How do you guys measure the distance fron the plate if the lines are wiped out?
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Its your judgement, as far as whether the batter is in the box.
Ive seen some umpires try to draw lines with a bat (doesnt really work), but I would only try that if I was having a terrible time keeping batters in the box.
Ive seen some umpires try to draw lines with a bat (doesnt really work), but I would only try that if I was having a terrible time keeping batters in the box.
In a perfect world you have box lines correctly drawn in, but many times those that are drawn in are wrong....
When I do a game where I dont have a box , I will clean the plate and take a few extra swipes on both sides of the box to erase any footprints..it gives me a the required 6+ inches I need as a reference.........It does come down to judgment...and experience.....
When I do a game where I dont have a box , I will clean the plate and take a few extra swipes on both sides of the box to erase any footprints..it gives me a the required 6+ inches I need as a reference.........It does come down to judgment...and experience.....
Thanks guys...looking to learn from those more experienced than me.
Pologreen,
Keep it up.......Im impressed with your desire to learn.. I wish I had had a resource such as this 20 years ago, I would have progressed much faster....
Sometimes its not the big things that elevate your game....It sometimes comes down to the little tips...like advice on handing no batters boxes.. that elevate your game....
Keep it up.......Im impressed with your desire to learn.. I wish I had had a resource such as this 20 years ago, I would have progressed much faster....
Sometimes its not the big things that elevate your game....It sometimes comes down to the little tips...like advice on handing no batters boxes.. that elevate your game....
Thanks I love this game, I've coached at the Varsity level for 14 years, then took care of my late wife for three and now have been umpiring for five. I will retire from teaching soon and want to continue umpiring during retirement. As I taught my players "Be the best you can be" and " If you fail to prepare, prepare to fail"
We had a problem with this last night. The box wasn't marked and the opposing pitcher was so slow our kids wanted to get up as far as possible toward the pitcher. PU would only let them get their front foot about 10-12 inches ahead of the front edge of the plate, and called 2 batters out for stepping out of the box when swinging.
I quietly mentioned to the field ump between innings that the box is 6 feet long and he could simply take a 32 inch bat and measure from the mid-point of the plate, add 4 inches and just mark the front line of the box so there 's no question.
He mentioned it to PU but PU said he could judge where the front line should be (which of course he couldn't).
Jon
I quietly mentioned to the field ump between innings that the box is 6 feet long and he could simply take a 32 inch bat and measure from the mid-point of the plate, add 4 inches and just mark the front line of the box so there 's no question.
He mentioned it to PU but PU said he could judge where the front line should be (which of course he couldn't).
Jon
He needs to draw a line, even if it's in the wrong spot, so the batters have a fighting chance of knowing what he is going to call. Whether he thinks he cn judge or not isn't relevent if the participants don't know.