Game Preparation
When do you begin to prepare for your game? While it may seem like overkill, I begin to prepare the morning of the game. I start to think about the level of play, who I'm working with, and the field conditions. If it's a field that I have never worked before, I always plan to arrive early so that I can check it out. You don't need to spend hours on this, but you should give it some thought throughout the day.

Obviously, it is better to get to your game site earlier rather than later. Use the extra time you may have to clean up or fine tune your equipment. I always have reading material or a good cd in my car to kill some time. Recently, I read an article on game preparation that suggested that what you do before a game can better prepare you for that game. The article stated that reading the rules, an article on officiating, or just something from the sports section on baseball gets you thinking about baseball and gets you into a better frame of mind. I've tried this and it seems to work. It works in a very subtle way and you may not even be aware of it. Think about it this way. When you walk onto the field to do a game, you don't want to be thinking about the job, the wife, the kids, or what you're doing after the game. You want to be focused on the tasks at hand. Think about possible plays and how you will react. Get your head in the game.

When we umpire games at different skills levels, staying consistent with the strike zone can be difficult at times. The strike zone for a Little League Majors game is quite different than an FABL 16 open game. The strike zone for College Wood Bat is different still. When you find yourself jumping from level to level, you may experience some problems with your consistency. Good game preparation can help. Think about your strike zone before you step onto the field. Be prepared. Once you get on the field, if you are doing the higher levels, put on your mask, get behind the catcher and watch each pitcher in the first inning. (Do this for every new pitcher when they enter the game.) Use this time to gauge the pitcher's velocity, his movement on the ball, and make sure that you see at least one breaking pitch. You can ask the catcher, "What's he throw?" He'll tell you. It's okay for the batter to be locked and lost the first time he sees a breaking pitch. It's not okay for you. At the higher levels, forget that Little League strike zone with the one ball off, two balls off the plate. Make them earn their strikes at these levels.

Believe me, you will know when you are not seeing the outside corner well. This is probably a result of the way you are setting up. Fight for your spot. A key to sound plate work is locking in. A good experienced catcher will help you. When he asks for a pitch on the corner and frames it for you, ring that up. If you don't, you are going to be in for a long day. When you feel you are missing pitches, one of the most important things in improving your skills is recognizing this situation and making the proper adjustment as early as possible in the game. Another pitch that may drive you crazy is the late breaking curve ball. If you're calling this a strike, you're probably getting heat from the offensive side. What's happening is that you are not tracking that pitch all the way into the glove. You are calling that pitch at 58' or 59' when it looks like a strike, not at 60'6'' when the catcher is picking it out of the dirt. Slow down. Get your timing right. See the pitch, track the pitch, call the pitch. Most importantly, relax. If you're not relaxed, you will tense up, play with your indicator, and shift from one foot to the other. This can give the impression that you are not comfortable and would rather be somewhere else.


Look the Part, Act the Part
If you want to be taken seriously, your appearance counts for a lot. First impressions are lasting impressions. Remember that you are a professional umpire working at the amateur level. Clean shirt, pants, and shined shoes are a must. Here are a few tips that you may want to incorporate into your game to kick it up a notch. One way to come off looking unprofessional is to shout out obvious calls. When a foul ball hits the backstop, there is no reason to scream, "Foul!" Everybody knows it's foul. Save the big call for the diving catch in the outfield, not the routine ones. During a mid-inning pitching change, you are not required to tell the pitcher the count, the number of outs, or where the runners are. That's the coach's' job. If the pitching change came in the middle of an at-bat, just give the count as you normally do. Do not to have conversations with your partner between innings, especially if a controversial call occurred in the inning that just ended. Most importantly, when you make a call, and it is disputed by a coach who then asks you to go to your partner for help, don't. One play, one call. If you had a doubt, you should have gone for help before you made the call. While conferring with your partner after the call may show that you "just want to get it right," it also shows that you are not really sure about your call. If you find yourself in this position, regardless of what your partner tells you, don't change your call. If you do, you will get an earful from the other coach, and then both coaches will expect similar discussions on every other close call. Once a call is made, the umpire who made it must stand by it. (There are a few exceptions to this: a tipped ball dropped by the catcher; the ball is dropped and on the ground on a tag play; batter is hit in the box by a batted ball that goes fair. In these instances, call time, tell your partner what you saw, and have him make the proper call. Otherwise keep it to yourself.)

Take the time to have a good pre-game conference with your partner. Communicate with pre-arranged signals and eye contact on coverage throughout the game. You may encounter a partner who is lax in returning your signs. Talk to him - make sure you are on the same page. The only thing worse than two umpires showing up for a play at third, is no umpire being there for that play. Make it clear in pre-game that if PU is stuck on a fair-foul call, that U1 will take that play at 3B if he doesn't hear anything from PU. Learn to read off your partner. If U1 takes a play at first in foul territory (usually on a bunt in front of the plate), come out into the infield and be prepared to take the batter runner into second on an overthrow if your partner gets trapped.

Everyone makes modifications on the mechanics that we were taught in rookie class. Make sure that your ball and strike, safe and out calls are strong and consistent. Don't fall into the behavior of making lackadaisical calls. Slow down your timing on safe/out calls. It's nothing till you say its something. Don't rush your calls at first base. We are not in a race to see who can call it the fastest. As a rule of thumb, you should not make a call until the batter runner has crossed the base by 2-4 strides . This will give you plenty of time to really see the play and be in a great position if the ball is dropped, the tag is missed, or the foot comes off the base. Nothing is more embarrassing than making a call too quickly and having to change it. Don't fall into the trap of anticipating the play. If you expect the runner to beat the throw, you are not seeing that play with an impartial eye, and your chances of blowing it have greatly increased. On the double play, wait until the ball has been thrown to first base by the mid-fielder before you turn and make that out call at second. There is a natural tendency to call this play quickly. Fight it and stay with that play at second until the ball is thrown to first base. If you release too quickly to get some distance, you may miss interference (at higher levels interference at second is PU's responsibility).You won't get much distance here, but try to get a step or two - it demonstrates hustle.


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Any member of the AFU that would be interested in writing an article about umpiring and would like to have them published on our web site please contact Dave Mekelburg AFU#9 at: info@americanfederationofumpires.com