My 2015 Umpiring Resolutions
 

I've been working on a list of things to work on in the coming year, and I thought I'd share for feedback.

1. Have a more thorough pre- and postgame discussion with my partners.
I picked up a good checklist at the last clinic I attended. My current pre/postgame routine is poor at best.

2. Change my "Jackie Chan kung-fu punch" sell out mechanic to something closer to what one might call the "NCAA whack".
My natural sell out mechanic is reach way back and punch straight ahead, directly at the play along my line of sight. It has always left my feet in poor position as I tend to throw my weight too far forward. I have to step back away from the play, rather than towards it. I believe slowly changing to a mechanic with more lateral and less forward motion will put me in a better position to take that final forward step back into the set position, and be better prepared for another play.

3. Develop a better pre-pitch preparation for both 2-man and 3-man bases.
Two man is so routine that I can usually simply react to the play and be where I need to be. Not good - time to turn my brain back on. I don't work enough 3-man, so every pitch and situation I'm racking my brain to remember rotation, fly ball and tag-up coverages. I need to start thinking more between pitches in 2-man and less in 3-man. Time to get in the CCA manual.

4. Ball status. Ball status again. Ball status x3.
I had the luxury of working with good partners all last year, and I got in a bad habit of turning my eyes away from a ball that could have become live while I moved into my next position.

5. Lose 20 pounds.
The game continues to get quicker, and I continue to get slower and fatter. Time to turn that around. I'm too out of shape to comfortably work heel-toe in ASA for more than a game or two. Plus, I won't have to buy bigger pants for the first time in three years.

6. Start taking notes on the field, and logging my games.
It's hard enough sometimes to remember how many outs there are, let alone a weird deviation that came up in the first inning of a doubleheader. If I write it down, I can remember. If I can remember, I can learn from it.

What are your 2015 umpiring resolutions?

Good stuff. Way better list than the generic "Be the best I can be", or "Be better". Specific areas to improve, and several measurable, not just objective areas subject to the clinicians preferences.

#4 suggests to me your recent clinic may have been in OC; that's one of Willie's favorites (of course, he may have been your clinician elsewhere). Or his term has caught on with others, I suppose.

You are 100% accurate. Willie Newman was my evaluator at a camp here in Phoenix this fall. He might emphasize ball status a lot more than some other people, but he was right: I was taking my eyes (and mind) out of a potentially live situation. In a lot of years of umpiring, no one had ever pointed that out as clearly as he did. Something to work on...

And I also like #3.
Only want to lose 10 - 12.
Have been working on pre-game with little response.

Without regards to my belief this shouldn't be a live ball anyway. I have a question. I've seen many FP umpires get lazy on this point, and then I've seen others exaggerate the point of standing frozen and stare at the pitcher with the ball until the partner moves into position for the next play.

On the occasions that I've worked FP games, I never seemed to have a problem negotiating movement to the next position and still keeping the ball in my range of vision. So the question as it relates to this is, is the emphasis on each umpire keeping an eye on the ball, or partners working together to insure one is always watching the pitcher with the ball?

BTW, is isn't a matter of a ball which could "become" live since that isn't possible without the PU indicating it as such.

Mike, the minimum standard is that (at least) one have the ball and runners in his/her view at all times. That said, Willie's emphasis of BS (ball status) is that IF a situation arises where the person responsible loses any part of the status, the entire crew will suffer from the result.

Major 5 NCAA assignments are pretty lucrative; and replacing/canceling air travel arrangements can be costly. Willie's words to me, as best as I can quote from memory; "Steve, we're friends, and I respect your game. But I'm NOT going to risk MY future assignments, and potential postseason assignments, to you or any other umpire that might lose sight of all the elements. I will ALWAYS move to my next position keeping my eye on the ball, and every possible runner, no matter who my partners are. I strongly recommend that you, and every other umpire do the same."

TeeBob, how close is that to what he told you??

Know what the "standard" is, just wondering how Mr. Newton approaches it.

OTOH, was once working a major church SP nat in Mobile and had a partner on the plate that was a pure FP umpire. Have no idea how he got assigned to the tournament (well, I do, but let's pass on the politics) who just would not call time at the end of the play. Okay, I get that, but every time his partners checked to see if there was any part of the play still going on so they could move back into position, he was returning to the plate walking back to the field. Just didn't understand how part of his FP mechanics affected part of his SP game, but not the other.

See, if you eliminate the LBR, Willie and his partners wouldn't have a potential issue :)

I will keep this in mind for April 11, 2015.....:)

Nice list...I need to get on the weight loss as well.

At the ASA national I worked last summer (FP), we were advised to call time if the umpires needed to get back into position between plays.

Yes, that did surprise me!

The underlined portion of your quote is the reason he gave me. The funny thing is, though: a long time ago on a softball field far far away, my first umpire mentor told me basically the same thing. I'd simply become lazy over time.

Looking forward to working with you again Andy. :)

Sounds like what you already do maintains better ball status than I do (did). I think it's less about 100% eye contact on the ball between batters, and more about sustained mental awareness from the first pitch to the last.

The scenario Willie gave me was a pitcher in the circle with the ball who proceeds to drop it (and potentially kick it away) with runners on base. That ball is live without F1 possession and control. If my back is turned as BU, I may not even know there could be a play happening.

My point is the ball is live before anything happens or whatever happened would be irrelevant. But I agree, at least one umpire must be aware of what is happening with the ball.

It used to be one of those things that varied with the preference of the UIC/clinician, but ONLY when you had the full rotation (P at 3rd, U1 at home). There really isn't any other positioning where it should appear to be necessary. It can speed up the process in that situation.

I'm not sure there is, even now, any ONE absolute there in ASA.

At the National Umpire School that we hosted last year (2014), I learned that it is permissible to call TIME when an umpire chases a fly ball in either the two or three umpire system. This allows the umpire to return from the outfield to position.

I questioned when this started being taught and was told it was at the Schools in 2013! No other communication that I saw regarding this particular mechanic.

Actually, wasn't that mentioned in a rule clarification a few years ago?

This is a very good point that everyone should be working on constantly.

A player is taught to know where they are going with the play before hand should the ball comes to them and run scenarios through their brain of possibilities and know where they need to be when the ball goes elsewhere.

No different with an umpire. But don't limit yourself to thinking about where you will need to go. Observation of the players around you can be just as helpful.