What's up everybody?
Welcome to Blue Crew Diaries and Umpire Podcast.
My name is Daryl and I will be your host as we take a look behind the mask so to speak,
sharing stories, insights and experiences from the unique perspective of the baseball
umpire.
In this episode we're going to take a look at your first game, what you need to bring,
what to expect and how to have fun out there.
So if you're ready, grab your indicator and plate brush and let's hit the field.
Alright everybody, welcome back to another episode of the Blue Crew Diaries and Umpire
Podcast.
In this episode we're going to start off with a little bit of news for you little league
umpires out there.
And if you listen to your first episode podcast you would know that this podcast is more geared
towards little league umpires than anything else.
So big news out of Little League International a couple of days ago on February 8th.
Stu Hartenstein, or Hartenstein I'm sorry, if I completely butchered that I do apologize
Stu.
He has been named the Little League Director of Umpire Development and Operations beginning
February 24th of 2024.
So looking forward to seeing what Stu can do.
If you'll forgive the rhyme I'm not Dr. Seuss.
With regards to Umpire Development I think it'll be a little bit of a change of pace.
They haven't said anything about Tom Rawlings and what may be going on there whether he's
retiring or he's taking another position in within Little League International.
They haven't said anything about it.
So just looking forward to seeing what Stu has in store.
And yeah, we'll go from there.
So with that out of the way this episode I want to talk a little bit about your very
first game and some tips to get you ready for it.
Now whether you've been umpiring at any level for one season or 50 every single one of us
had a first day.
We all had that very first time we walked out onto the baseball field in our uniform
ready to umpire.
It can be it can be kind of nerve racking.
I'm not going to lie to you.
My first day was a little over a little less than a year ago now.
I'm going into my second season here this summer and yeah it was I was nervous.
I really was especially when I was texting back and forth with my umpire in chief and
he told me that my first game the first game he had me on schedule for was a plate a plate
job.
It's like okay great.
I've literally never done anything like this before.
And now I'm going to be standing behind the plate for my very first game.
Luckily the night before that I went down to the field and I got into this in the last
episode went down to the field talked to the plate umpire and he really kind of took me
under his wing and kind of mentored me honestly throughout the entire season.
There was there was one game I just had it was it was a double header.
They did two foreign in games back to back and I just I mean I got hit a couple of times
literally took a couple of couple of pitches just off the chest protector one in the gut
and one in the left arm.
So yeah those hurt but my my strike zone was a little tighter than everybody would have
liked so everybody started to complain and it was just a bad night.
It really was especially when my UIC comes down after a couple innings in the first game
and tells me hey just so you know the league president is getting text messages from parents
threatening to pull their kids off the field because your strike zone is just too damn
tight.
But that's a topic for another another episode on the podcast.
So I took a few days off after that event really thought about just just quitting and
then this same umpire Darren that I worked my very first game with he got a hold of the
UIC and said hey I need a base umpire for this game on Monday and I want Darryl.
Do you think he's available?
So that that's the kind of guy that that Darren is real great guy I love working with him.
If if I had the opportunity to work with him every game I absolutely would.
So he kind of took me under his wing that first game told me hey go out work third base.
I got the plate we already got a first base umpire go work third so that your very first
game is not standing behind the plate.
That that was that was really cool of him to do that.
But yeah you're there's going to be anxiety it's going to be butterflies jitters it doesn't
matter how prepared you are it's it's like the first day at a new job it literally is.
So hopefully by the end of this episode you'll you'll at least get to thinking about the
first game and then hopefully it won't be as intimidating to you as it was to me.
So the first thing that you you need to have to be an umpire is at least some knowledge
of the rules.
Now you can get rules knowledge a number of ways for little league umpires or perspective
little league umpires download the little league rulebook app.
It is literally it's available on Google play and the apple app store and it's literally
the entire little league rulebook right there in the app.
It's free to download it's updated every year or sometimes mid-year if something changes
and you always have that available to you right on your phone tablet whatever.
You can also purchase the physical rulebook from little league international that is not
the 2024 edition is not out yet for purchase but when it is you'll you know you can go
right on to the little league website and purchase that.
