? about umpires

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The umpiring on the 12U games was overall great and very consistent. We only had issues with one umpire who we were told was very new. This umps strike zone was way too tight and he seemed very passive in making calls kind of like he was unsure of himself. Other than that the umps could not have been better.

 

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I would like to add that one of the umpires had some very nice things to say to my daughter after the championship game. I would like to say a big thanks to her... I think that meant as much to her as winning did. Keep up the great work.. it really does mean so much to the girls.

 

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I was not there but I would say in general most umpiring I see is decent.

And in general I have come across 2-3 issues or complaints with umpiring:

1- the pitch on the "outside corner" being a strike. I especially hate it at the 10U level because the girls just are not long enough to get that pitch. I would prefer to see them giving the "inside corner" then at least the batter has a chance.

2- the strike zone being inconsistent...........nuff said

3- and my #1 pet peeve is when an umpire starts changing the strike zone (bigger - smaller ) based on the score or caliber of the pitcher or other team. I think this has started to bother me more as my daughters play on better teams. I probably just never noticed when we were not on the better teams.....hehehehe

I in general do not get too worked up over close plays at bases, whether a tag or force. I prefer to view these as 50/50 calls and that over a game/tournament/season these will all even out.

I will say that as your team gets better and plays better teams the umpiring becomes much more important. A blown call in a 2-1 game means a ton more than one in a 8-6 game. Since there are fewer chances and fewer errors by the teams. You tend to expect fewer errors by the umpires.

 

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VIPER99DAD this was Ron's first travel tournament . We was giving him tips between games. He umpires in our local rec league and he has the desire to advance in umpiring . Ron was so nervous he made himself sick and we never did get him calmed down . We will work more with him in the future and make a better umpire.

 

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VENOM 1 Becky & John are my regular umpire partners when I'm not the UIC . They both are great umpires and love the game . I spoke with Becky and she said your daughter did a great job behind the plate and she deserved the comment . Tell her to keep up the good work .

 

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Is it just me or shouldn't umpires be doing their job to begin with,without having to ask players,coaches or spectators how they have preformed? Soundes to me like a ump just wanting kudos....

Yes, it is just you. Yes umpires, like anyone should be doing their job to begin with. But without evaluations people don't know how to improve. Just like every job, people need to be evaluated. This allows people doing a good job to continue what they are doing and people who need to improve can learn the areas they need to improve upon.

 

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Our team was at the tournament and I believe the umpires did a very good job The only criticism I will make here is that on an obstruction call at home the umpire yelled loudly "obstruction...safe" this startled the catcher and she did not make a throw on an additional runner. this is a delayed dead ball call, b/c the catcher blocked the plate just prior to receiving the ball, then tagged the girl out at home I believe it should have been "out" then play continue with the delayed dead ball sign, and then a call of "safe" at home after the play was over. Overall I thought the umpires were proffessional, hustled, explained calls when questioned and conferred with partners when needed to make sure they got the right call. A job well done.

 

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Our team was at the tournament and I believe the umpires did a very good job The only criticism I will make here is that on an obstruction call at home the umpire yelled loudly "obstruction...safe" this startled the catcher and she did not make a throw on an additional runner. this is a delayed dead ball call, b/c the catcher blocked the plate just prior to receiving the ball, then tagged the girl out at home I believe it should have been "out" then play continue with the delayed dead ball sign, and then a call of "safe" at home after the play was over.

This post illustrates one of the possible pitfalls of having coaches evaluate umpires.

Suppose you're an accountant, a plumber or a brain surgeon. How much validity does an evaluation of your work hold if you are being evaluated by someone without an intimate knowledge of accounting, plumbing or brain surgery?

When an obstructed runner is being played upon and is tagged out, the ball becomes immediately dead and the runner is awarded the base. So the correct call is to signal and announce the obstruction, then call the ball dead and the runner safe on the obstruction.

The umpire's call didn't "prevent the catcher from making another play". No other play play was possible because the ball became dead the instant the obstructed runner was tagged out. If anything, it sounds like the umpire did exactly what he was supposed to be doing!

The upside is that the person reviewing the evaluations probably knows that. He should be able to separate the groundless complaints from the valid ones. But it has been my experience in working with evaluations that many- if not most- are groundless. They are either the product of someone not knowing the correct rule or proper umpire mechanics or just "sour grapes" because they came didn't like the way the game turned out.

 

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Bretman it seems like there is a sour apple in almost every basket .

 

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This post illustrates one of the possible pitfalls of having coaches evaluate umpires.

Suppose you're an accountant, a plumber or a brain surgeon. How much validity does an evaluation of your work hold if you are being evaluated by someone without an intimate knowledge of accounting, plumbing or brain surgery?

When an obstructed runner is being played upon and is tagged out, the ball becomes immediately dead and the runner is awarded the base. So the correct call is to signal and announce the obstruction, then call the ball dead and the runner safe on the obstruction.

The umpire's call didn't "prevent the catcher from making another play". No other play play was possible because the ball became dead the instant the obstructed runner was tagged out. If anything, it sounds like the umpire did exactly what he was supposed to be doing!

The upside is that the person reviewing the evaluations probably knows that. He should be able to separate the groundless complaints from the valid ones. But it has been my experience in working with evaluations that many- if not most- are groundless. They are either the product of someone not knowing the correct rule or proper umpire mechanics or just "sour grapes" because they came didn't like the way the game turned out.

No sour grapes intended. You are as usual correct. Unfortunately I forgot that the obstructed runner would cause the ball to be dead immediately.