1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:17,320 Welcome to Blue Crew Diaries and Umpire Podcast. 2 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:22,360 My name is Daryl and I will be your host as we take a look behind the mask so to speak, 3 00:00:22,360 --> 00:00:27,360 sharing stories, insights and experiences from the unique perspective of the baseball 4 00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:28,360 umpire. 5 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:33,480 In this episode I'll give you a rundown of a recent umpiring clinic I attended as well 6 00:00:33,480 --> 00:00:37,320 as give some tips on how to get your season started. 7 00:00:37,320 --> 00:00:42,900 If you have any questions, comments or ideas for future episodes, drop me a line at BlueCrewDiaries 8 00:00:42,900 --> 00:00:45,260 at gmail dot com. 9 00:00:45,260 --> 00:00:52,240 So if you're ready, grab your indicator and plate brush and let's hit the field. 10 00:00:52,240 --> 00:01:04,320 Alright everybody, welcome back to another episode of Blue Crew Diaries and Umpire Podcast. 11 00:01:04,320 --> 00:01:08,480 This episode we're going to take a look at a couple of things. 12 00:01:08,480 --> 00:01:14,080 We're going to talk about, as you heard in the intro, an umpiring clinic that I recently 13 00:01:14,080 --> 00:01:17,640 attended as well as some tips and suggestions. 14 00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:25,360 Yes, I know it's only February but just some ways to get your season started on the right 15 00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:26,960 track. 16 00:01:26,960 --> 00:01:31,520 So before we get into that, obviously I have a couple of announcements. 17 00:01:31,520 --> 00:01:42,280 The biggest one really, or only one, is that Little League International has really, in 18 00:01:42,280 --> 00:01:47,880 my opinion, stepped up their game as far as umpire training goes. 19 00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:57,200 It used to be there were only a few umpire universities, or umpire academies they call 20 00:01:57,200 --> 00:01:59,600 them, around the country. 21 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:06,880 You had to go to your region headquarters and it was like two, three days, a couple 22 00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:10,100 hundred bucks. 23 00:02:10,100 --> 00:02:16,880 This year they seem to be kind of branching out a lot more and they've got a lot of what 24 00:02:16,880 --> 00:02:20,880 they're calling umpire outreach clinics. 25 00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:23,440 There are a bunch of these. 26 00:02:23,440 --> 00:02:26,800 They're all over the country. 27 00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:33,400 If you are not already a member of the Little League umpire registry, very simple, go to 28 00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:37,200 littleleagueumpire.org. 29 00:02:37,200 --> 00:02:38,200 Sign up for the registry. 30 00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:43,520 It's completely free and there's training materials. 31 00:02:43,520 --> 00:02:48,760 You can get a registry certificate to say hey I'm a member of the registry. 32 00:02:48,760 --> 00:02:56,360 It is also where you can submit an application for working a tournament, a regional tournament, 33 00:02:56,360 --> 00:02:58,400 or a World Series. 34 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:03,040 Those applications are currently closed but come the end of the year they will open back 35 00:03:03,040 --> 00:03:04,160 up. 36 00:03:04,160 --> 00:03:06,920 So you can do that through the registry. 37 00:03:06,920 --> 00:03:13,000 You can download the Little League rule instruction manual. 38 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:16,160 Also submit a request for background check. 39 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:21,680 I think it only costs like five bucks and that covers you as far as background check 40 00:03:21,680 --> 00:03:25,560 goes for any league that you might work. 41 00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:36,740 There is also a setup on the umpire registry where if you opt in then leagues around your 42 00:03:36,740 --> 00:03:43,960 area or even specific leagues that you point out in the registry, they will be able to 43 00:03:43,960 --> 00:03:49,940 go to the registry and find your information so they can reach out to you if they're interested 44 00:03:49,940 --> 00:03:52,960 in having you umpire for their league. 45 00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:55,600 So very handy website. 46 00:03:55,600 --> 00:04:00,140 Again it's littleleagueumpire.org. 47 00:04:00,140 --> 00:04:03,720 No spaces, no dashes, nothing like that. 48 00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:10,520 But all of the upcoming trainings and clinics are also listed right on the main page along 49 00:04:10,520 --> 00:04:14,020 with the uh each one has a registration link. 50 00:04:14,020 --> 00:04:21,760 You can click that link and it will give you more about it, allow you to sign up, and all 51 00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:22,920 that fun stuff. 52 00:04:22,920 --> 00:04:30,480 So those clinics have already started. 