Lack of umps just hit our sophomore team already this week. They usually play on Tuesdays and Fridays at the field opposite of where varsity plays. They have now been forced to play a double header on Wednesday night, starting at 5pm. It's looking like the trend may be that sub varsity teams have to play on different days from varsity to fee up some umpires.
@JohnF posted:HS sports officiating supply has been dwindling - even before covid... There's another thread about where hsbbw members sit during games. In that thread you will find a reason why there's fewer umps - parents who don't get it and why we don't sit near them... Feeling entitled to attack the coach/umpire or talk smack about others children - yikes. Administrators / coaches fear for their jobs from parents that will go above their heads. If a player or coach gets ejected from a game, there are repercussions including suspensions, taking anger mgmt / sportsmanship courses, etc. An umpire cannot eject a parent only an administrator / coach could do that. Imagine a coach stopping a game and telling his star pitcher's parent to leave because he's riding the ump for a single pitch his son didn't get called his way. I had to track down an administrator recently who was sitting way away from the "fans" who were riding the opposing pitcher because of his weight. Once he moved closer the jeering stopped, but no other parent or person nearby dared to step in and say knock it off. The coach knew who it was but was not getting involved.
In that thread I said I sat right behind the plate and this ^ is one of the reasons why. When my then sophmore made varsity the first game was appalling (argueing balls/strikes, C'mon man how are you so blind? on close plays, etc). I wanted no part. But instead of moving to the outfield where my husband wanted to go, I parked my unafraid of confrontation butt dead center. When Lefty was pitching and people would try to harrass the ump I turned and said "He missed wide, I'm right behind the plate. When your kid pitches you can argue and make the strikezone shrink, but not when it's mine." I had an umpire ask me in the parking lot after the game if I was the pitcher's mom. He gave lefty some compliments and also thanked me for attempting to control the situation. It took a full season (and some seniors graduating) but I feel like we're finally there. Complaining is said to the people directly around you
and a really bad call gets laughter or a OOOOOh?!?
@JohnF - just mark this down as another one of your blown calls. The ump returned from the parking lot, which is in the opposite direction of the restrooms. So him leaving the game had nothing to do with bladder control.
@Around_The_Horn posted:@JohnF - just mark this down as another one of your blown calls. The ump returned from the parking lot, which is in the opposite direction of the restrooms. So him leaving the game had nothing to do with bladder control.
You do know you don't need a restroom to manage bladder control 
... Still seems like a perfect opportunity for you to become part of the solution instead of the problem 
...
Just checked in on a game a school in our region is playing. Player X threw 80 pitches over 4 innings, then took over behind the plate for the rest of the game. And this is not the first time this has happened.
I don’t understand how a HS coach can a) think this is ok and b) not have the parents or player say something.
Game #1 for my favorite baseball player's senior HS season yesterday. Haha for all of you warm weather baseball parents...was a breezy and chilly 38 degrees at game time. We were supposed to play a couple last week but with no turf we had to wait longer to play.
Son has not played for his HS since he was a freshman with covid eliminating sophomore season and a broken hamate bone eliminating junior season.
Caught and led off for his squad. First AB he wrecked a preseason goal of no looking strikeouts...he handled it exceptionally well and was my proudest moment of the day. Next ab against the crafty lefty he smoked one between the first and second baseman. 3rd AB got a pitch he hammered after fouling off 2 with two strikes. 4th AB was with his team up 10-2 in bottom of 5th and a guy on base for a game 1 walk-off bomb (not hit as far as the prior homer).
Ended game 3/4 with 2 HR, threw out a kid at 3rd and zero passed balls. Thankful for a healthy start to what I hope is a fun, healthy, senior year for my kid. (attached is video he made of the 2 HR's).
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That looks like it was pretty cold! I put on a pullover when it's 75 and breezy!
Awesome start to the season!
Well 4 games left to the season. Sadly kind of looking forward to it being over. A lot of decisions being made that I don't understand. Most not evolving my son. Looking forward to summer ball. Where things just make more sense.
@TxballDad posted:Well 4 games left to the season. Sadly kind of looking forward to it being over. A lot of decisions being made that I don't understand. Most not evolving my son. Looking forward to summer ball. Where things just make more sense.
Thanks for sharing. This is exactly my sentiment. Is this a normal state in high school baseball? I look back now before the season started to conversation I had with more veteran parents and I’m like, “oh that is what they were talking about!!”.
