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MAY 9, 2005
The season is now firmly underway and we must begin to address how we as umpires can be consistent from week to week. One way we can accomplish this is through communication. So I ask each one of you to please share any plays that have brought about questions. Whether these questions have come from your partner on the diamond or a coach, it is important that they be shared with all of the umpires so that we can be consistent in our rulings.
If you have something you would like to share you can send it to Mark Ambrosius, Rich Fronheiser, or I and a response will be provided. Please be assured that we will never use names of umpires, player, coaches, or teams so no one has to worry about either being embarrassed or of offending a partner.
In Rich’s article last week he addressed his worst play of the season (as of the time of the article, it probably will not end up as his worst of the year). I would also like to offer a call I got wrong and how I handled it.
Home team at bat, R2 and R3. Batter hits a line drive into left that is hooking toward the line. I come down the line to rule on Fair/Foul and R3 is blocking my view, I move inside and F5 wants to play umpire and is also looking down the line. I move outside and now I have a view of both the ball and the line. As the ball nears the line on its way down, suddenly someone’s head is in my way and I can not see the ball. The next time I see the ball is on its way up and over foul territory. I signal foul and unleash a torrent of responses from players, coaches, and fans wanting to know how I could miss all the chalk exploding like a small bomb. I know I have missed the call. As all of the comments are minor I suck it up and continue on. The next pitch comes in and I call Strike three, inning over which brings more remarks.
I now they have some lee-way in venting as I am sure I missed the call. The skipper comes out to bring me some baseballs and asks me how I missed the call. I tell him I did not miss the call, I did not see the play to make the correct call. He asks me what I mean and I tell him the details. The light goes on and he realizes he is the one that block my view when he left the coaches box and moved toward the line to get a better view. He laughs a little, tells me he will talk to his team and I do not hear another word.
Communication is the key to good umpiring. Not only the communication between umpires and coaches/players but also between umpires so that we understand what each other is doing and the responsibilities that each of have on any given situation. So if you have something you would like to share, please do. Also, let’s work on a good pre-game meeting with your partner this week.
As always, wait, watch, process, and then the call.
Dave