53 00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:39,680 And the feedback that I have seen on some of the social media is they're great. 54 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:46,720 You've got you know little league instructors that are teaching these courses and people 55 00:04:46,720 --> 00:04:48,440 seem to like them. 56 00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:55,860 So if you're interested get on the umpire registry and see if there's one coming up 57 00:04:55,860 --> 00:04:58,080 in your area. 58 00:04:58,080 --> 00:05:03,120 Me living up here in the state of Maine it really wasn't feasible for me to travel all 59 00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:07,720 the way to Bristol, Connecticut to attend one of these. 60 00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:13,400 But I did see that there is one coming up in where was it? 61 00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:16,880 I was literally just looking at it. 62 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:20,760 Coming up in May I believe right? 63 00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:28,480 April 5th, April 5th 2025 down at Halldale High School in Farmingdale, Maine. 64 00:05:28,480 --> 00:05:34,240 Which is only roughly an hour from where I currently live. 65 00:05:34,240 --> 00:05:36,400 And that one's only 30 bucks. 66 00:05:36,400 --> 00:05:44,360 It's a one day thing going over just basic umpire mechanics, rules you need to know, 67 00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:48,320 really just to kind of get everybody on the same page. 68 00:05:48,320 --> 00:05:55,120 So check that out if you are interested. 69 00:05:55,120 --> 00:05:59,440 If you haven't, speaking of background checks, if you haven't submitted your background check 70 00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:04,000 request you can do that. 71 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:11,960 Another thing that you will need to do is go to littleleague.org website and complete 72 00:06:11,960 --> 00:06:15,600 the abuse awareness training course. 73 00:06:15,600 --> 00:06:19,920 That is mandatory for everybody. 74 00:06:19,920 --> 00:06:28,840 Umpires, coaches, managers, scorekeepers, Snack Shack personnel, anybody that has regular 75 00:06:28,840 --> 00:06:34,920 access, I don't want to say regular access because that just sounds weird, but is regularly 76 00:06:34,920 --> 00:06:43,760 around the kids whether it be at the field or during practices, anything like that. 77 00:06:43,760 --> 00:06:50,360 It is mandatory, you need to complete that course every year. 78 00:06:50,360 --> 00:06:53,720 Littleleague has their own course now. 79 00:06:53,720 --> 00:06:56,520 I literally just did it last week. 80 00:06:56,520 --> 00:07:02,820 It's pretty much the same thing as the USA baseball course, just Littleleague. 81 00:07:02,820 --> 00:07:07,640 So make sure you get that done. 82 00:07:07,640 --> 00:07:17,040 The leagues that you umpire for will be looking or should be looking for proof that you completed 83 00:07:17,040 --> 00:07:18,360 that course. 84 00:07:18,360 --> 00:07:23,080 When you complete the course it does give you a certificate, emails you a certificate 85 00:07:23,080 --> 00:07:24,740 that you can print out. 86 00:07:24,740 --> 00:07:28,600 I would highly recommend that if you have the means. 87 00:07:28,600 --> 00:07:33,860 If not, just take a screenshot of it on your phone so you can at least show the leagues 88 00:07:33,860 --> 00:07:37,700 that you umpire for, hey here's my proof. 89 00:07:37,700 --> 00:07:44,880 It has my name on it, it has the date of completion and a certificate number. 90 00:07:44,880 --> 00:07:50,600 So make sure you get that done sooner rather than later. 91 00:07:50,600 --> 00:07:59,640 Alright, so having rambled on long enough about that, let's get to the main topics. 92 00:07:59,640 --> 00:08:10,240 So a couple of weeks ago the Eastern Maine Baseball Umpires Association held a basic 93 00:08:10,240 --> 00:08:17,240 umpire clinic at the University of Maine in Orono in the Mahaney Dome. 94 00:08:17,240 --> 00:08:20,920 And I decided to attend. 95 00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:29,560 Now Eastern Maine Baseball Umpires, they mostly do high school baseball, middle school baseball, 96 00:08:29,560 --> 00:08:33,920 all the NFHS stuff. 97 00:08:33,920 --> 00:08:44,200 But a lot of their members also umpire Little League, some umpire college, some do Babe 98 00:08:44,200 --> 00:08:48,360 Ruth or whatever. 99 00:08:48,360 --> 00:08:54,000 Once you're an umpire, as long as you're certified you can pretty much umpire just about everything. 100 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:56,240 So a lot of people do. 101 00:08:56,240 --> 00:09:03,400 So this umpire clinic was open to anyone, whether you were already a seasoned umpire 102 00:09:03,400 --> 00:09:09,680 or you weren't an umpire but you were thinking of becoming one. 103 00:09:09,680 --> 00:09:13,280 This was the clinic for you. 104 00:09:13,280 --> 00:09:19,960 There were, we had three instructors, there were about a dozen of us there in the Mahaney 105 00:09:19,960 --> 00:09:21,480 Dome. 106 00:09:21,480 --> 00:09:26,200 And just on a side note, if you're ever at the University of Maine and you get to work 107 00:09:26,200 --> 00:09:35,360 in the Mahaney Dome or do anything in there, it's one of those big inflatable structures. 