Umpire communication...verbal and non-verbal

We are going to open up a can of worms with this one but lets have a go at it

We travel in various areas with our team as well as the college and HS/Legion games I see personally

AND

there is a common thread in all of them--the umpires in general are poor-- we have seen umpires who did not know that a bunt that goes foul on third strike is an out--- we have seen infield fly calls made incorrectly---we have seen umpires apologize to us for a bad call they made earlier=--- we have seen umpires "brag" how well they knew the rules and then get reversed in the next game by the umpire in chief in that game

Communication--there is none to speak of as each umpire thinks the field is his stage--they wont ask for assistance lest the other umpires overrule him.

What is scary is that the ineptness we see at our level is now permeating the MLB scene


Yes there are good ones but they never seem to be in control when the bad calls occur or you get "it is his call".

An what about their positioning--that is also another aspect that is bad.

I have had umpires ask me if I wanted four umps for our semi and final games and my answer is standard " you have enough trouble when you have three on the field. If we go to four you will only be more confused"

To be honest with you give me one real good umpire behind the plate and let him handle the bases as well and I will be satisfied.

Like I say there are good umps out there but the ineptness of the others hurts them and it seems that the inept ump is always the one in charge. And the inept ones think it is THEIR show.

The bottom line is that we have created a monster-- we now have so many leagues the umpires are begging for recruits to man the games and we get guys who think they know the game but have minimal training as umpires.

Just a few of my thoughts

TRhit:

Thanks for sharing your experiences and insight.

The worms are out of the can!

gotwood

and yet there the good ones

but I still won't break bread with them

and did I tell you about the homeplate ump, all 300 lbs of him who shows up for an 8AM game in a major tournament sans his mask and sweating profusely---he wanted to borrow our catchers mask--LOL--My catcher says to me "Coach I think we are in for a tough morning"--thankfully right about that time the grounds crew pulled up with his mask

TRhit:

Chuckling over that one! You painted a vivid picture...and your catcher is very perceptive!

Last tournament we had to play a double header with the same two umpires. One was bad and the other was very good but the good one had to back up the bad one.

I only got really annoyed when another team's runner did a jump slide and spiked my third baseman on a play that wasn't close. The umpire claimed that it was probably because the kid didn't know what he was doing. This was a well coached 14yo team, but it was also the home team.

TR,

I do some umpiring and think you have hit the nail on the head: "communication". Before every game, I tell both managers something like this: "I'm a pitchers ump; I call a big strike zone, just like what's in the book, and will, until they change the book. Tell your guys if it's close they best be swinging. I won't argue with you and won't listen to you screaming, but if you want to talk to me anytime, call time, be nice, and we'll talk. I'm not perfect, but I'll do the best I can. Tell your players to get on and off the field quickly as the ball is going into play 1 minute after the last out."



I've never had a problem with a coach that amounted to anything, and have never had an ugly experience. I think it's all about communication. And yes, I've missed calls, but when asked, the response is always "I may've missed it, but I called it like I saw it."
The last perfect man was around about 2000
years ago. (and now he's a judge-an umpire so to speak!)

Willie Bobo

Are you going to be in Jupiter?

I would welocme the opportunity to meet you

There are good umpires and bad ones. Its a fact. Im sure you can fill this thread with stories of how inept, unethical and down right crooked umpires are...

I've been umpiring for over 20 years and have seen plenty of umpires come and go. TR is correct that the profusion of leagues and teams has created a real shortage of Umpires. In the past there was a sort of a thinning out process that occured with umpires if they did not get better...They would quickly find that no games were being assigned to them, let alone any of the better quality higher paying games....If they were in it only for the money, the No games and no fees soon had them moving on to another hobby........not so today....we have more games than umpires.

I wont defend all umpires just because I am one, but I know those of us who care and put our lives into it, dont deserve a blanket condemnation........

Piaa

I think that you and I are in accord as to the problem-- more games than umps

Just a thought:

I've done quite of bit of umpiring over the years, but always as a volunteer. I've always believed that if you take the man's money, you take the man's (your word here). And, as a coach, I'll never really get into it with a volunteer umpire. So, even on the few occasions I was offered money to work a game, a turned it down.

Now, of course, many youth leagues pay their umpires. Do you think that starts a vicious cycle, which gets worse as you move up into the high school ranks, where umpires should be properly compensated, but a certain level of competence and professionalism should be expected?

My policy is that I do not umpire for free. Of course I have, on occasion, umpiried free for league fundraisers or benefit tournaments...but for the whole, I am paid.

For what?. I agree totally that if I am to be paid then you have a right to expect the best product (umpiring) I can supply. I am also in agreement that the more you pay the better quality you should expect to get....

For my fee, you get 20+ years of experience, an umpire who is on time, professionally dressed and equipped, current on the rules applicable to the game level to be played, Registered and /or certified with the supporting organizations,recently educated on the developments of the game through Pro clinics, HS clinics and independent study of all the available reference resources...and fully insured with a 1 million dollar liability policy............and I love the game.

I believe that is what you deserve when you hire me. I believe you should be able to expect that from someone who you are paying.

I would fully support pay based on ability.....

Ironically some of the best umpiring was when I was in charge of our towns LL and I hired selected HS Varsity Players to do the umpiring and even had my son in charge of scheduling etc

They even taught while they umpired

The kids loved it
The parents respected them
And yes they got paid and paid well

Good points TR.
To this day my son says that he learned the most about the game of baseball by being an umpire. As a pitcher he better understood the strike zone from an umpires perspective, as a hitter he learned how to consistantly pick up the ball and the rotation out of a pitchers hand, and in general he was watching and learning the "complete" game from the best seat in the house.

