Talking Mechanics

[Manny A]

Originally Posted by CecilOne

I just read the newest Referee mag article about "working the plate", with some concerns.
1- Chin no lower than catcher helmet. Aren't we taught eyes at top of strike zone, regardless of catcher height and stance.

We're taught to have our eyes at the top of the zone, but our chin shouldn't go lower than the top of the helmet. You may have a really short batter and a somewhat large catcher that if you put your eyes at the top, you wouldn't be able to see around the catcher's head. What Jay is using in his Referee article is more of a baseball umpire's stance where the head stays the same height (as long as it's no lower than the chin on the top of the catcher's helmet), no matter the batter's size,

Originally Posted by CecilOne

2 - I don't have catcher in my way if in proper slot with heel-toe, unless she shifts into slot.

I didn't see any reference to that in the article. Jay said that sometimes the batter may initially restrict the umpire's view, but his/her view will open up when the batter gets into her hitting-position crouch.

Originally Posted by CecilOne

3 - The dirt rubbing on ball seems inappropriate or at least unnecessary. Pre-game rubbing of coating is all I will do.

As he mentioned in the article, Jay's talking about getting a new ball fresh out of a box or plastic wrapper. It happens sometimes when the three or four balls we get from the home team end up not being available. He recommends not grabbing a handful of dirt and rubbing it directly onto the ball, since we don't allow players to do that. His suggestion is to transfer dirt onto the ball by rolling it on the ground or sprinkling dirt onto it while it's laying there, then rubbing the dirt off of it, which should help get the shine off the ball.

Whoever edits the softball articles in Referee really needs to look at things from a softball perspective. In Jay's article, her refers to the "rubber" instead of the pitcher's plate, and talks of holding up the pitcher by raising the right hand with palm facing her. Those are dead giveaways that he's not a polished softball umpire instructor.