108 00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:40,520 If they tell you that there is heat in that structure, I would be willing to call them 109 00:09:40,520 --> 00:09:48,640 a liar because it was a Sunday morning, it was about 20 degrees outside when I got there 110 00:09:48,640 --> 00:09:54,760 and that's about the temperature it was inside the dome. 111 00:09:54,760 --> 00:09:58,880 Once we got in there and started working and moving around and whatnot, it did start to 112 00:09:58,880 --> 00:10:04,800 warm up a little bit but it was still cold. 113 00:10:04,800 --> 00:10:09,000 It was a great time but it was chilly. 114 00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:12,360 One of the poor instructors, Bill, he was freezing to death. 115 00:10:12,360 --> 00:10:17,840 He was all bundled up in his hat and his mittens and his coat. 116 00:10:17,840 --> 00:10:18,840 It was just funny. 117 00:10:18,840 --> 00:10:24,800 I mean, I feel bad for that guy but yeah, she was a little chilly, especially when you 118 00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:28,320 were just standing around talking about things and you weren't actually physically doing 119 00:10:28,320 --> 00:10:29,320 anything. 120 00:10:29,320 --> 00:10:32,720 So, yeah, we had three instructors. 121 00:10:32,720 --> 00:10:43,720 We had Bill Juley who has been umpiring for seemingly ever, pretty much doing mostly high 122 00:10:43,720 --> 00:10:44,720 school stuff. 123 00:10:44,720 --> 00:10:47,720 I believe he's done some college stuff as well. 124 00:10:47,720 --> 00:10:56,080 We have Rob Curtis who is the interpreter, the rules interpreter for Eastern Maine baseball 125 00:10:56,080 --> 00:10:57,640 umpires. 126 00:10:57,640 --> 00:11:06,920 He is also, I believe, still the umpire in chief for Maine District 3 Little League, 127 00:11:06,920 --> 00:11:09,680 which is the district that I work in. 128 00:11:09,680 --> 00:11:17,960 He's done all kinds of umpiring gigs, Little League, high school, everything. 129 00:11:17,960 --> 00:11:20,480 Real great guy, very, very knowledgeable. 130 00:11:20,480 --> 00:11:29,680 If you are really a rules type of person, he's your man. 131 00:11:29,680 --> 00:11:31,880 He's the guy you want to talk to. 132 00:11:31,880 --> 00:11:38,720 And the third instructor was Troy Lair who I have a personal relationship with. 133 00:11:38,720 --> 00:11:44,280 My father and Troy used to work together for the Bangalore Fire Department for about 25 134 00:11:44,280 --> 00:11:45,280 years. 135 00:11:45,280 --> 00:11:48,520 So I've known Troy at least that long. 136 00:11:48,520 --> 00:11:51,360 Actually longer than that because my father's been retired for 10 years. 137 00:11:51,360 --> 00:11:57,840 So yeah, Troy has done everything. 138 00:11:57,840 --> 00:12:03,120 He's been umpiring since I believe the 80s, the late 80s. 139 00:12:03,120 --> 00:12:07,320 He's not that old, but he's been umpiring that long. 140 00:12:07,320 --> 00:12:10,360 He is a former catcher, I believe. 141 00:12:10,360 --> 00:12:14,480 So he's been on both sides. 142 00:12:14,480 --> 00:12:18,440 He has worked high school baseball. 143 00:12:18,440 --> 00:12:20,280 He's worked college baseball. 144 00:12:20,280 --> 00:12:21,500 He's worked Little League. 145 00:12:21,500 --> 00:12:30,440 He even went to, I believe it was the 2018 Little League World Series and was on one 146 00:12:30,440 --> 00:12:34,200 of the umpiring crews for the World Series. 147 00:12:34,200 --> 00:12:42,080 So anybody that wants to know what it's like to work a World Series in Little League, Troy 148 00:12:42,080 --> 00:12:44,380 is the guy you want to talk to. 149 00:12:44,380 --> 00:12:53,400 Any of you umpires out there who have the book Umpire Mentors, which I would highly 150 00:12:53,400 --> 00:12:59,360 recommend, Troy is one of the umpires that gives his insight in that book. 151 00:12:59,360 --> 00:13:02,980 So check that out. 152 00:13:02,980 --> 00:13:09,840 So after everybody got there and we all got situated, everybody introduced themselves. 153 00:13:09,840 --> 00:13:18,320 Hi, my name is so-and-so and I've been umpiring for this many years and these are the levels 154 00:13:18,320 --> 00:13:20,320 that I umpire. 155 00:13:20,320 --> 00:13:21,720 We had a pretty good mix. 156 00:13:21,720 --> 00:13:25,400 We had people that had been umpiring for more than five years. 157 00:13:25,400 --> 00:13:32,020 We had people that this year would be like their first or second year umpiring. 158 00:13:32,020 --> 00:13:43,120 So it was a really good mix between time, umpiring, as well as Little League, high school, 159 00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:45,480 stuff like that. 160 00:13:45,480 --> 00:13:47,860 So like I said, we had about a dozen of us there. 161 00:13:47,860 --> 00:13:59,560 We split into three groups and one group went with Bill and worked on first base. 162 00:13:59,560 --> 00:14:04,400 Pretty much anything you wanted to know about working first base. 163 00:14:04,400 --> 00:14:09,640 Bill was pretty much, he was pretty good at keeping it open. 164 00:14:09,640 --> 00:14:17,120 We got over to first base and he basically said, I really don't have any lesson plan 165 00:14:17,120 --> 00:14:21,080 or anything I specifically want to talk to you guys about. 