officially not a virgin :)
 

WOW, had my first games last night (3 in a row, yes, I'm sore:eek:), worked the bases all three, next week I get to be behind the plate. The UIC said I did very well, he said I rushed a bit. You all were spot on..SLOW DOWN. Had alot of bangers at first and second without any grumbles although me and the second baseman collided twice.:o I want to thank everyone on this forum for all the help and advice. Any advice for working behind the plate? (mens slow pitch)

Did she buy you dinner first? ;)

As always, one bit of advice: Slow down! :)

A lot of new umpires want to make the call of ball/strike, fair/foul, out/no catch as SOON as they think it happens.

Slow. Down.

On balls/strikes, wait one full second after it first strikes the ground or catcher, then make the call. Keep a good rhythm. If you call it too quickly, you'll look like you're guessing.

On fair/foul, wait until it actually IS foul before you call it. Don't call it in the air. If it's on the ground between first and third, wait until it's touched, is settled, or passes first or third. You'll look like a fool if you call it foul in the air, only to have the outfielder make a great diving catch.

On fly balls, always assume that they WILL drop it. The same thing as I said in your previous thread. If you assume they'll drop it, you won't look like an idiot calling "out!" when the ball slips out of their glove before they've secured it.

Good luck! You'll do just fine.

I only work FP, can't imagine the rhythm behind the plate is different. When the pitcher releases the ball, I hold my breath. When F2 has is I let the air go and make up my mind. Then breath in and make the call, verbally. Get up and give the signal.
A good rhythm, BANG in the glove - one - two - call. My breath is only a helpfull medium.

How come you and F4 collided twice? Let the fielder lead you towards to your movements. This will be even more important behind the plate; let F2 with passed balls and foul pop-ups lead you.

Have fun, show that you're having fun and the teams will follow by example. Same for your hustling...

regarding the collisions at 2B, how did those occur? If the play is inside the bases, stay outside - no exceptions (at least in 2 man). If the ball goes outside the infield, move to the inside... there should be no chance of collision on a normal play.

(That said ... I had a collision that affected the game just last year - so it happen - just wondering how yours happened so you can try to prevent it.

Mine, I was in C, bases loaded, 1 out. Short squibber in front of 3B, I'm anticipating either a play at home or at first, so I move in toward the holding area (I know ... what did I just say - if the ball stays in, I stay out! Oops). Somehow she CATCHES it. As R2 scrambles back, there I am! We had just enough collision that the ball beat her back to the bag. 3rd out, last inning. Oops.)

These collisions usually occur when the BU is too close to F4, who is usually already halfway to the fence. SP infielders play MUCH farther back than they do in FP.

If you're finding that you're getting in F4's way, set up about 6 feet behind F4 and off their left shoulder. If there's ever a runner on 2nd base, change it to their right shoulder.

As Alex said, let F4 dictate your movements on the bases. Staying off to one side instead of being directly behind F4 reduces your chances of a collision.

Um .... what?

He's talking slow pitch mechanics.

First of all I am assuming this is fast pitch since you were in the C position. If that is the case you are supposed to move inside for a call at first. What holding zone are you talking about? Never heard of a holding zone on this play. I'm moving into the area between the pitchers plate and 2nd. Well, as close as I can get before having to get set for the call at first. This is assuming a play at first base. I very rarely get to that area because I have to clear the runner and make sure I'm not in the way of the fielder or her throwing lane. There is a lot of traffic over in the C position, which is why getting that far inside is rare. Also, I'm going to read the play because I could have a play at third as well. Which in that case it would be my call to make as the first throw on the infield is mine to every base but home. If that is the case I will stay outside.

Yep, the OP specified men's SP.

You should always be behind the second baseman, to the left or right if:

To the right: anytime there's a runner on 2B

To the left: all other times

Personally, if there are no runners on 1B and 2B, I split the difference between F3 and F4. It lets me buttonhook faster.

Ugh. My bad. Would delete it ... but I'll leave my ugly laundry out there for all to see. Sorry bout that!!!

C'mon... How many times have I read through a posting too fast and gotten it completely fouled up? Answer: plenty! :D

Then I would consider you are out of position and a target for the batter.

That's not what I was instructed at two National Schools.

What happens when someone is running in your general direction and you need to get out of the way? 50% of the time you will choose the same spot on the field to go as the fielder. If you are 4-6 feet away, it is a simple pivot and the fielder is by you and you have a clear path inside the diamond.

