WEBVTT 00:00:13.279 --> 00:00:16.019 Welcome to Blue Crew Diaries, an umpire podcast. 00:00:16.420 --> 00:00:18.960 My name is Daryl, and I will be your host as 00:00:18.960 --> 00:00:21.399 we take a look behind the mask, so to speak, 00:00:21.460 --> 00:00:24.719 sharing stories, insights, and experiences from 00:00:24.719 --> 00:00:27.120 the unique perspective of the baseball umpire. 00:00:27.300 --> 00:00:30.219 In this episode, we'll discuss how the season's 00:00:30.219 --> 00:00:33.100 going so far and things to keep an eye on when 00:00:33.100 --> 00:00:35.520 out on the field. If you have any questions, 00:00:35.759 --> 00:00:38.219 comments, or ideas for future episodes, drop 00:00:38.219 --> 00:00:42.399 me a line at bluecrewdiaries at gmail .com. So 00:00:42.399 --> 00:00:44.460 if you're ready, grab your indicator and plate 00:00:44.460 --> 00:00:55.700 brush, and let's hit the field. All right, everybody, 00:00:55.859 --> 00:00:58.479 welcome to another episode of Blue Crew Diaries 00:00:58.479 --> 00:01:03.079 and Empire Podcast. Oh, how's the season going 00:01:03.079 --> 00:01:05.959 so far? Hopefully it's going good for you. I 00:01:05.959 --> 00:01:13.510 know it's not going too bad, I guess. Um, yeah, 00:01:13.650 --> 00:01:16.670 just good. I don't know. A lot of, a lot of strange 00:01:16.670 --> 00:01:21.390 stuff going on. Um, this, uh, this past week, 00:01:21.450 --> 00:01:26.310 I, the last week of May, I only worked one game. 00:01:27.409 --> 00:01:31.730 One game. That was it. Um, there were a good 00:01:31.730 --> 00:01:35.950 number of games going on, but, uh, yeah, I guess 00:01:35.950 --> 00:01:39.469 we've got a few new umpires that are pretty much. 00:01:40.060 --> 00:01:45.579 Taking up all the games. So I got relegated down 00:01:45.579 --> 00:01:53.859 to one. Yeah, this isn't really the place for 00:01:53.859 --> 00:01:56.500 me to air out my feelings on that. So we will 00:01:56.500 --> 00:02:00.379 continue on with some announcements as we always 00:02:00.379 --> 00:02:05.480 do. There are still some Little League umpire 00:02:05.480 --> 00:02:08.039 outreach clinics going on. If you're interested 00:02:08.039 --> 00:02:10.319 in those and want to see if there's one in your 00:02:10.319 --> 00:02:14.419 area, LittleLeagueUmpire .org. Check out the 00:02:14.419 --> 00:02:18.360 Umpire Registry. If you are not already a member 00:02:18.360 --> 00:02:21.120 of the Umpire Registry, I would highly recommend 00:02:21.120 --> 00:02:25.639 that you get on that. It is completely free. 00:02:27.120 --> 00:02:30.780 And it does a lot for you. There's a rules challenge 00:02:30.780 --> 00:02:35.900 on there. You know, you can view. different training 00:02:35.900 --> 00:02:41.080 videos and whatnot. One of the biggest things 00:02:41.080 --> 00:02:44.500 is, like for next season, when you go to do your 00:02:44.500 --> 00:02:46.960 background check, you can do a background check 00:02:46.960 --> 00:02:51.479 right on the umpire registry, and that will satisfy 00:02:51.479 --> 00:02:54.360 the background check requirement for any league 00:02:54.360 --> 00:02:57.819 that you work. So instead of having to fill out 00:02:57.819 --> 00:03:01.120 the volunteer application for League A, undergo 00:03:01.120 --> 00:03:03.580 a background check, fill out the volunteer application 00:03:03.580 --> 00:03:06.120 for League B, go through the background check, 00:03:06.280 --> 00:03:08.919 leak C, however many different leaks that you 00:03:08.919 --> 00:03:12.120 work, you