166 00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:26,440 What do you want to know from me? 167 00:14:26,440 --> 00:14:32,240 That was the very first question he asked is what questions do you guys have? 168 00:14:32,240 --> 00:14:37,640 What do you guys want to learn about working first base? 169 00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:40,560 And I'll tell you, we'll go from there. 170 00:14:40,560 --> 00:14:43,320 So very informative. 171 00:14:43,320 --> 00:14:47,800 There was myself and two other guys in my group. 172 00:14:47,800 --> 00:14:53,480 We had some pretty good questions for Bill, had pretty good conversations. 173 00:14:53,480 --> 00:14:59,200 Yeah, that was, I mean, that was, that was a good time. 174 00:14:59,200 --> 00:15:04,320 After 20, 25 minutes or so, everybody rotated. 175 00:15:04,320 --> 00:15:11,080 My group went down to first, down to home plate and worked with Rob Curtis and we didn't 176 00:15:11,080 --> 00:15:19,260 get into calling balls and strikes or positioning behind the catcher and head height and working 177 00:15:19,260 --> 00:15:21,440 the slot. 178 00:15:21,440 --> 00:15:30,800 We focused on what to do after the ball is put into play. 179 00:15:30,800 --> 00:15:33,640 And we worked on everything. 180 00:15:33,640 --> 00:15:42,020 Like as the home plate umpire, ball is hit to shortstop. 181 00:15:42,020 --> 00:15:44,920 You have a runner on, on second. 182 00:15:44,920 --> 00:15:45,920 Okay. 183 00:15:45,920 --> 00:15:48,400 Well, is that runner? 184 00:15:48,400 --> 00:15:53,340 What are you going to do if that runner decides he's going to try to go third? 185 00:15:53,340 --> 00:15:56,120 Because the throw is coming to first. 186 00:15:56,120 --> 00:15:57,120 Okay. 187 00:15:57,120 --> 00:15:59,680 Well, now that runner doesn't go. 188 00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:02,360 Well, now you've got to cover the play at first. 189 00:16:02,360 --> 00:16:07,840 Oh, well, there was a bad throw and now the ball just wound up in the dugout. 190 00:16:07,840 --> 00:16:08,840 What do you do? 191 00:16:08,840 --> 00:16:09,840 Okay. 192 00:16:09,840 --> 00:16:20,280 Well, you know, and it was, it was all um, you know, positioning and you know, okay, 193 00:16:20,280 --> 00:16:21,840 you got a bad throw. 194 00:16:21,840 --> 00:16:23,360 All right. 195 00:16:23,360 --> 00:16:29,280 Well, now it's your responsibility to call time and award basis to the runners. 196 00:16:29,280 --> 00:16:33,180 And we just went over a lot of that stuff. 197 00:16:33,180 --> 00:16:44,440 As we were doing that, members of the UMaine baseball team started to come in and they're 198 00:16:44,440 --> 00:16:45,880 over in the back corner. 199 00:16:45,880 --> 00:16:50,640 They're just playing pass, throwing around, warming up. 200 00:16:50,640 --> 00:16:55,680 So we got done there at the plate and then everybody rotated again. 201 00:16:55,680 --> 00:17:07,080 We went over to the area of second base around the B and C positions, which is a little different 202 00:17:07,080 --> 00:17:13,520 because working little league, like I do, I'm used to working major and minor division. 203 00:17:13,520 --> 00:17:21,700 I have worked junior before that was different, but you're always working outside. 204 00:17:21,700 --> 00:17:27,520 So first base, whether you're on a 60 foot diamond or a 90 foot diamond, you're, you're 205 00:17:27,520 --> 00:17:34,800 standing in the exact same spot in the A position where it differs is when you're working B 206 00:17:34,800 --> 00:17:42,740 and C on a 60 foot diamond, you're starting outside the base path on the 90 foot diamond. 207 00:17:42,740 --> 00:17:47,020 You're starting on the grass inside the base path. 208 00:17:47,020 --> 00:17:53,800 So that took a little getting used to, but we went over there with Troy and we worked 209 00:17:53,800 --> 00:18:02,880 on again, positioning for infield work, you know, ball struck to the infield. 210 00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:10,360 And his, his big thing was chest to ball, chest to ball, chest to ball, chest to ball. 211 00:18:10,360 --> 00:18:18,200 Wherever that ball is, you need to basically take a string, attach it to the ball and run 212 00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:21,040 that string directly to your chest. 213 00:18:21,040 --> 00:18:27,300 And you, you constantly want to be facing the ball so you know where it is. 214 00:18:27,300 --> 00:18:30,920 Because obviously nothing can happen with the baseball. 215 00:18:30,920 --> 00:18:36,900 Nothing you can't have, you know, you can't have an out call. 216 00:18:36,900 --> 00:18:39,120 You can't have a strikeout. 217 00:18:39,120 --> 00:18:43,440 Nothing really can happen without the ball. 218 00:18:43,440 --> 00:18:51,600 I mean, yes, there are some exceptions to that, but anyway, so as we're working B and 219 00:18:51,600 --> 00:19:01,720 C with Troy, now all of the humane team, pardon me, all of the humane team is now in there. 220 00:19:01,720 --> 00:19:09,040 They're all warmed up and coach Durba from the humane team is also there. 221 00:19:09,040 --> 00:19:18,280 He is a very big proponent of umpires. 