Snowing today, all day rain yesterday. Some form of precipitation called for every day this week, and the past two. Not sure how we will get any games in. Miserable.
@Around_The_Horn posted:Thanks for sharing. This is exactly my sentiment. Is this a normal state in high school baseball? I look back now before the season started to conversation I had with more veteran parents and I’m like, “oh that is what they were talking about!!”.
What happens in high school baseball depends on whether the coach is a baby sitter who isn’t going to lose his job or expected to maintain a winning program.
When our high school had the former there were seventeen losing seasons in twenty years with the same coach. Only juniors and seniors made varsity.
A new AD fired him. The new coach was expected to win. Talent played regardless of class year.
The team went from a country club atmosphere to coming out of the locker room or off the bus like a well oiled military unit.
Talent played regardless of class year.
Isn’t is supposed to be like this! Play the best 9????
I wish my kid school had this principle! Our current seniors can’t make playoff but loyalty to seniors prevented the amazing freshman from moving up!
@NY posted:Talent played regardless of class year.Isn’t is supposed to be like this! Play the best 9????
I wish my kid school had this principle! Our current seniors can’t make playoff but loyalty to seniors prevented the amazing freshman from moving up!
Most in the HSBBW community believe it’s supposed to be that way. And it absolutely should. But are we in the majority in today’s current society? I submit to you that we may not be - as unbelievable as that sounds. So many people are not about things being a meritocracy. They are about their kid getting his/her turn. It all started with participation trophies, not keeping score, everyone gets to play, and Barney the Dinosaur espousing that everyone is a winner. Well, the world doesn’t work that way so those of us that know that continue to be frustrated by the ones that don’t.
How has your kid's team practices and game prep been like? My son told me the team barely practices and almost never do pre-game hitting. They are winning or tying every game so I guess there is no need for that. I was informed these coaches do not coach in the summer and really do not have a clue who the underclassmen players are. They are lucky to have a deep pool of kids to choose from since there are 2000 boys. I do not sense this is going to change. I am trying to subtly convince him to go back to his facility so he can get the work in to prep for the summer ball since he will not be allowed to field for his HS team. I am hoping the frustration will make him pull the trigger.
@adbono it’s not just about participation trophies. It can also be about donations to the program, nepotism and other types of favoritism. If you are in a situation where the best 9 play, savor it because it is not always the case.
@TxballDad posted:Well 4 games left to the season. Sadly kind of looking forward to it being over. A lot of decisions being made that I don't understand. Most not evolving my son. Looking forward to summer ball. Where things just make more sense.
it's funny how many conversations I have that sound the exact same. Every year so far has been like this. Then for some reason around January we start to get excited and think things will be different. Then the season starts and we start watching the clock waiting for it to end.
@PTWood posted:@adbono it’s not just about participation trophies. It can also be about donations to the program, nepotism and other types of favoritism. If you are in a situation where the best 9 play, savor it because it is not always the case.
Politics affect baseball at every level. That has always been the case. Only the very best players are immune to it - and hopefully James remains one of those. But the “attitude of entitlement” being an effective strategy is relatively new. Back in the day that got you removed from the team. Now it buys playing time. That’s the world we live in.
@adbono he was not immune from it at his first HS at all. He earned far more opportunities at his second school and in the minors. 😂
My kid has elected to tough it out. He thinks he can be ready for summer ball by piece meal training during the gaps in the remaining games schedule and the last 2 weeks before deploying to his summer team. I can see his frustration and his confidence waning, as a parent that kills me. Wife and I will continue to be his cheerleader on the sideline luckily I have this place for my therapy
Son’s HS clinched 2nd consecutive region championship tonight against their region rival. He hit a 3 run shot in the 1st, with a double and single later. Teammate had two HRs. Pitcher ended up with a perfect game after a 5th inning run rule.
Helluva night to be stuck watching it on an iPad 400 miles away, but I’ll take it. Can’t wait to give him a hug tomorrow.
Just heard all the baseball coaches (JV and Varsity) will be leaving at the end of the year except 1. Not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing yet. As a coaching career move, I think it is the time to go, if they can. The whole starting infield and all the starting pitchers are graduating this year. And they haven't done much development for the other classes. Maybe they all knew they were leaving and that is why they only focused on Varsity for the most part. We shall see how it goes.