can fill out the application and undergo 00:03:12.120 --> 00:03:15.520 the background check right on the Little League 00:03:15.520 --> 00:03:19.840 umpire registry. I believe it costs like $5, 00:03:19.860 --> 00:03:26.860 pretty nominal fee, and that will satisfy all 00:03:26.860 --> 00:03:30.120 of your background check requirements for the 00:03:30.120 --> 00:03:34.990 entire season. And also on there, you can make 00:03:34.990 --> 00:03:39.509 your information available to, pardon me, to 00:03:39.509 --> 00:03:45.270 leagues in whatever area you choose. So if they 00:03:45.270 --> 00:03:48.490 are looking for umpires, they can get on and 00:03:48.490 --> 00:03:53.650 see, hey, this umpire, you know, they've undergone 00:03:53.650 --> 00:03:55.969 the background check and everything. Here's their 00:03:55.969 --> 00:03:58.650 contact information and they can reach out to 00:03:58.650 --> 00:04:01.969 you. and see if you want to work some games for 00:04:01.969 --> 00:04:06.229 them. So really, really helpful, a really good 00:04:06.229 --> 00:04:08.710 thing to be on. Again, that is LittleLeagueUmpire 00:04:08.710 --> 00:04:16.910 .org. The other thing, as is typical on my shows 00:04:16.910 --> 00:04:22.050 now, one thing is I know I talk a lot about California 00:04:22.050 --> 00:04:27.850 District 4. That is currently the district that 00:04:27.850 --> 00:04:35.370 I... kind of look to for, you know, like rules 00:04:35.370 --> 00:04:39.050 clinic videos and, you know, different documentation. 00:04:40.709 --> 00:04:47.769 I know there are a lot of other, a lot of other 00:04:47.769 --> 00:04:51.550 districts that do a lot for their umpires. Main 00:04:51.550 --> 00:04:54.209 District 4, for example, down towards the southern 00:04:54.209 --> 00:04:58.310 part of the state. On their Facebook page, they 00:04:58.310 --> 00:05:02.110 pretty much every day, at least every weekday 00:05:02.110 --> 00:05:05.449 during the season, they will put up some sort 00:05:05.449 --> 00:05:09.750 of, let's just call it a blog post, whether it's 00:05:09.750 --> 00:05:13.290 talking about a particular rule or how something 00:05:13.290 --> 00:05:18.250 is supposed to work, things like that. They put 00:05:18.250 --> 00:05:21.410 up on the other day about appeals and how to 00:05:21.410 --> 00:05:27.180 properly do an appeal on the field. And it's 00:05:27.180 --> 00:05:31.339 very helpful not only to umpires, but to managers 00:05:31.339 --> 00:05:33.839 and coaches as well, and as well as parents. 00:05:34.160 --> 00:05:37.519 So they can, you know, help maybe teach their 00:05:37.519 --> 00:05:40.800 kids some of this stuff that the players don't 00:05:40.800 --> 00:05:47.199 necessarily know. So, yeah, I know I keep going 00:05:47.199 --> 00:05:49.199 back to California District 4, but they're kind 00:05:49.199 --> 00:05:53.160 of the, I would say, kind of the gold standard 00:05:53.160 --> 00:05:58.740 in my view of umpire training. If there are others 00:05:58.740 --> 00:06:03.120 out there that you think are better than California 00:06:03.120 --> 00:06:06.660 District 4, shoot me an email, bluecrewdiaries 00:06:06.660 --> 00:06:09.420 at gmail .com. Let me know about them, and I'll 00:06:09.420 --> 00:06:14.439 check them out. But speaking of California District 00:06:14.439 --> 00:06:20.180 4, they are starting to put up their rules clinics 00:06:20.180 --> 00:06:25.480 regarding tournament rules, as we are. Here in 00:06:25.480 --> 00:06:28.019 the United States, starting to get into