222 00:19:18,280 --> 00:19:26,120 This whole umpire clinic was not only put on by Eastern Maine baseball umpires, but 223 00:19:26,120 --> 00:19:34,860 it was also sort of put on by coach Durba and the University of Maine also. 224 00:19:34,860 --> 00:19:43,880 So as we were finishing up with Troy over in the B position, coach Durba and the team 225 00:19:43,880 --> 00:19:49,260 were going to start working on some infield stuff. 226 00:19:49,260 --> 00:19:57,720 So we literally, you know, they coached Durba coordinated with the instructors for the clinic 227 00:19:57,720 --> 00:20:01,680 and said, okay, we're going to, you know, we're going to do ground balls to third, we're 228 00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:04,880 going to do ground balls to shortstop. 229 00:20:04,880 --> 00:20:11,560 And you know, if you want, you know, to rotate your umpires in and out in the B position, 230 00:20:11,560 --> 00:20:17,560 in the C position over in the A position, you know, so they can get actual real world 231 00:20:17,560 --> 00:20:24,280 practice, you know, keeping an eye on the ball, working on positioning where they need 232 00:20:24,280 --> 00:20:27,000 to be for certain plays. 233 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:36,000 So we, we actually got to do that. And I will tell you one thing, when all you've really 234 00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:47,440 umpired is little league and you get into that dome with division one baseball players, 235 00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:53,360 holy crap does thing, does everything just speed up? 236 00:20:53,360 --> 00:21:01,000 It was like somebody took the speed knob and cranked it to 20. The first, first throw from 237 00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:07,880 the shortstop to the first baseman, I literally, I couldn't turn fast enough to follow the 238 00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:16,360 ball to first base because it's like, holy crap, these guys throw, these guys throw hard. 239 00:21:16,360 --> 00:21:22,000 So we did that for a little while, just kind of rotated out and, and even, even the instructors, 240 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:28,480 Troy would jump in and, and take a couple of throws and show us stuff and say, okay, 241 00:21:28,480 --> 00:21:36,240 now that you've seen it, get in there and do it. You know, and it was just a cool experience 242 00:21:36,240 --> 00:21:44,880 to be on the field with, with the humane team and, you know, and, and not only learn how 243 00:21:44,880 --> 00:21:51,160 to do what I was there to learn, but also just to watch these guys. I mean, these, these 244 00:21:51,160 --> 00:21:57,560 guys are good. They're good ball players. So once they get done with their infield practice 245 00:21:57,560 --> 00:22:05,800 and they were swapping players in and out, they worked on turning double plays. Okay. 246 00:22:05,800 --> 00:22:14,920 Grounder to third or shortstop. Okay. I'm the umpire. I'm over in, in the C position. 247 00:22:14,920 --> 00:22:22,120 You know, now I got to try to cover this double play at second and then first, you know, there 248 00:22:22,120 --> 00:22:28,720 was, there was a bunch of stuff like that and it was just, it was just cool. It really 249 00:22:28,720 --> 00:22:38,520 was. Definitely learned a lot at that point. So they got done that and then they decide 250 00:22:38,520 --> 00:22:48,540 the humane coach, he decides, okay, we're going to do a scrimmage full, full on scrimmage. 251 00:22:48,540 --> 00:22:57,400 So next thing I know, Troy is walking around and he says, all right, any of you guys that 252 00:22:57,400 --> 00:23:08,040 want to get in on the scrimmage, go put your plate gear on. Okay. Now I was prepared for 253 00:23:08,040 --> 00:23:15,060 this as was everybody else, because when I registered for the clinic, they, Troy actually 254 00:23:15,060 --> 00:23:21,160 emailed out an itinerary of what the day was going to hold. And one of the things was bring 255 00:23:21,160 --> 00:23:25,680 your plate gear because there's, you know, there's probably going to be some plate work. 256 00:23:25,680 --> 00:23:31,840 They may do stuff over in the padding pavilion in the cage, you know, but you know, you, 257 00:23:31,840 --> 00:23:42,480 you be able to see live, live pitches. So I ran over through my plate gear on and yeah, 258 00:23:42,480 --> 00:23:50,840 I think it was like the second or third umpire in each umpire took like two batters. And 259 00:23:50,840 --> 00:24:02,200 the first, first pitch that I, I took was like, holy crap. Now I know it's, it's coming 260 00:24:02,200 --> 00:24:08,880 from 20 feet further away than I'm used to. I'm used to, you know, 40 foot pitching distance. 261 00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:17,680 I'm not used to 60 foot. So it's coming from 20 feet further away, but it's also traveling 262 00:24:17,680 --> 00:24:26,960 damn near twice as fast. So, but the UMaine players were great. I mean, they really were 263 00:24:26,960 --> 00:24:34,640 as soon as I, I walked out, the catcher immediately stood up, took his mask off, walked over, 264 00:24:34,640 --> 00:24:43,000 shook my hand, introduced himself. You know, that, that, that was, that was cool. You know, 265 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:49,720 these, these guys really respect umpires. Like coach Derber said at the end of the day, 266 00:24:49,720 --> 00:24:54,960 if it wasn't for umpires, you know, we wouldn't have a game to play because there'd be nobody 267 00:24:54,960 --> 00:25:01,600 to officiate it. But yeah, I got to get in there for a couple of, a couple of stints. 