Pitching Change
 

Can anyone tell me a manual that tells the umpire to 'brief' the pitcher after a change. Ie Give the count, outs and Runners. I had an umpire argue yesterday that it was in the manual. I did not know, and she would not say, which manual, and I wanted to know if it really was in some off brand manual.

She did say that she will only do this for 14u's and lower, but my argument is that even 10us have a coach in the dugout to do that job.

Thanks.

It's not. Your partner is inventing things. It's not in the book. And most real umpires will not do it. To me, it's one of the signs that my partner doesn't go to clinics.

In another thread, I detailed where one of our VERY experienced guys did this at a high school game and got his @$$ handed to him by the coach.

Don't. Do. It.

Don't forget the most important part of this mechanic. While you're telling the pitcher which base the runners are on, make sure to emphasize each runner with a dramatic point in her direction! This is just in case the pitcher isn't fully aware of where first, second or third base might be.

I've had a real run of partners this year that do this...and it does tend to grind my gears. I have to fight back the urge to scream, "Get back to your position! She has a coach for for that!".

The worst was a partner I had few years ago. There was a pitching change. I was the base umpire and stood back to watch the warm up throws. They end and I head back to my position...but the plate umpire doesn't. He just stands there, mask off, in front of the plate, staring at me. Well, I'm sure that there's nothing I'm missing, so I just stand there staring back.

Finally he points at the pitcher and yells, "Go tell her!". So I yell back, "Go tell her what?". He says, "The situation".

I hate this and don't want to be any part of it. So I kind of shake my head and point back at him, as if to say, "Be my guest".

Apparently he's not only convinced that this is the correct procedure, but that it's the base umpire's responsibility and duty. He puts his hands on his hips like he's getting all agitated because I'm not complying fast enough...so I decide to stand there a little longer staring right back!

Now I start to feel like I'm delaying the game, so decide to end our Mexican standoff. I slide over a few steps toward the pitcher, lean in and quietly say, "Are you all ready, Pitch?". She nods and I add, "Okay, let's go".

I guess he figures we're good to go, because then he puts on the mask and gets back behind the plate! After the game I tried to convince him that we really, really don't need to do this...but I think that he remained unconvinced...

As a Reformed Presbyterian, I believe in the Regulative Principle of Worship. In other words, we try to do things commanded by the Bible and leave other stuff out of the service.

The guy who first trained me used a similar admonition: Don't do stuff unless it is in the book.

Early on, I noticed guys point to bases as runners touched them, tell catchers a better place to receive a throw from the outfield, verbally and visually announce the number of outs about 412 times per inning, call time to ask a coach if he wants a courtesy runner, Chat chat chat with fans, and of course dramatically show and tell a new pitcher the 'situation'....

Almost universally, these umpires were quite unfamiliar with the rules...but they made up for it by doing a whole lot of stuff that an umpire has no business doing.

Does anyone want to add to my list?:D:p

Joe

Thankfully this was in the locker room and not on the field. The umpire is a young gun that everyone thinks is the next great thing. I told her that I needed to see it in a manual before I did it. She told me it was in the ASA manual. This was when I decided it was a good time to stand outside in the 90 degree heat instead of waiting for my game in the AC. :)

Had a partner dust the plate 23 times in 4 innings in a 12-u Rec game.

Well that could be because he was tired of getting hit and was trying to get the time limit to run out!! :D

Heck, I've had innings where I've dusted the plate that much. It's WINDY in Katy, Texas - you often need to dust it every 2 to 3 batters even with no activity. Add to that a rather sandy field, especially around the plate, and a high scoring game with lots of passed balls or other plays at the plate - I could see hitting that number. 4 innings? I bet I go over 20 in EVERY game. (And not an overly plate-brushy kind of guy... my back is bad, and I avoid it if I can).

(Unless you meant the PITCHER's plate - I did have a partner who had the annoying habit of stopping things to dust it off DURING an inning, sometimes more than once, even after being told to cut it out).

I think you just moved to first place. :(