What makes a good umpire?

[NCASAUmp]

I'm going to throw a couple more things out there...

Don't yell out every call. It looks like you're trying to overcompensate for something else, and if every call is yelled out, what do you have left in your bag for when you need to sell the really close calls?

Honor your commitments at all costs. If you don't want to call on a night you scheduled yourself, then don't accept the assignment to begin with (yeah, we had a no-show last night, leaving an ump by himself).

Remain calm and polite throughout the game, but don't let the players run you. You look more in control if you're cool and calm as opposed to heated.

Remain consistent throughout the game. If you make any changes in how you call, don't do it mid-game, do it the next game. Your strike zone should be the same from the first pitch to the last. Think of it this way. If someone videotaped your game, then chopped it into different segments, someone watching those segments in random order shouldn't be able to pick out the start of the game, middle of the game or end of the game.