268 00:25:01,600 --> 00:25:08,240 I took like four or five batters total. Good, get some, some pretty good pointers from Troy 269 00:25:08,240 --> 00:25:15,480 and Rob, because obviously they were, they were all watching. And as soon as you swapped 270 00:25:15,480 --> 00:25:20,840 out with somebody else, Rob came right up to you and said, okay, here's what I saw. 271 00:25:20,840 --> 00:25:28,640 Um, really the only thing that he had for me was try to work a little more in the slot 272 00:25:28,640 --> 00:25:33,960 and a little less. I mean, I was practically standing right directly behind the catcher 273 00:25:33,960 --> 00:25:40,720 and that almost bit me on one pitch. Uh, in my second, my second stand out there, there 274 00:25:40,720 --> 00:25:50,280 was a, a pitch high and outside. It just, just got by the catcher's mitt, but it wasn't 275 00:25:50,280 --> 00:25:58,740 that far outside. And I, I almost felt the breeze of that ball go past the right side 276 00:25:58,740 --> 00:26:05,440 of my head. And you immediately took a, took a step to the left and went, Whoa, okay. That 277 00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:16,760 was close. But damn, damn, that pitch was thrown hard anyway. Um, but you know, nobody 278 00:26:16,760 --> 00:26:25,920 got hit, no harm, no foul. Um, but uh, yeah, that was just getting, getting to go out there 279 00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:35,200 with division one players and, and work with them was, that was, that was the highlight 280 00:26:35,200 --> 00:26:43,120 of, of the clinic right there. Um, I mean the clinic was free. That, that's the thing. 281 00:26:43,120 --> 00:26:49,640 I literally came home afterwards. Uh, we started, started about seven 30. We finished up a little 282 00:26:49,640 --> 00:26:58,200 before noontime and I came home and I told my fiance, I said, you know, that the clinic 283 00:26:58,200 --> 00:27:09,640 was free, but even if I had paid 50 or a hundred dollars to attend this clinic, I still would 284 00:27:09,640 --> 00:27:37,360 have gotten well more than my money's worth out of it. Um, it was, it was just that much fun. And that was the thing. It was fun. I didn't feel like I was, you know, sitting in a classroom and people telling me how to do things, but no, it was fun. You know, just, it was nice to be out on, on the field again. 285 00:27:37,360 --> 00:27:43,280 Um, you know, in the, in the Mahaney dome, it's turf. That's the first time I've ever 286 00:27:43,280 --> 00:27:52,400 worked on turf. So that was different. Um, you know, first, first time with division 287 00:27:52,400 --> 00:27:59,760 one baseball players, uh, you know, it was, it was a good time all around. It really was. 288 00:27:59,760 --> 00:28:06,720 Um, definitely, definitely would highly recommend. Um, I'm hoping they do another one next year. 289 00:28:06,720 --> 00:28:14,480 They were supposed to do one last year, but the, uh, the Mahaney dome collapsed again 290 00:28:14,480 --> 00:28:20,640 due to the snowstorms that we had got last year. Um, so they didn't get to do it, but 291 00:28:20,640 --> 00:28:25,760 they got to do it this year. And the real nice thing was after we were done, we were 292 00:28:25,760 --> 00:28:32,100 just kind of all having a little powwow in the corner and coach Durba came over and gave 293 00:28:32,100 --> 00:28:41,480 his thoughts on working with umpires and how, how umpires and coaches can get along in the 294 00:28:41,480 --> 00:28:49,520 baseball field and what he expects from umpires and what umpires should expect from coaches. 295 00:28:49,520 --> 00:28:58,640 And he gave us a open invitation. He says, we're here, you know, we're going to be here 296 00:28:58,640 --> 00:29:05,880 the next few weeks, you know, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sundays, you know, whatever times, 297 00:29:05,880 --> 00:29:11,320 and we're going to be doing scrimmages and stuff. If any of you umpires want to come 298 00:29:11,320 --> 00:29:19,600 over and, and call pitches and, you know, work on whatever you want to work on, you 299 00:29:19,600 --> 00:29:24,080 know, get, get ahold of Troy. He'll give you my number, shoot me a text. You're more than 300 00:29:24,080 --> 00:29:29,560 welcome to come over. So I thought that was pretty cool. I haven't taken him up on that 301 00:29:29,560 --> 00:29:39,480 offer yet. Um, but I thought that was cool. So yeah, all right. I've ran it on long enough 302 00:29:39,480 --> 00:29:45,240 about that. Definitely looking forward to, uh, to doing another one next year if they 303 00:29:45,240 --> 00:29:57,360 have one. So the second topic for this episode that sort of transitions from the umpire clinic 304 00:29:57,360 --> 00:30:10,800 is it's, it's time to start getting ready for the 2025 season. Um, obviously we're, 305 00:30:10,800 --> 00:30:17,680 you know, at least here in the, in the state of Maine, we're still a