And why in the world would you want to stand right where the batter wants to hit the ball?

Of course, you could be referring to the "imaginary line" (here we go, again) which has been emphasized the last few years as absolution for INT while standing in front of a fielder. I've seen people cite this when standing in front of a fielder. I disagree with teaching this as a standard mechanic, but agree is may be available in an extreme situation. While it does absolve the umpire from calling INT on oneself, IMO being in front of an infielder is never a good position.

If F4 is that deep, I'd rather see the umpire move up the middle. Yes, it takes you farther away from the play at 1B and take a little more hustle to get into position, but, at least, you are not in the middle of the play to the right side.

In the ASA umpire manual, the SP base umpire is directed to position him/herself on the 1st side off F4. I don't read that the same as halfway between the two fielders.

That's just it, I don't just make the line and take one step back. I make sure I'm back far enough that I still have plenty of reaction time. I won't put myself into a position where my reaction time could be overcome by the ball's speed.

And most of the time, F3 is playing so deep anyway, they're almost parallel to the base line.

And if I'm worried that being in that position between F3 and F4 compromises my safety, I use that option a lot, too. It's a good position, and I have plenty of hustle to get into a good position.

Let's remember that positioning 100% situational, and a good umpire will adjust as much as appropriate for the various factors on the field.

Nor I, but again, this is what I've been taught at the NUS, and it has been reinforced by the various UICs I've met over the last 3 years.

And if I were to work one of your tourneys, I now know your opinion on the matter and wouldn't split the difference between F3 and F4. Problem solved. :)

Yup, that would be the holding area I referred to.

Kind of exactly how this happened. I waited for R2 to get by, but not really long enough. There was no play at third, F5 was the one going after the ball. The problem came because while I read - play at first, and was heading to where I should be for that play... I did not anticipate ANY chance at a catch, but the catch happened anyway. When I saw catch, I was a step behind R2 in both directions - she stopped, my momentum took me forward another step, RIGHT in her way.

If I'd waited just a hair more before trying to get to the area between P and 2B (whatever you prefer to call it), I would not have gotten in her way.

The other consideration was that assuming (as I did) that there was no catch, the most likely play was at home - so the holding area (after a play at home with runners on all 3 bases), was probably not my ideal spot if the ball went home. Call it a learning moment - we all have them.

and ...

do not go to the grass if the 2nd baseman goes there. do not, i repeat, go there. central atlantic uic instructions --as dave pointed out.

You are not going to hear that from me, nor will you find it in the umpire manual. It is a ludicrous restriction since all infields are not cut the same and we cannot control where the defense plays.

What would you do if all the IF were on the grass? Check out the Border Battle III. You may notice, the only umpire on dirt is the PU.

I WOULD agree to such a direction if there was no reason to be on the grass. There are umpires who like to stay deep, way too deep and end up running twice as far as needed and occasionally don't get to where they really need to be. The answer I get when I mention it is, "that's okay, I like to run". Well, guess what, Bubba, you ain't as fast as you think you are. :rolleyes:

When I called my National 2 years ago, we were given a similar instruction: stay off the grass.

The message I got from it was: find a spot where you're still on the dirt and not so far out of position, and don't be complacent by just following the book's instructions to plant behind F4. It got me thinking about where I should be when the "by-the-book" spot is so far out of position that you're completely removed from the play.

I have little doubt that this evolved from an old umpire adage somewhere along the lines of, "the umpire is treated like dirt, so stand on the dirt". And that is fine, as an adage, not as a standard mechanic. In the FP game, it is almost always available. To say the same in the SP game of TODAY, is unrealistic. And guess how much smaller that cut-out becomes when they move the bases to 70'?

I agree an umpire needs to go where s/he needs to be to do the job. And when it is necessary to deviate, you go where you need to go and make every effort to stay out of the area of the play.

BTW, it is a good possibility the folks who told you to stay on the dirt are the same that gigged umpires from my area for not mirroring the plate umpire's "time" call and for going out on a sinking line drives to the OF in a two-umpire system even though the crew pre-gamed it and it was necessary for those plays.

Don't you know, or want to know, what the real reason is to stay off the grass?;)

Congratulations on making it through your first games! Remember to study the rules and mechanics, also be patient and have a good time.

reported. someone's /8 needs to be canned.

Looks like someone's really bad browser history. :D

:eek: (Yes, it was funny. Thanks.)

C'mon, that was funny... :D

I'm surprised it took the spammers this long to latch onto this thread.