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.

Why? Do you honestly believe that because umpires reach a certain level or assignment, they are the best? Or just the best available?

Well, if you are going to include common sense in your arguments you are going to ruin this forum.;)

What the hell does that have to do with my point? Obviously I included a range of baseball umpires from HS to MLB .. so there is nothing in that range of umpires that would indicate that I was only talking about the best. I was talking about any competent baseball umpire.

My point was if you are sitting there drooling into your potato chips because you just cant figure out if a baseball umpire is calling strikes or balls, you should not be anywhere near any diamond. Their signals are not confusing. No umpire should have any trouble working with an umpire using various calls as part of their plate work.

Likewise, softball signals are not confusing. Some are robotic.. but when they eventually make them, you understand it just fine.

Have you seen tim McClelland work? it takes him like till the 9th inning to call the strike from the 1st inning on the 1st batter.... just bc they dont have mics on ALL the umpires at the NCAA regionals and supers doesnt mean that people don know what they called. the announcers are GARBAGE they dont even know they are at a softball game half the time. As softball umpires we call in the down posistion pop up ... signal ... take a step back. What about the guys who work scissors with a point for a strike in MLB... they take just as long or longer to signal... o WAIT they signal and VERBALIZE at the same time so really they take longer....

Tim McClelland is the perfect example of "timing" vs "way way too much time".

The announcers are sitting right behind the PU at most NCAA games.

If they are missing it.. guess what?

Maybe we need to rethunk it.

Speaking as a fan in attendance at a MLB game, MLB plate umpire signals ARE hard to see if you are seated where you don't have a view of the PU from behind. The little wimpy side point is invisible if you have to look through the batter / catcher. Good thing they have competent scoreboard operators at most parks.

I know, but I had that thought bouncing around and just needed to get it out. You just left the door a little ajar and I pushed. :D

Well, I would agree in most part, but not always. There have been times when I could not see an umpire's completely-clad dark blue arm low and in front of his dark blue shirt/jacket.

One in particular would use a scissor stand with right hand on his knee. A strike call was simply raise the right hand in front of his chest. From behind the plate, the movement was not noticeable. From the outfield, it was not noticeable.

This is my only complaint about "private" mechanics. To me, this is an umpire who has placed style before communications. You are right, you don't see it often, and for some, possibly never. It's just that I have.

Well I would think there should be a happy medium somewhere. If someone had a strike signal that was poor in quality, that would be an evaluation "ding"... as opposed to how it is now....

"No dont do the hammer that way, thats the NCAA way, do it this way, the ASA way" :rolleyes:

You get cold donuts and coffee at your clinics?? :D

Gotta disagree with you, again. A signal is just that, a signal. Meant to convery a message. The best way to convey that message clearly to everyone in a ballpark is to give a universal signal, not some variant that you or I choose to use.

In your opinion, then, where should this morphing of signals end. Is it okay for me to point to the ground for a strike, if that is my desired strike call? Where do we draw the line?

I am also telling you that there are some signals in the groups of umpires you named that fail to convey the message. I have been at a MLB park where, due to my angle to the plate, I couldn't see the little side point, and due to my distance from the plate I couldn't hear a call. THAT umpire failed to communicate to me and the hundreds of fans around me. Had he come up with a big, clear, hammer, we all would have known what the call was.

To me, the hokey is with those people who feel we should "express ourselves" on the field rather than use the prescribed signals.

They are missing it because they are in the press box and the umpires at NCAA games arent always mic'd it happened in the ACC baseball championship too.

Drop the Hammer
 

The operative part of your statement is "MLB park" meaning there is a HUGE scoreboard that will display the count soon enough. Raising a fist above your head wont be confused with an OUT so I understand its purpose = easier for fans to see the call. But a fist to most fans means OUT. I just watched a NCAA softball game and noticed called 3rd strike is a BOW & ARROW and swinging 3rd strike is just another overhead HAMMER. So my question is : What is the ASA uniform teaching on a dropped third strike? I admit some umpires raised right arm is not as pronounced as it could be but describing it as "little side point" doesnt do justice to those who do make it clearly visible.

You mean like the "slow" NCAA umpires displayed the hammer "soon enough"? :rolleyes:

But the problem is, there are several who don't make it "clearly visible." A hammer is clearly visible when executed properly. And I don't agree that a hammer automatically means out to "most fans." I think most fans would know on the first pitch to a batter, if the umpire gives a clear hammer, then the umpire must have called a strike as opposed to an out.

Since there are differences....who's prescribed signals?

Whichever organization you are working. ASA, when working their game, NFHS, when working theirs, or NCAA when working theirs. Fortunately, there is no real difference between them, except that NCAA has a couple of extra "acceptable" signals. Each list and have nice little diagrams in their respective umpire manuals.

Wow, I just got an eyeful.

http://www.americanfederationofumpires.com/signals.html

That's hillarious! Remind me to never join the AFU.:D

Hey, Mike? Don't join the AFU. They still haven't published their secret handshake, and I hear they're talking about merging with the YSISF. :eek:

There are lots of groups trying for a slice of the pie. They need to try and differentiate themselves from the standard. I really don't like the idea of all the different shirts. People are just trying to make a buck off of us by selling shirts.

I am kind of a mechanics freak. However, I was at a high level high school game last night that the plate umpire wore no shin guards, no plate(steel toe) shoes and a beanie cap. He sometimes worked on the outside shoulder of the catcher and to be honest with you did a great job.

The teams really just want the umpires to get the calls right.

Dakota, you still wearing the beanie cap? ;)

Had something similar at a tournament a couple years ago. Had an umpire sent that worked HS. On the plate, he was about 4' behind the catcher and never moved out of the RH slot. There was no way he could see the plate and I would have to guess he was calling the pitch out in front. However, after observing him, he did a pretty good job.

He worked HS ball in SteveM's general area, but told me no one had ever told him to get up on the catcher and change slots with the LH batters. Scary.

Well, the strike zone doesn't change just because a batter's left-handed. :rolleyes:

No, but two things do:

Your view of the batter's strike zone and your vulnerability to foul balls.

Yup -
Mike,
We don't tell anyone to move up closer to the catcher to get a good look at the pitch.:rolleyes:
I think he's in the next district over - so that tournament was in his home district.

Interestingly enough, I see in the current Referee issue that the scissors is OK in college ball. AND, in using the scissors, there is a different head height "standard".

Which is why I used the term "general area". ;)

No, it wasn't me. I had to give mine up. The HSM crushed the propeller. :mad:

http://www.geekculture.com/geekcultu...eaniesmall.gif

Ironically, I noticed that not even the AFU has approved either the vertical or horizontal double fist pump. :cool:

Plate Umpire is covering 3B --
PU puts his left fist on the left side of his ribcage and then moves the left arm to the left in parallel with the ground.

...........That's the chicken dance.

Dunnah, dunnah, dunnah, dunt.
Dunnah, dunnah, dunnah, dunt.
Dunnah, dunnah, dunnah, dunt, dunt, dunt, dunt, dunt.

whatever happened to, "I got third!" :D

Well, that's when umpires should be on the same page. I hate it when someone calls out "I've got third" when they want to deviate from mechanics in the middle of a game. First, I think that it's bad form to take away someone's call. Second, a defensive player may think it's a teammate yelling it out and not the umpire.

If that's how you want to do your game, fine. Just work it out BEFORE the game, save yourself the breath, save yourself the risk of confusing the defense, and save yourself the chat with the DC explaining why you'd yell something like that out while his team is trying to get an out.

Only for a one winged chicken.