Just YouTube to be to be perfectly honest if you go to YouTube and you look up California
district for little league they have a lot of great live video or not live but video
presentations usually an hour to two hours literally going over rules for umpires rules
for district administrators and just all sorts of really really great content they really
break break the rulebook down into its most basic components and teach it.
They've already got one out bring it up here they just released it a couple of weeks ago.
Anyway yeah check that out California district for I live in Maine I don't live in California
but I like what California does you can also get on their website and register for these
these rules clinics if you will and watch them in real time or if you can't watch them
in real time and actually participate in the discussions you can always watch them on YouTube
usually a week or so afterwards they get them up on there.
So just have at least some basic knowledge of the rules now part of the rulebook has
to do with league administration and where you know where a league can pull kids from
and all that as an umpire you don't need to know that stuff there's there's a few specific
sections of the rulebook that have absolutely nothing to do with you read through them if
you want to learn the material if you want but you don't need to know it but obviously
there are a lot of things in the rulebook that you that you need to know and a lot more
things in the rulebook that you probably should know.
So the second tip I have is attend an umpire clinic if you can most districts provide some
sort of umpire clinic I took one last year before I started umpiring it was literally
the bare basic beginner umpire clinic it lasted about a little less than two hours and literally
the first hour was here's how you determine that a pitch is a strike here's how you determine
a pitch is a ball you know here's you know fair ball versus foul ball out versus safe
what is obstruction what is what constitutes interference just very very basic beginner
stuff but it's all stuff that every umpire should know and should know very very well.
So if you have the opportunity to attend an umpire clinic please do so even if it's not
your first time umpiring if if you know main district three offers one this year I'm going
to be there even though it's probably going to be the exact same program that they ran
last year I'm still going to be there because you never know you may learn something new
that you didn't know from last year.
So do that if you have the the ability if you don't see that your area or your district
is doing a rules clinic reach out to them reach out to the district administrator reach
out to the district umpire in chief and ask them you know are you are we doing a clinic
this year if they say no they may be able to point you in the direction of another district
in your in your state that is doing an umpire clinic that you can get in on so highly highly
highly recommend attending a clinic if possible.
There are also umpire clinics that little league themselves put on those may be accessible
to you those may not be the closest one to me is down at the east region headquarters
in Bristol Connecticut not really going to be able to get down there and do that as far
as for me but for you you may live you might live in Williamsport Pennsylvania and they
do umpire academies and clinics in Williamsport as well so highly recommend it if possible.
Having that YouTube can also be your friend here and I'm not trying to talk bad about
main district three or or anything like that but like I said I attended that umpire clinic
I honestly learned more about umpiring even at the little league level via YouTube than
I learned at that umpire clinic.
I still learn some stuff at the actual clinic the in-person clinic but I learned a hell
of a lot more watching either clinics on YouTube like the California district four stuff there's
another one I forget where it was a few years ago they actually had a little league umpire
come out and do an on field clinic talking about positioning and strike zone and stuff
like that you can find that on YouTube as well they recorded that great information
you know if you're looking for rules clinics on YouTube make sure they're they're at least
somewhat recent like I say California district four does them every year so it's always and
they and they always seem to go through the changes from year to year as far as what has
changed in the rule book so YouTube can definitely be your friend some of the stuff you do want
to take with a little bit of a grain of salt because it might not be a hundred percent
accurate information but inaccurate information is better than none as far as your first game
or your first few games one of the things that you want to try to do is what I would
term dress to impress and that is don't show up to your very first umpiring game with ball
cap on backwards wearing a t shirt blue jeans and Nikes just regular you know regular shoes
myself I went out when I knew I was gonna at least attempt to umpire I went a little
overboard I went to Jerry Davis calm I bought all my own plate gear I bought all my own
uniforms I bought you know an actual set of plate pants I bought a couple of different
shirts with the little league logo on them and little league embroidered on it if you
if you didn't know Jerry Davis calm is the official uniform partner of little league
so they can do all that stuff right there in house so I had all that stuff before I
even went to the field for the first time I had all my own gear all my own uniforms
and my very first plate job I got done with the game and I was talking to my umpire in
chief about how the game went and if he saw anything that you know that I need to change