few months out, but 306 00:30:17,680 --> 00:30:22,760 you can never start too early. I know other places around the country, you guys probably 307 00:30:22,760 --> 00:30:29,760 been playing baseball the whole time. Um, but up here in the Northeast, it's still cold. 308 00:30:29,760 --> 00:30:38,120 We just got three or four inches of snow the other day. So, um, that, that's why this, 309 00:30:38,120 --> 00:30:44,360 this podcast episode is a couple of weeks behind because between pretty much my entire 310 00:30:44,360 --> 00:30:49,880 house being sick and, uh, constantly snow blowing two to three inches of snow every 311 00:30:49,880 --> 00:30:57,200 dang night, I really haven't had time to do anything. So, um, just a couple of tips and 312 00:30:57,200 --> 00:31:04,320 suggestions. I do already have a podcast episode about this, um, getting, getting ready for 313 00:31:04,320 --> 00:31:12,880 the season that I did last year. Uh, if you are interested in that, uh, go, go check that 314 00:31:12,880 --> 00:31:24,960 out at his, uh, season one episode four. Uh, so yeah, um, just, just some ways to start, 315 00:31:24,960 --> 00:31:32,480 uh, start getting your nose in the rule book. That, that seems to be one of the big, um, 316 00:31:32,480 --> 00:31:39,560 the big kind of sticking points with, with umpires is everybody wants to go out. They 317 00:31:39,560 --> 00:31:45,680 want to call balls and strikes, safe out, fair foul, all that fun stuff. They don't 318 00:31:45,680 --> 00:31:54,040 want to sit there and study a dang rule book. Um, you know, but a good majority of your 319 00:31:54,040 --> 00:32:02,320 job on the baseball field is knowing and enforcing correctly enforcing the rules. So, um, I 320 00:32:02,320 --> 00:32:08,360 know you need to know the rules. The more you know the rules, the better your games 321 00:32:08,360 --> 00:32:15,840 are going to be. The more, I don't want to say the more respect you're going to get, 322 00:32:15,840 --> 00:32:23,220 but people are going to know, okay, this umpire, they're taking the time to, to really know 323 00:32:23,220 --> 00:32:31,000 the rules, to be able to, you know, officiate the game correctly and get things right. So 324 00:32:31,000 --> 00:32:37,640 that, that'll, that'll cut, you know, that'll get you a little bit of slack from, from people. 325 00:32:37,640 --> 00:32:45,760 Um, so just start getting into it. You know, even if it's, you know, you read a chapter, 326 00:32:45,760 --> 00:32:49,760 you know, every couple of nights, you know, just spend 10, 15 minutes just nosing through 327 00:32:49,760 --> 00:32:57,320 the rule book. Um, yeah, it definitely will help, especially when you get that super odd 328 00:32:57,320 --> 00:33:04,280 situation and you think, oh, well, geez, you know, I, I literally just read that in the 329 00:33:04,280 --> 00:33:11,120 rule book two weeks ago. Here's, here's the rule. Here's how I need to apply it. Um, so 330 00:33:11,120 --> 00:33:19,240 definitely start, uh, start getting, start getting into the rule book. Um, now is the 331 00:33:19,240 --> 00:33:27,720 time to start going through all of your gear, your uniforms, your protective, you know, 332 00:33:27,720 --> 00:33:34,720 gear, your plate gear, start going through all of that stuff and make sure everything's 333 00:33:34,720 --> 00:33:40,640 in good working order. Uh, upgrade if you want to upgrade anything. Now is probably 334 00:33:40,640 --> 00:33:46,680 the time to do it before everything goes out of stock. Um, and if you have stuff that you 335 00:33:46,680 --> 00:33:55,760 need to replace, start replacing it now because a couple of months from now, baseball season's 336 00:33:55,760 --> 00:34:00,360 going to be in full swing and preparedness for baseball is going to be in full swing 337 00:34:00,360 --> 00:34:05,800 and you're going to start seeing, um, these, these gear retailers start running out of 338 00:34:05,800 --> 00:34:13,120 stuff or if you need uniforms, okay, well yeah, you can get, you know, a new pair of 339 00:34:13,120 --> 00:34:20,280 plate pants, but in order to get them hemmed, um, you know, it, it's going to be, you know, 340 00:34:20,280 --> 00:34:28,720 three, four, five weeks now. Whereas if you've got new plate pants, you know, now you might 341 00:34:28,720 --> 00:34:33,680 have only had to avoid, you know, waited a couple of days. So start going through that 342 00:34:33,680 --> 00:34:38,560 stuff. I've already started going through mine. Um, I actually did a couple of weeks 343 00:34:38,560 --> 00:34:44,360 ago before the, before the clinic. Um, the other night I was actually sitting here at 344 00:34:44,360 --> 00:34:51,520 my computer watching YouTube and I pulled my indicator apart and, and cleaned it all 345 00:34:51,520 --> 00:34:56,960 up. I've got it right here on my desk. Um, you can probably hear me clicking it because 346 00:34:56,960 --> 00:35:02,880 I'm a nerd like that. Um, but you know, I, I got that ready to go. So that's, I know 347 00:35:02,880 --> 00:35:08,760 that's ready. I, I didn't, you know, I didn't break it during the, uh, during last season. 