tournament 00:06:28.019 --> 00:06:32.839 time. Very, very helpful videos when it comes 00:06:32.839 --> 00:06:37.360 to tournament stuff. I believe two clinic videos 00:06:37.360 --> 00:06:41.779 are already up. Yes, tournament umpire training 00:06:41.779 --> 00:06:44.560 session one and two are up. I believe they have 00:06:44.560 --> 00:06:47.959 a grand total of three or something like that. 00:06:48.819 --> 00:06:54.709 They also have a full video for... They call 00:06:54.709 --> 00:06:58.149 it tournament director orientation. So if you 00:06:58.149 --> 00:07:00.449 are not necessarily an umpire, but you are a 00:07:00.449 --> 00:07:06.790 tournament director, there you go. Lots of good, 00:07:07.269 --> 00:07:12.350 good videos on that YouTube channel. And to get 00:07:12.350 --> 00:07:18.509 there, simply youtube .com slash the at C -A 00:07:18.509 --> 00:07:24.529 -D -4. So that's at. CharlieAlphaDelta4, for 00:07:24.529 --> 00:07:27.209 those of you who like the Phonetic Alphabet, 00:07:27.269 --> 00:07:33.050 or if you prefer the police version, it is at 00:07:33.050 --> 00:07:39.709 CharlesAdamDavid4. Don't even get me started 00:07:39.709 --> 00:07:43.370 on Phonetic Alphabet. It just makes my brain 00:07:43.370 --> 00:07:45.529 hurt, some of the phonetics that people come 00:07:45.529 --> 00:07:50.769 up with. Getting into today's main topic before 00:07:50.769 --> 00:07:57.850 I get off on my soapbox again. I've worked, I 00:07:57.850 --> 00:08:01.870 wouldn't say a lot of games this season. My game 00:08:01.870 --> 00:08:05.029 count is actually a little down from the last 00:08:05.029 --> 00:08:09.709 couple of years because we have newer umpires 00:08:09.709 --> 00:08:14.110 coming in. One thing about that is technically 00:08:14.110 --> 00:08:19.529 in the league that I work, We have three different 00:08:19.529 --> 00:08:27.649 assigners for umpires. Three. One of them is 00:08:27.649 --> 00:08:33.429 a member of the board of directors. And he kind 00:08:33.429 --> 00:08:41.830 of, he doesn't really assign games. He more deals 00:08:41.830 --> 00:08:46.200 with the two other assigners. And they kind of 00:08:46.200 --> 00:08:51.139 report to him and he does whatever he does. So 00:08:51.139 --> 00:08:53.419 he's technically kind of the umpire in chief. 00:08:54.600 --> 00:08:57.779 Even though he's, to my knowledge, not an umpire. 00:08:58.320 --> 00:09:02.559 Real nice guy. I love working with him. But he's 00:09:02.559 --> 00:09:06.500 not an umpire. He just has the title. And then 00:09:06.500 --> 00:09:11.639 we've got basically two assigners. One assigner. 00:09:13.389 --> 00:09:17.730 Honestly, I've never even met. That should tell 00:09:17.730 --> 00:09:21.070 you how crazy this whole season is. I haven't 00:09:21.070 --> 00:09:23.169 even met the guy yet. At least not that I know 00:09:23.169 --> 00:09:29.610 of. And he is the one that is bringing in these 00:09:29.610 --> 00:09:35.350 out -of -town umpires. And it seems whenever 00:09:35.350 --> 00:09:37.970 he brings in an umpire from out of town, it's 00:09:37.970 --> 00:09:42.779 usually for a majors game. And he always gives 00:09:42.779 --> 00:09:47.440 them the plate. So basically, he looks at the 00:09:47.440 --> 00:09:52.100 schedule. This is the vibe that I get. I don't 00:09:52.100 --> 00:09:54.080 know officially what's actually going on here, 00:09:54.120 --> 00:09:55.960 but this is just the vibe that I get from this 00:09:55.960 --> 00:10:00.759 whole thing. He looks at the schedule. He assigns 