Went to my son's HS rivalry game the other day. It was a beautiful evening, I saw old baseball friends from little league and HS, really a fun time. Our team lost, but it was a close game; it was slower and smaller than the college games, and I had forgotten how short 7 innings is!
I usually do not go to my sons games. Easier to watch in game changer. A big part is I do not like being around several of the parents. One game I did attend several of the dads started yelling towards the umpire about a call. Then one of them started to yell and scream at the umpire. If the fence was not there he probably would have gotten in his face. It was embarrassing. All for a call he was not happy about. He is the reason why the local sheriff had to escort the umpire to his car last year. His son cusses at the umpires. It gets rediclous. We had one kid flip the other team off when he was done pitching. His parents and their friends just laugh and think it is funny.
No way would I be an umpire.
@Alanj posted:I usually do not go to my sons games. Easier to watch in game changer. A big part is I do not like being around several of the parents. One game I did attend several of the dads started yelling towards the umpire about a call. Then one of them started to yell and scream at the umpire. If the fence was not there he probably would have gotten in his face. It was embarrassing. All for a call he was not happy about. He is the reason why the local sheriff had to escort the umpire to his car last year. His son cusses at the umpires. It gets rediclous. We had one kid flip the other team off when he was done pitching. His parents and their friends just laugh and think it is funny.
No way would I be an umpire.
Holy cow. I had to do a double take on your post. Reading your post I thought you may be a parent from a team in our district.
@Alanj posted:I usually do not go to my sons games. Easier to watch in game changer. A big part is I do not like being around several of the parents. One game I did attend several of the dads started yelling towards the umpire about a call. Then one of them started to yell and scream at the umpire. If the fence was not there he probably would have gotten in his face. It was embarrassing. All for a call he was not happy about. He is the reason why the local sheriff had to escort the umpire to his car last year. His son cusses at the umpires. It gets rediclous. We had one kid flip the other team off when he was done pitching. His parents and their friends just laugh and think it is funny.
No way would I be an umpire.
How can the umpire continue to let this go on? Stop the game - warn the head coach to control his fans - if still a problem - tell the AD to remove the parent - game will not continue until issue resolved. As for the players cussing and flipping off - thats an immediate ejection. Enforce the rules in place when the infraction first occurs and it helps stop future infractions. Failure to enforce the rules encourages the actions to continue.
A message to my son.
Just when I thought I had you figured out, you show me another level of your character. Throughout the years I have tested your resolve with both fair and unfair methods and yet you continue to prove your love and dedication. As a parent, we all want our kids to be better than us and I am truly happy I can leave this world knowing that. I am going to miss your senior game and while I know in your heart you don't care, I will carry some regret, as this part of your journey is ending and it means a lot more to me than you think. One day you will find all my posts here and see the insecurities I had, the comfort this place has provided me as well as my own personal growth from strangers sharing a common bond of having sons playing the greatest sport and learning about life. Maybe you will be surprised by my depth too.
Love,
Dad
Last year in the parking lot I chatted with the umpiring team. They said coaches are now reluctant to tell their fans to behave. The coaches fear one of the misbehaving parents might be a donor with the power to get them fired.
Speaking of Umpires, this is an honest question. I can't for the life of me figure out why 6-10 inches off the plate is a strike, consistently from every umpire, yet belly button high is a ball, and god forbid you should actually throw a ball on the inside corner for a strike even though thats where they set up? I ask this because of all the pitches thrown, 8 inches off the plate is un-hittable. IF you need to expand the zone, up or down, fine at least you can stay within the confines of what is actually the strike zone, letters to knees. Do they think the other batters box line is the edge of the plate?
Okay, mini rant on this one... have none of them actually ever seen a curve-ball before? It seems it can go around the plate and be called a strike, but not across the plate and end up out of the zone and be called one.
I guess consistency can be called good, but consistently wrong?
Honestly, why is it every umpire, all the time on the 6-8 inches off the plate.
As a pitchers dad and a catchers dad, I tell my boys to live with it and for the first to take advantage of it and the second not to complain for his pitcher's sake, and I also tell them they better not be complaining if they get rung up on it cause they know it's a strike, but it does stink going down 0-2 on two pitches not hittable.
