MetroWest Little League: Umpires

Wednesday, February 25
Umpire Clinic - February 21, 2009

Safety, Safety, Safety

 

  •  Coach CANNOT warm up a pitcher during practice, games or in the bullpen.
  • Catcher MUST have a dangling throat protector.
  • Catcher can warm up pitcher with full mask, including dangler, need NOT have chest protector and shin guards (and can squat if desired).
  • Long vs short model chest protector; long required in baseball majors and below; either is allowed in softball and baseball juniors and above.
  • During defense, all coaches must stay in the dugout - no coaches on the field (a league may allow some exceptions for younger divisions).
  • At least ONE coach MUST be in dugout at ALL times for ALL levels.
  • Equipment (bats, gloves, etc) cannot be left laying on the field during game.
  • No painted helmets, no stickers on helmets except those provided by manufacturer.
  • Bull pen safety (catcher must have mask; not a batter on-deck area).
Common misconceptions
  • Ties goes to the runner - 7.08(e) "A runner is out when....failing to reach the next base BEFORE a fielder tags said runner or the base after that runner has been forced to advance by reason of the batter becoming a runner."  If the runner failed to get there BEFORE the ball, the runner is OUT!
  • The hands are part of the bat - if a batter is hit in the hands, umpire must judge where hands were at time of contact (in strike zone or not) and whether or not batter was making an attempt to hit the ball
  • The plate umpire can overrule a base umpire's call - only the umpire making a call can change his/her call if he/she so chooses.
  • Batter must "pull back" on a bunt attempt when the ball is outside the strike zone - (page 50, bunt)"....is a batted ball not swung at, but intentially met with the bat and tapped slowly.",(page 54, strike a)"is struck at by the batter and is missed";umpire must judge whether or not the batter made an "attempt" to hit the ball.
  • Runner running out of the baseline is automatically out - see 7.08(a) 1; runner makes his/her own baseline; comes into play when a fielder has the ball and is attempting to make a tag on the runner.
  • Runner must slide - 7.08(a)3 "...out when...runner does not slide OR ATTEMPT TO GET AROUND A FIELDER who has the ball and is waiting to make the tag."
  • Batter must turn right after passing first base or can be tagged out; umpire must judge whether runner made an attempt to go to second before runner decided to return to first base.
  • Batter is OUT if he/she throws the bat - There is NO SUCH RULE!  Don't make up rules!  If a batter consistently throws his/her bat, all you can do is eject him/her from the game for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Speed of play
  • 60 seconds from last put out until start of play for the next inning - see warm up pitches 8:03.
  • Hustle players on and off the field, tell managers to have catchers ready; another player with full helmet gear may warm up pitcher while catcher gears up; no catcher, no warm-up pitches!
  • Plate umpire can hold spare ball during warm ups and toss to pitcher or catcher if ball gets past catcher; also on foul ball which catcher or fielder is chasing down, throw spare ball to pitcher.
  • Don't go talk to coaches/other umpires/manager/spectators during inning change; get a quick drink, clean off the plate and play ball!
Umpire Priorities
  • Fair/Foul; must be on the line to call; one umpire ONLY; no voice for fair.
  • Catch/no catch; indicate/call all catches, but be particularly loud and vocal on anywhere there may be doubt on part of players and coaches; one umpire ONLY; "I've got a catch" (signal OUT), vs "No Catch!" (signal safe).
  • Everything else
Know who is responsible for a call - one umpire, one call; do NOT offer "help" on a call unless asked by the umpire who was responsible for the call!
 
Timing, Timing, Timing
  • Slow it down!  There is no need to make a call the instant something happens.  "Pause, Read, React."  Tell yourself, "yes that was an out", or "yes, he/she is safe", THEN make the call.  For balls/strikes, wait for the ball to hit the glove, say "yes, that was a strike" or "no, that was a ball", then call it.
  • When in doubt on fair/foul, let it play out.  If it was foul, you can fix it  If you call it foul but it was fair, you can't fix it.
Infield Fly - must be catchable with "ordinary effort."  Keep in mind "ordinary effort" differs depending on level of play!  Know whether infield fly is in effect before the pitch and indicate as such to your partner (usually finger to bill of hat, or fist to chest).
 
Plate Mechanics
  • Get in the SLOT!  Stand to left of catcher (for right-handed batter, right side for left-handed batter) between and in back of catcher and batter; make sure you can see ENTIRE plate.
  • Head NO LOWER than chin just above top of catcher's head.
  • There should be enough room for a person to walk between catcher and plate umpire.
  •  Stance should be fairly wide, depending on your height.  You need not squat down very far.
  • Don't lean in, try to squat straight down (you will have a slight lean).
  • Hands in FRONT of you.  Use hand behind catcher to "lock in"; the other hand should be loose (don't make a fist or lock it in place).
  • Indicator is ALWAYS held in left hand. Take off mask with right hand.
  • DO NOT MOVE YOUR HEAD!  Follow pitch from pitcher's hands to catcher's glove WITH YOUR EYES!
  • Call balls while DOWN.  Stand up (do not move feet) to call strikes.  Then step back and relax between each pitch.  No voice needed for swinging strikes, just indicate.  For check swing that is an attempt, point at batter and say "Yes he/she did!" then signal strike.
  • Indicate count of balls with left hand, strikes with right and indicate with hands above shoulders, facing toward the pitcher; full count is 3 balls, 2 strikes, not all fingers down!
  • Indicate number of outs down to your side; indicate fairly often, especially if no scoreboard, or scoreboard is wrong; base umpire should echo outs.
  • ALWAYS put ball back into play after foul, time out, between innings, etc; point at pitcher and say "Play".
Field positioning (one base umpire)
  • A position with nobody on - make sure you're in FOUL territory, and not straddling line.
  • B position with runner on first only.
  • C position with runners in any other combination of bases.
  • Watch for runners leaving early (baseball and softball majors and below; softball juniors and above can leave when ball leaves pitcher's hand).
  • Watch for tag-ups on catches.
  • Watch for balks/illegal pitches.
  • Infield plays - make sure fielder has secure possession of the ball and has thrown/released the ball before turning to watch the play at the base to which the fielder has thrown.
  • Know whether play is a force or not; on tag plays, make sure fielder has secure possession of the ball before calling runner out.
  •  For 60' diamond, if the ball is hit to the outfield (on the ground or in the air) you're IN; if the ball is hot to the infield, you're OUT.
  • Assist plate umpire with check swing requests.
  • Assist plate umpire with foul balls hit off the batter while in the box; plate umpire can't always see these; give plate umpire a chance to call this, but if not, YOU call it!  However, be 100% sure you saw it.
  • Chest to the ball; don't "ball watch" but have an awareness of where the ball is at all times; NEVER turn your back on the ball (or it will hit you in the back of the head!).
  • Do NOT signal OUT/SAFE UNLESS you have the ball and a runner; no need to signal if no play was being made on the runner, or if the ball was thrown way past the fielder.
If you have any questions or need further clarification of the rules listed, please see your team manager or the District 14 website!

 



OBR Rules - Rules Myths

Umpire Mechanics

Metro West Little League Local Rules