody at the NFHS. They might wonder why one of their "consultants" didn't know who wrote The Medium is the Massage, which I was teaching at the college level at three deifferent universities in the 60's and 70s. The author was Marshall McLuhan.

Amazing! You're back at your old stand. And I was telling everybody your were cured of this bad habit.

Sorry for straying from the thread, but...

From the 2013-14 NFHS Umpires Manual:

"Audible calls on non-swinging strikes should vary in intensity, tone and length depending on their importance in the game."

"For the foul call, turn your body towards foul territory, extend your arms over your head, and bring them down to waist level in the direction of foul territory. Yell, "Foul!" as emphatically as you gesture. If the call is crucial to the game or is just barely foul, yell, "Foul! Foul! Foul!"

"On a passed ball with a runner at third, a play at home is likely. Remove your mask quickly, if you think you have time. Set yourself at a right angle to the catcher's throw. This gives you a good angle on the play at home."

"One way to be sure the tagging player has retained possession of the ball is to ask to see it. Or you can tell the runner he's out if the tagger has the ball."

"When the ball is batted foul, call out in a loud voice "foul ball" and signal it foul by first putting both hands over your head and then motioning to foul territory."

"Be careful not to kick dirt onto the plate after you have just cleaned it."

"When you start cleaning the plate, face the spectators and the catcher's box. If your pants were to tear, only the infielders would see it."

"Suit your simultaneous verbal call to the emphasis of the physical call and phrase it for, and direct it to, the offensive player. You could say, "He's out!" But if you say, "You're out!" you're getting to the principal one who must be convinced."

"If the [safe call] demands more emphasis or if you want to show your appreciation of a good play, bring your arms in from the extended position, possibly crossing them in an x in front of you and re-extending them. You can repeat this several timed depending on the amount of emphasis you wish to give. Another way of emphasizing the call is to make a couple of quick side steps, either with the arms extended or while making repeated safe signs."

T, I am sure these didn't emanate from you, but they don't do much for FED's credibility, and they certainly detract from the other good stuff found throughout the manual.

Reminds me of one of the categories on the MTV game show Remote Control that was on the air when I was in college. It was called "Dead or Canadian."

McLuhan is both.

The host of the series, Ken Ober, is merely dead.

I have read things by Carl in print form and in electronic form. The BRD, for example, I want in *both* forms -- electronic mainly for searching purposes, although it's great to have on a phone to settle a bet in a bar.

But for a nice read, I want the print version.

I've never read it this close before throwing it in the trash can. I'm glad. It sounds like it was written in 1946.

Kari Wurher is still alive and that's all that matters.

I preferred Marisol.

I agree that this is phrased wrong. But sometimes the situation demands pointing the call to the specific player; i.e., when two players are on the same base and both players are tagged.

The proper mechanic is: "42: You're out. Time!" This way, you protect the player who owns the base.

I once followed that practice. #42 said: "Why?" I said: "I don't discuss calls with JV players, son." Later in the half-inning I realized the bases had been loaded with a ground ball to the pitcher who had chased R3 back to third. #42 had been forced to third and owned the base.

My point is, if you're asleep, not even mechanics properly used can save your behind.

Must be the reality TV version... :rolleyes:

Here's my list. I've handed it out at clinics for years. Feel free -

BASEBALL THOUGHTS
1. Head out to home plate and the mound with head up and with determination.
2. If a catcher asks for help on a check swing, NEVER refuse.
3. When a relief pitcher comes in and is warming up, and you are the base umpire, walk behind first base to see where that free leg and foot are in relation to the plane of the rubber. It won't change when you're in the middle of the infield and you'll know when he does something differently.
4. If the team in the first base dugout is giving you static after a play, stand on the third base line between innings for a while.
5. If you are the base umpire, don't talk much to any players or coaches, even when a relief pitcher is warming up, unless you have something to say relative to the game.
6. Record all changes on your lineup card, even in a blowout.
7. Count warm-up pitches and don't allow excess ones unless the situation merits it.
8. Notice which foot a pitcher steps off the rubber with when nobody is on base - chances are he'll do it with the same foot when runners are on.
9. Clean your shoes. Polish them, too.
10. Get clean matching ball bags and pants that fit.
11. Buy a new fitted hat at least every two years. Shirts, too. Look the part.
12. Make frequent eye contact with your partner, especially when runners are on base, and acknowledge hand signs.
13. Someone else keep an indicator and use it with runners on base.
14. As the plate umpire, flash the count regularly with runners on base.
15. Ask other umpires why they do the things they do, and ask for critique of your own work from umpires you respect.
16. Discuss odd plays every chance you get, and dig for the answers in as many sources as you can - don't quit looking for an answer just because you find one.
17. Never stop learning how to umpire. Don't be satisfied with your performance.
18. Take a lawn chair and a carpet square in your trunk, and a water jug will save your life.
19. Take the appropriate rulebook to the game site, but leave it in the car or locker room.
20. Always volunteer to do the plate when you work with someone for the first time - you have more control there.
21. Join some professional organizations. Attend their meetings and read their literature.
22. Go to a school or camp. More than once. Learn one thing at each camp, and work on it until you’re comfortable with it.
23. In the last inning, if the catchers have been working hard, tell them, “You’ve done a nice job today”. They appreciate the compliment. Don’t carry on a running conversation throughout the game.
24. Don’t be afraid to admit you missed a pitch. We all miss pitches.
25. Work hard to keep people IN the game. Be a good listener.
26. Don’t get caught up in the game – you have a job to do that does not involve emotion. Coaches argue – we don’t.
27. When a hitter steps up to the plate, look at his hands. If his fingers extend off the end of the knob, odds are you’ll have a better chance of knowing if that “up and in” pitch hit the knob of the bat or his hand. If it hit the hand, he’ll be in pain. If his fingers extend off the knob it can’t hit the knob.
28. If your partner gets in an argument with a coach, keep other coaches and players away from him, and be close enough to your partner to hear what’s being said. If your partner ejects someone, he’s done talking – get in between him and the ejected party and get the ejected party off the field (“You have to leave…You gotta go….You’re done, you have to leave”….etc.).
29. Consider the source. When a player or coach has “words” with you, consider who it is and what the situation is before you react to them. Some coaches are very animated all the time, and some are very animated only when they are really upset. Same for players.

A lot of good ideas however, when a relief pitcher comes in, I think the game is better served by having the BU in the infield and assisting with the number of warm-up pitches as your partner is adjusting the lineup cards. Not that there is anything wrong with your idea, however, I have never ever, in close to 30 years had to call that type of violation.

I count the pitches as well - I don't have to be in any specific place on the field to do that.

JJ

I'm pretty sure she is more like last year's Halloween candy, and past her prime.

Your inexperience is showing. McLuhan's treatise likely sheds some insight on why you learned it the way you did.

Yeah, Tee. It's a bad habit that's acceptable, though, if you're hawking a product. Come back then.

Seriously? Love that don't kick dirt after you just cleaned advice and the one about splitting my pants. Is this crap really in the NFHS umpire manual? I have not looked at it in a long time.

Wow, I forgot her. I think you correct.

Word for word.

Not sure. I just looked at some old pictures and Kari may have been the one. But Marisol was first.

ôlô
 

Carl, please slow down and re-read my post . . .

So I do know who Marshall McLuhan is . . . I just type poorly.

The NFHS PUBLISHES only one magazine these days. All other are on line.

Carl, think of glass houses . . . you criticize my spelling and you wrote (sic),

"deifferent" -- and of some "massage" -- before you go after me you should watch your own typing errors.

Darn Carl, I know you make a living writing, publishing and SELLING books . . . my entire work in this thread was COMPLAINING about the loss of published media.

T

I'm familiar with it. I was commenting wryly on Carl's typo in the post where he chastens Tee for his typo.