@HSDad22 posted:Speaking of Umpires, this is an honest question. I can't for the life of me figure out why 6-10 inches off the plate is a strike, consistently from every umpire, yet belly button high is a ball, and god forbid you should actually throw a ball on the inside corner for a strike even though thats where they set up? I ask this because of all the pitches thrown, 8 inches off the plate is un-hittable. IF you need to expand the zone, up or down, fine at least you can stay within the confines of what is actually the strike zone, letters to knees. Do they think the other batters box line is the edge of the plate?
Okay, mini rant on this one... have none of them actually ever seen a curve-ball before? It seems it can go around the plate and be called a strike, but not across the plate and end up out of the zone and be called one.
I guess consistency can be called good, but consistently wrong?
Honestly, why is it every umpire, all the time on the 6-8 inches off the plate.
As a pitchers dad and a catchers dad, I tell my boys to live with it and for the first to take advantage of it and the second not to complain for his pitcher's sake, and I also tell them they better not be complaining if they get rung up on it cause they know it's a strike, but it does stink going down 0-2 on two pitches not hittable.
My son feels your pain. He has a really high spin rate so he tries his best to live at the top of zone. However, he hardly ever gets the high strike called. So unless hitters swing at pitches above their belt buckles it's going to be called a ball.
With that said, I don't know if I fault the umpires for this. So many pitchers live way down and away that I believe umps have just got accustomed to calling that pitch a strike. Game has to end eventually right? Very few guys challenge up and in, so almost all hitters in today's game crowd the plate. I believe this shifts the focus of the average umpire away from the actual strike zone. Most coaches, and players for that matter, are okay living with the way outside strike call. That is as long as you don't give the inside strike call, and it gets called equally for both sides.
By the way I'm not saying it's right, I'm just pointing out what I've tended to notice over the years.
My son loves to throw inside. Doesn't get the calls very often. There have been a couple good umps that would call it and he shredded those lineups.
I agree though, the pitch a ball or two off the plate called for a strike sucks for the hitters.
@TerribleBPthrower posted:My son loves to throw inside. Doesn't get the calls very often. There have been a couple good umps that would call it and he shredded those lineups.
I agree though, the pitch a ball or two off the plate called for a strike sucks for the hitters.
A called up and in strike is a game changer. Put a little velo on that pitch, and it sets up you off-speed really well. Nothing really tunnels with a down and away fastball. Over the years I've noticed a lot guys becoming very accustomed to the down and away pitch. All they do is move on top of the plate. This simple tactic (along with protective gear ) obviously makes the away pitch not so far away anymore.
I’ll see your bad pitch calls and raise you one:
This year, son threw a curve. Batter got way out front and swung. On the miss the batter brings his back foot forward and gets hit with the pitch. Umpire gave the batter first. Again I believe that HS games would be better without umpires.
I hear many umpire associations are looking for new members - seems we have a couple volunteers here 
Consistency is hard when your P gets lucky 1 out of every 5 pitches and it crosses the plate... Some have no idea where the ball is going when it leaves their hand - scary, huh? There are C's that don't help their P out by awful mechanics - snatching, rolling, falling. Damn you know a curve is coming don't freaking stand up!! There's far too many parents that believe it's where the C receives the ball that matters. I've seen C be > 4' behind the tip of the plate - go figure how hard that can be on an umpire!
A baseball is ~3" in diameter, the plate is 17" wide, there is supposed to be 6" between plate and outside edge/line of the batters box... If a bat averages 32" - there's a math quiz about reachability especially for 6' batter, but I agree a ball in the other box shouldn't be a strike... So it's not every umpire ;-)... Down the channel - sure it's possible. If the "true zone" was called *both ways* in every game, it'd probably a much longer game - is that what you want? Or do you want the strike zone as written only for your batter? It's not an exact science and there's so much that goes into it.
I hear many umpire associations are looking for new members - seems we have a couple volunteers here ... Yes - our association is running a recruitment drIve. Part of the problem is that many of us have full time jobs that do not allow us to do HS games. I have been a varsity certified ump for 10+ years and have only done 4-5 games - all were last minute fill ins on Sat. I just cant get out to a game that starts at 330 - 4pm and because I can't do weekday games - I am last in line to get weekend games. Just a fact - there isn't a lot to choose from.
When the boys were younger, umpires often told us at ground rules that the zone would be "from chalk line to chalk line" and for the boys to "get up there and swing." None of us had a problem with it, as it forced the kids to get the bats off their shoulders. Not uncommon, I'm sure.