348 00:35:08,760 --> 00:35:16,440 I don't need to replace it. Everything's good there. Um, I'm still, still contemplating 349 00:35:16,440 --> 00:35:21,960 on upgrading the chest protector. Um, still don't know where I'm going to go with that 350 00:35:21,960 --> 00:35:29,040 yet. I don't know if I do upgrade it, if I'm going to go with one of the new Jerry Davis 351 00:35:29,040 --> 00:35:39,480 chest protectors or I've, I've still got my, my eye on that, uh, all star cobalt. So, um, 352 00:35:39,480 --> 00:35:49,160 I may not even upgrade this year. I don't know. We'll see. Um, start getting ready 353 00:35:49,160 --> 00:35:58,320 physically, not just mentally with the rules, but physically. Um, obviously we have the 354 00:35:58,320 --> 00:36:05,560 off season, the winter time, you know, it's, it's not that easy to get outside and, and 355 00:36:05,560 --> 00:36:15,560 do anything. Um, obviously we had the holidays and everybody ate way too much. I know I did, 356 00:36:15,560 --> 00:36:23,520 just start getting, start getting in shape. Um, even if it's just simple, simple stuff, 357 00:36:23,520 --> 00:36:29,960 you know, do, do 25 squats in the morning when you get out of bed or, you know, do, 358 00:36:29,960 --> 00:36:36,840 do some pushups at night or just something to start, start, get that process moving. 359 00:36:36,840 --> 00:36:42,680 Um, I'm not, you know, I'm not saying that you have to go to the gym every single night 360 00:36:42,680 --> 00:36:51,080 for two hours, but just, you know, start, start getting, start getting on that. Um, 361 00:36:51,080 --> 00:36:57,840 yes, that is something that I need to start doing. Um, hopefully once the, uh, the sickness 362 00:36:57,840 --> 00:37:05,760 gets out of the house, I'll be able to, uh, to start doing that myself. But you know, 363 00:37:05,760 --> 00:37:11,560 physicality is, is a big thing. Um, you don't, you don't really know how out of shape you 364 00:37:11,560 --> 00:37:19,680 are until you try to do something and find out while I'm out of shape. So start, uh, 365 00:37:19,680 --> 00:37:24,720 yeah, start getting in the rule book, inspect all your gear, do whatever you need to do 366 00:37:24,720 --> 00:37:32,800 there. Um, upgrade, replace, just clean your stuff. You know, I mean, cleaning and, and 367 00:37:32,800 --> 00:37:39,800 upkeep is, is, uh, is also a big thing and start, start preparing physically as well 368 00:37:39,800 --> 00:37:49,200 as mentally. Um, speaking of the rules, uh, those of you who have listened to the podcast 369 00:37:49,200 --> 00:37:54,720 over the previous year know that I am a big proponent of the California district for a 370 00:37:54,720 --> 00:38:04,960 YouTube channel. They just posted the other night, the first 2025 little league rules 371 00:38:04,960 --> 00:38:14,120 clinic it is on their YouTube channel. Um, just go to YouTube and search for, uh, California 372 00:38:14,120 --> 00:38:20,880 district for little league and you'll be able to find it on there. Very, very great videos. 373 00:38:20,880 --> 00:38:29,640 Yes. It, it can almost be like listening to Ben Stein at times. It's more of just a classroom 374 00:38:29,640 --> 00:38:37,720 setting or going over the rules and, and whatnot. And yes, it can be boring, but they, they 375 00:38:37,720 --> 00:38:47,600 really tend to focus on the rules that you really need to know as an umpire. So, um, 376 00:38:47,600 --> 00:38:55,040 yeah, check those out. California district for, uh, they sh I believe they are doing, 377 00:38:55,040 --> 00:39:01,720 um, rules clinics every week now, at least for the next few weeks. So the first one is 378 00:39:01,720 --> 00:39:09,680 out now. The second one should be coming out shortly. Uh, definitely check that out. So 379 00:39:09,680 --> 00:39:17,720 that brings us to the end of a, a little bit extended episode. I'm a little long winded 380 00:39:17,720 --> 00:39:25,360 in case you can notice. Uh, but one thing that I also wanted to add to the podcast for 381 00:39:25,360 --> 00:39:34,640 this new season is a question of the episode. And basically at the end of each episode, 382 00:39:34,640 --> 00:39:40,920 I'm just going to go into the little league rule book and pull out a rule and see if you 383 00:39:40,920 --> 00:39:51,120 guys know the answer. So this month's or this episode's question is the following. At what 384 00:39:51,120 --> 00:40:01,240 point does the umpire crew officially take charge of the playing field? At what point 385 00:40:01,240 --> 00:40:09,340 does the umpire crew officially take charge of the playing field for little league game? 386 00:40:09,340 --> 00:40:16,400 I will give you the answer in the next episode, but until then, I want to thank you all for 387 00:40:16,400 --> 00:40:22,440 listening. Really appreciate it. Um, or watching on YouTube. If you're, if you're watching 388 00:40:22,440 --> 00:40:28,800 it through that media, if you have any questions, comments, ideas for future episodes, send 389 00:40:28,800 --> 00:40:34,800 me an email, blue crew diaries at gmail.com. Also be sure to again, check out the YouTube 390 00:40:34,800 --> 00:40:40,240 channel if you haven't already. And we also have a discord server now, um, that nobody 391 00:40:40,240 --> 00:40:45,960 has signed up for yet. And honestly, I really don't expect it to be, um, it's just something 392 00:40:45,960 --> 00:40:52,560 I want to do. Um, so yeah, that is about it from here. So as always, thank you all very 393 00:40:52,560 --> 00:41:14,480 much for listening and I will see you on the diamond.