or I need to do differently and that's another point I have a little bit later on this episode
and one of the things he told me was you know you you did good for your first game he says
you definitely look the part he says you you definitely look like you know what you're
doing and that's half the battle if you look like you are like look like you know what
you're doing you're dressed appropriately you look like an umpire a lot of people are
they're not necessarily gonna back off and not give you any crap but they're they're
gonna they're gonna pull it back a little bit because you look like you know what you're
doing so okay they'll cut you a little bit of slack so definitely try to do that you
don't have to go nearly as far as I did you can get umpiring shirts really anywhere on
the internet umpire.com Jerry Davis there's a bunch of them bunch of different manufacturers
you know one thing that you do want to do is make sure that your shirt color matches
your partner shirt color a lot of times you'll you know you'll wear black for baseball but
sometimes you know you'll wear the light blue just just make sure you match make sure you
you at least look like an umpire. After you get all dressed up and everything try as hard
as you can to arrive at the field at least a half an hour early and I noticed I said
at least a half hour early some districts or some leagues might ask that you arrive
45 minutes before game time or an hour before game time and the way I look at it the earlier
you get to the field the more time you have to do what you need to do obviously you'll
need to look over the field make sure that it's it's game ready you know it doesn't hurt
to take a walk out around the outfield fence looking for anything caps or holes in the
fence that a ball might be able to slip through stuff like that you got to do equipment checks
for both teams every game yes every game it doesn't matter if you've already seen this
team 14 times in the last three weeks you still need to check their stuff every game.
So the earlier the better I I try to arrive at least a half an hour early that that is
their minimum sometimes I'll be there 45 minutes early that's perfectly fine but just make
sure that you're not rushing around trying to do stuff before the game the umpires that
show up five minutes before the game they're the ones that kind of piss me off it's like
okay tell me you don't want to be here without telling me you don't want to be here you know
I was here 45 minutes early and now I'm I'm calling coaches over for the plate meeting
and I see you rolling in the parking lot now I get it sometimes it's unavoidable but when
it's every game that you work with that particular person that's that's no bueno for me so after
you arrive at the field preferably 30 minutes early at least you want to meet we end up
with your partner sometimes your partner will already be there sometimes you'll get there
before your partner but you want to meet up with your partner and if it is your first
game tell them that okay a lot of people will say don't tell anybody it's your first game
it'll it'll ruin your credibility and every time you make a call somebody's going to question
it because they know it's your first time that can be the case with some parents managers
coaches honestly if if an umpire if I'm a coach or I'm a manager and an umpire comes
up to me and says hey just so you know it's my very first game I'm gonna kill I'm gonna
cut that person a little bit of slack again just like the dress to impress thing if I
know it's their first game but they're trying to look like they're you know they know what
they're doing I'm gonna cut them some slack some people won't do that but at least let
your partner know that it is your first game and they if they're a good umpire a good leader
they'll they'll kind of keep an eye on things as far as as you're concerned any plays that
you that you have you know they'll they'll kind of keep an eye on it make sure you didn't
completely blow a call or something like that and and along with that even if it's not your
first game I mean even I mean I I'd probably worked about 15 games by the time I worked
my first junior game and that junior game uh junior little league obviously I had a
pitch it came in I was working the plate and when the pitch got almost to the batter it
was right almost eye level it was kind of a big arc coming down at that point the pitch
was almost eye level as it reached the batter but then as it came across the plate it touched
in my opinion the top of the very back of the strike zone as it was coming down it kind
of dropped through the top of the zone as it crossed the plate the batter didn't like
it I called it strike three it was legally caught by the catcher so it wasn't a third
strike not caught deal I come I come up I call strike three and as the batter is turning
around to walk back to the dugout I hear him say that pitch was right at my eyes and then
he just walked away now in that situation I didn't I didn't have to say anything to
him I heard him obviously he wasn't too happy with the call you know whatever he walked
back to the dugout I didn't say a word and neither did he after that that that was all
he said so my partner who just happened to meet my UIC for that my he was my partner
for that game he comes in because it was the end of the ending and I simply asked him what
did you have on that last pitch he says well it looked like it dropped into the back of
the zone to me and he was he was standing over in the B position over by second base
and he said it looked like it dropped into the bottom of the dropped into the back of
the top of the strike zone okay yeah that that's what I had to that's why I called it
I said batter didn't like it but I said that's I just wanted to make sure I didn't you know