As for curve balls/offspeed, so far this HS season I'd say they have been called well, and that's not my opinion, that's based on what the catchers have to say. We have a couple of pitchers with pretty good command that will "test the zone" in the appropriate counts, particularly the high strike. If they start getting a few calls upstairs early in the game, they'll attack it.
Speaking of pitches off the plate, last summer 2024 was in the top of the 7th with a 1-0 lead against a solid team where he was pretty much hitting his spots and getting weak contact and a handful of Ks. Got the first two outs, then hit a kid up-and-in (leaned into it -- smart batter), got p.o.'d and walked the next batter. So now he as runners on 1st and 2nd with a beast at the plate that he struck out the first time then hit up-and-in the second time (he also leaned in). I think he got 1-2 on him, went down off the plate, and watched the ball get pulled and sail over the wall -- by a lot. 2024 couldn't believe what had just happened, kneeled, and put his head in his hand while the other side went bananas and the beast sloooow trotted the bases. What he (and the catcher) didn't notice was that the beast moved in the box and was practically standing on the plate, effectively putting the "outside fastball" right in his wheelhouse!
Consistency is the only thing that I think any reasonable player/coach/fan asks for from the ump. Once a zone is established, stick with it.
Bottom of 7 last week, ump suddenly stopped calling a certain location vs lefties a strike. Pitcher threw it 3 times in a row, all 3 called a ball. Those of us in the press box were staring at each other with mouths agape when those 3 pitches were called balls.
Next pitch is in just a hair, roped for a single to start the 1-out rally that ultimately won us the game.
My son’s games mostly started at 3:45. Most of the umpires were retired and 65-75. As a whole they we’re mediocre. You live with it and adapt. You don’t come back to the dugout with called thirds twice whining the pitches were two inches outside.
@JohnF posted:I hear many umpire associations are looking for new members - seems we have a couple volunteers here
Consistency is hard when your P gets lucky 1 out of every 5 pitches and it crosses the plate... Some have no idea where the ball is going when it leaves their hand - scary, huh? There are C's that don't help their P out by awful mechanics - snatching, rolling, falling. Damn you know a curve is coming don't freaking stand up!! There's far too many parents that believe it's where the C receives the ball that matters. I've seen C be > 4' behind the tip of the plate - go figure how hard that can be on an umpire!
A baseball is ~3" in diameter, the plate is 17" wide, there is supposed to be 6" between plate and outside edge/line of the batters box... If a bat averages 32" - there's a math quiz about reachability especially for 6' batter, but I agree a ball in the other box shouldn't be a strike... So it's not every umpire ;-)... Down the channel - sure it's possible. If the "true zone" was called *both ways* in every game, it'd probably a much longer game - is that what you want? Or do you want the strike zone as written only for your batter? It's not an exact science and there's so much that goes into it.
Not so in agreement with this: If the "true zone" was called *both ways* in every game, it'd probably a much longer game - is that what you want?"
IF the high strike and inside strike was called it would counter the issue with the outside strike. Just as many balls are called on those pitches as strikes are on the 6 inches off the plate... Sure, Amateur umpires, a ball or maybe 2 off the plate, sure, you're not perfect,,, but when you can tell an umpire just wants to go home, that's stinks.
The games now have 2 hour limits, I mean that's pretty short, so if it ends by time because pitchers can't throw strikes, who can complain.
I don't give umpires a hard time, ever... they get enough of that from too many coaches and players, maybe though if they called things straight up, there would be less hassle, cause they'd have the rule on their side. But maybe not, usually the times I've seen coaches ride an umpire it was mostly because they just did it on everything, half the time not knowing the rules themselves. I typically associate that with football coach mentality vs baseball coach. Umpires will talk with you over a call if you are civil, but too many just think if they ride the ump they'll get later calls, not likely. And parents, to them every call is wrong against them, it's pretty ridiculous.
As far as hitters, you are supposed to try and hit good pitches, sure sell out to get that 2 strike bad pitch, foul it off if you can, but when you go down 0-2 on pitches that you should not be swinging at, that's tough. Why would I swing at a 0-0 or 0-1 pitch that the best I can do with it is a weak grounder to second.
Again, not complaining about a bad umpire or call, just wanting to understand why it's so consistently called a strike, when It's so obviously not. What I'm hearing is it's an organizational attempt to shorten the games. My preference on that would be expand up and down, at least it's hit-able, especially now in HS nothing is ever called above the belt.
BTW, in North East... 6' is the anomaly