Umpires are getting to robotic..
 

As I watched the NCAA toury this weekend, I noticed that ALL the umpiring behind the plate was so boring.
I think in the Oklahoma game, (or the Florida game)the plate-umpire was so late with the call that the announcers were not sure what was going to be called. I mean like three good seconds would go by before the umpire would make the robotic jester of a strike. Many times the annoucers would say 'Ball' and then the umpire would stand up. Raise the hand above the head and give a pump motion.
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I know that this is the way they want the plate umpire to handle calling balls and strikes but to me they whole thing makes it robotic and unrreal. Let umpires have some personal expression.
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I am not saying that the umpiring was poor, in fact I saw alot of good umpiring last weekend. But since I watch umpires more than the game, I notice things from an umpire's point of view.

I only watched half of the Georgia - UCLA game on Sunday afternoon. Linda was calling the pitches within a split second of the ball hitting the glove. A bit quick for my tastes, but hey, when you rise to that level, you know what you're going to call a strike vs. a ball.

Is that the umpire or the talking heads fault? It appeared that on most of the games, the participants knew what was going on in plenty of time.

Actually I thought I saw way more personal expression then ever before. Ie...scissors stance, GD stance, box stance, heel toe stance...and something I don't know what to call...but it was spread out about 8 feet wide.

All seemed to be effective.

Last time I checked, the fans didn't come or tune in to watch the umpire put on a show.

Nothing new there. The Talking Heads (TH) routinely run at the mouth about things of which they are clueless. Just add this to the list. The umpire, nor the TH, get any extra credit for speed. The people who actually need to know the call are getting that information expeditiously.

If an umpire wants to give a proper signal as prescribed by the sanctioning body, who are you to criticize?

If you were a bored as you seem to indicate, maybe you should have turned the channel.

Does a robotic jester juggle for a robotic king? :D

I have a feeling that was a pearl cast before swine, but it had me LMAO.

If you notice things from the umpire's POV, and call any level of serious ball, you know that the purpose of signals is to convey a message. Is it simplier and clearer to convey any message in a concise, uniform manner, or 26 different ways? We all know the answer. For example, SOS in morse code or "mayday" broadcasts have a very clear, universal meaning. Do you think if you decided to key GOF in place of SOS, or broadcast "junenight" via radio, you would convey the message you desire to communicate, and subsequently get the desired results?Therefore, uniform signals and mechanics are preferred for that reason.

The umpires are not to be entertainment. If you umpire to be an entertainer, then you are in the wrong avocation. Might I suggest karaoke? As umpires, our job is to simply rule on the play, and signal our ruling in a form that everyone present will understand.

I'd prefer to see "robotic" umpires rather than "Luciano" umpires, but that's just me. :D

Apparently, his infamous out mechanic was egged on by some of the players at the time who would yell, "shoot 'em" and he would.

Never thought entertaining the crowd or teams was an umpires' job.

But it didn't help Luciano.

No it didn't - but then again, he wasn't "Lucky".:D

I agree with you. This is the least robotic I've seen. Varied stances and some personal taste in the way you call is being shown by the NCAA. Heres hoping it continues and spreads.

This is a bunch of hokey BS sold to softball umpires at clinics while we eat our cold donuts and stir our coffee in our Styrofoam cups.

I've never been confused watching a competent umpire regardless of his signals.

Rather the umpire points, hammers, chainsaws bow and arrows, throws, boxes, uses scissors, GD, box, Heel toe, knee, whether he says strike, heeyaa, haa, etc etc etc etc.

You DO NOT need to be a robot to be competent. You do not need to use the same universal signal and strikes to be competent and convey the message.

Want proof?

Watch MLB, Minor Leagues, HS Baseball, or College baseball umpires.

If you cant watch the game and keep up, youre in the wrong business. And they are not robots.

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I worked 18G showcase this weekend and goofed with all kinds of different stances. Gerry D, Scissors, etc. What did a umpire say to me? "Man I like your baseball stance".

Ha!! That was funny.

At any rate, I personnally see the plate best in ASA's prescribed robot stance. But it was fun to goof around a little at a show case and experiment with different stances.

Summed up perfectly...kudo's to those who let us discover how each of us individually see's the plate best!!

yeah well baseball cant be so competent with the plethora of missed calls lately. and actually to contradict my previous statement I use the GD but stay in the slot and not more than 1 foot from the catcher.... this set has locked my head in and thus imidiately locked my zone in.

Typical arrogance from you.

Especially since the stated reason in all clinics on the prescribed ASA plate mechanics is to make sure the spectators can see the call. That does not mean they have to wait forever to see the call.