PIAAump

Please don't take me the wrong way. By the time you get to high school ball, you should get what you can get, and experience means a lot.

And I respect that some places and some people have put together very good programs over the years.

But I am talking in theory, and mostly about LL and Junior/Senior LL. When folks know the umpire are getting paid, there is more of a tendency to have expectations, realistic or not. If you're screaming about calls in LL, what's it going to be when the player gets to high school, where there is, usually, a far greater emphasis to win?

And TR, you're dating yourself with your story. Worse yet, you're dating me. When I was in Senior LL, the had kids do LL games all the time (as a volunteer). It was a big deal, status-wise, if you were umpiring LL games.

Fast-forward to when my older kids went through LL ... It was adults doing the games, never kids. I don't think that was necessarily a good thing, even if the coaches think I was doing a good job.

To twist this a little, kids officiate youth hockey games all the times. They have a certain level of training they have to go through to do it, but they do get paid. And they hear it from parents.

My kids never umpired or officiated, save a couple of games on an emergency basis. But both of my older boys have coached with me. And they kids they coached really liked it. Any time I thought things weren't going so well, I'd back off and they would competely take over. Always got exactly the reaction I wanted.

The truth be told the communication needs to start in the dugout with your teams.

First instruct your players that the ump is a human being and not infallible...that means he will make mistakes.

Second, the coaches need to give the umps a breeak...last time I saw a ball game I can't recall a team that didn't make mistakes. Is that a reflection on the coaching the team gets. I wonder.

Third, the umps are there to enforce the rules based upon their understanding of them. No competent coach would ever be at a ball game without a rule book to refer to to help the umpire. It is no different then a lawyer citing a case precedent based upon the law.

Fourth, if the coach and his team blame the umpire for a screwed up call without having scripture and verse in the handbook to offer as higher authority as the ultimate mediator, then I blame the coach for a poor outcome...not the ump.

Lastly, if you play the game thinking that there are not going to be mistakes made by the umps, then you're not being realistic. Best anyone can do is offer an opinion, cite the rule and hope for a reasonable reaction. If the ump is an A-hole then bring your players together and get them to play the game as though the ump is part of the fixtures.

Once your team starts using the ump as the reason "we" are doing poorly, you are dead.

Expect mistakes, tell your team to learn to compensate to the unknown changes that can happen in a game so that they are psychologically prepared for "bad" calls and they will be able to deal with them without breaking stride.

If the coach shows that he loses it due to a bad call he tells his team that it is okay to lose it too. That's the lesson a "poor" coach teaches his team.

RAMROD

01-- if you go into a game expecting the ump to make mistakes you are then looking for mistakes before you begin. to me this is not a good thing to be teaching kids

02-- give the umps a break--- cmon now --they are getting paid good money thus they be doing the very very best that they can

03 -- and what if their understanding of a rule is incorrect as it is so many times.( like calling an infield fly with no out and a man on second) And if you pull a book out on the umpire you are asking for trouble--he will run you immediately because that is a form of showing him up. Besides it is not any coaches job to teach umpiers the rules--they are supposed to know them

04 --same thing-- "Scripture and verse" --this a rule book not a bible-- you are showing him up the moment you take out a rule book

05-- our players are not permitted to talk to umps about calls--only the coaches and it is usually me who does it

"WE" never use the umpires as an "excuse" --umpires are part of the game much like "bad hops"

TRHit SAID:

01-- if you go into a game expecting the ump to make mistakes you are then looking for mistakes before you begin. to me this is not a good thing to be teaching kids

Setting proper expectations of what might happen and what to do about them is called planning.

02-- give the umps a break--- cmon now --they are getting paid good money thus they be doing the very very best that they can

Umps are like everyone else in that they try to do the best they can based upon there own skill level...money doesn't make them any better or worse.

03 -- and what if their understanding of a rule is incorrect as it is so many times.( like calling an infield fly with no out and a man on second) And if you pull a book out on the umpire you are asking for trouble--he will run you immediately because that is a form of showing him up. Besides it is not any coaches job to teach umpiers the rules--they are supposed to know them

When we trained young umpires we had these kind of mistakes due to lack of knowledge. Older umpires who have a problem reviewing the rule book at a game is not uncommon. But there are remedies for that and it is called "played under protest".

04 --same thing-- "Scripture and verse" --this a rule book not a bible-- you are showing him up the moment you take out a rule book

"Chapter" instead of "Scripture" for those who are secularist. Using your logic one would never question anyone...but doing so respectfully is always an acceptable method.

05-- our players are not permitted to talk to umps about calls--only the coaches and it is usually me who does it

There was no inference to the contrary in this method of dealing with the umpire. But I don't teach players to be fearful of exercising there right to ask respectful questions of the umpires, whether about a rule of the game or a call made by the umpires.
If you're going to play baseball players need to learn how to deal with umpires.

"WE" never use the umpires as an "excuse" --umpires are part of the game much like "bad hops"

Umpires are part of the game as are players and coaches. Judge Roberts said he sees them as there to make sure that both sides play by the same rules. Some umps are like him, knowledgeable and well versed in the understanding of the game. Others are like other judges in our system that operate with half a brain. Dealing with both takes tact and respectful disagreement sometimes.