I didn't mess something up there so so obviously ask questions before the game during the game
you know in between innings if you have a question about you know something like that
so you know play that just occurred or something like that just just ask questions it's it's
very simple after the game ask your partner for input what did I you know what do you
think I did right where is there anything you think I I kind of FUBAR you know what
were some things that you saw that you liked that I did and what are some ways that you
think I can improve my umpire every experienced partner out there will you know they'll they'll
kind of kiss your ass and tell you oh you did a great job but that's not what I want
to hear I want to hear you know if I if I screwed something up I want to know about
it so that I can do better next time I can learn from that that mess up and that experience
and if there are ways that you think I can improve as an umpire tell me because I want
that information so that I can improve umpiring is just like almost anything else you never
stop learning there are umpires that have been umpiring for 50 years and they still
they still want to learn more I look at it as I'm a big fan of the band Rush and their
drummer Neil Peart who unfortunately has passed on is regarded as one of the greatest rock
drummers ever and yet in the early mid 2000s he realized that hey I've been playing the
exact same way for 30 years at this point and you know he just he wanted to to learn
new things learn new ways of drumming so he did he took a about a year and went and just
started to learn new new techniques and tried to free up this rigidity that he had you know
and it's just amazing to me you know someone that's regarded as one of the greatest rock
drummers in the world still wants to learn more and still wants to strive to be even
better and that's the same the same idea with umpiring we should always be trying to improve
and be better at our job the last bullet point I have on my list here is simply be confident
but confidence will get you a long ways if you walk out on the field and you look like
a scared little poodle walking out there like oh I don't know if I can do this no you're
not going to it's not that you're trying to impress people but you're not going to impress
anybody with that attitude be confident say look it's my first game but you know what
I can do this I've got the basic knowledge of the rules I know my mechanics you know
I got this I got a partner that I know is going to back me up and help me out but I
try to rely on them as little as I can because I wanted I want to do this for myself and
I want to be the best umpire I can be that that's it confidence is huge especially when
you're dealing with other you know you're dealing with other umpires you're dealing
with managers you know if a manager walks up to the plate meeting and you're sitting
there shaking in your plate shoes they're going to look at you and go okay this this
guy's nervous or this this girl's nervous why do they not know what they're doing you
know then then that's when they start to question every call you make and whatnot so
just simply be confident so I know I'm rambling on as usual that's just my thing so running
back down through the points very quickly have at least some knowledge of the rules
whether you get them from the rule book on the little league app you purchase the physical
rule book you you know watch YouTube stuff like that have it have some basic knowledge
of of the rules that you absolutely need to know second attendant beginner umpire clinic
if possible that may not always be practical for you but at least try if not YouTube again
is your friend you can virtually attend an umpire clinic a lot of times on YouTube they
will record a clinic and you can you can go on there and watch it there are a couple of
of YouTube recorded clinics that I've watched three or four times now and I always seem
to pick something up out of every time I watch the next thing is dressed to impress look
like an umpire it it's going to give you a little bit more leniency with the the managers
and the parents and even the players they're going to probably touch a little bit more
slack because you at least look like you know what you're doing arrive at the field at least
30 minutes early minimum 30 minutes if you can get there 45 minutes an hour early even
better meet up with your partner if it's your first game tell them that if it's your first
plate job tell them that if it's your first base you know your first base game tell them
that you know they can help you ask questions before the game during the game and especially
after the game ask your partner questions about your performance on the field if you
have questions on any rules or situations that may come up ask those questions it'll
make you a better umpire help you understand more ask your umpire in chief a lot of times
your umpire in chief may be at the field watching you work the game ask them what they saw ask
them and lastly just be confident guys confidence is it's it's just like dressing the part it
can be huge for you it's also going to make you feel even better at the end of the game
when you walk off the field with your partner damn i can do this you know at the beginning
of the game i didn't know if i could but you know what i can that that makes that makes
a person feel good it really does so that is it for this episode thank you all so much
for listening if you have any questions thoughts for future episodes you know as far as ideas
or anything shoot me an email just get the email set up there about a week ago blue crew
diaries at gmail.com that's blue crew diaries at gmail.com send me an email tell me what
you think idea for a future episode let me know about it again thank you all for listening
and I will catch you on the field