00:10:00.759 --> 00:10:04.539 his people. He's got like two or three or even 00:10:04.539 --> 00:10:08.659 more different umpires that he kind of assigns 00:10:08.659 --> 00:10:14.379 for. And he'll put those people into the games 00:10:14.379 --> 00:10:17.340 that they can work and basically almost fill 00:10:17.340 --> 00:10:20.240 out the entire schedule with these guys. And 00:10:20.240 --> 00:10:25.600 then hand it over to my assigner, who is the 00:10:25.600 --> 00:10:29.179 same assigner that I've been working for for 00:10:29.179 --> 00:10:35.799 the last now three years. And this other assigner 00:10:35.799 --> 00:10:39.059 will hand it off to him and say, fill in the 00:10:39.059 --> 00:10:42.940 rest. Well, three quarters of the games are already 00:10:42.940 --> 00:10:48.980 filled by these other umpires who the last two 00:10:48.980 --> 00:10:57.379 years have not worked in this league. But yet, 00:10:57.419 --> 00:11:01.659 suddenly, they are now getting preferential treatment 00:11:01.659 --> 00:11:08.960 over myself and my friend Darren, who, I mean, 00:11:08.960 --> 00:11:12.240 Darren. He's kind of like my mentor. He's been 00:11:12.240 --> 00:11:15.320 working with this league forever, both as an 00:11:15.320 --> 00:11:17.700 umpire and then as a coach even before that. 00:11:19.019 --> 00:11:23.679 And myself, this is my third season. The only 00:11:23.679 --> 00:11:31.559 umpiring I do is for this single league. It's 00:11:31.559 --> 00:11:34.899 the only games I've ever worked is for this league. 00:11:35.399 --> 00:11:39.210 And yet now these out -of -town umpires. are 00:11:39.210 --> 00:11:42.110 getting preferential treatment in getting all 00:11:42.110 --> 00:11:44.370 the plate jobs and the majors games and everything 00:11:44.370 --> 00:11:50.889 over myself and Darren, who are pretty much, 00:11:50.929 --> 00:11:57.210 you could say, loyal to the league. I don't think 00:11:57.210 --> 00:12:02.750 that's right. I honestly don't. And the league, 00:12:02.750 --> 00:12:07.649 let's call him UIC. the one that kind of oversees 00:12:07.649 --> 00:12:12.269 all of this, he doesn't even really think it's 00:12:12.269 --> 00:12:19.350 right. He thinks that local league umpires should 00:12:19.350 --> 00:12:23.090 be getting the plate games and the majors games, 00:12:23.389 --> 00:12:29.169 you know, in the local league, you know. But 00:12:29.169 --> 00:12:31.990 yet he still hasn't kicked this other guy to 00:12:31.990 --> 00:12:36.460 the curb yet and said, no, I want our guys. in 00:12:36.460 --> 00:12:43.379 these, you know, in these games. I, yeah, I don't 00:12:43.379 --> 00:12:47.539 know. I honestly don't know. I mean, I've said 00:12:47.539 --> 00:12:51.639 it in previous episodes, you know, coming into 00:12:51.639 --> 00:12:55.240 this 2025 season, I honestly didn't know if I 00:12:55.240 --> 00:12:59.700 was going to work for this league. And now I'm, 00:12:59.700 --> 00:13:05.299 honestly, I'm already thinking about Whether 00:13:05.299 --> 00:13:06.620 or not I'm going to work for this league next 00:13:06.620 --> 00:13:12.639 year. Because I am highly considering going somewhere 00:13:12.639 --> 00:13:15.679 else. I know there are other leagues right here 00:13:15.679 --> 00:13:20.419 in the local area that need umpires. So, if I've 00:13:20.419 --> 00:13:23.860 been loyal to this one league for three years 00:13:23.860 --> 00:13:28.059 now, and other people that have never worked 00:13:28.059 --> 00:13:30.940 this league before are getting the good jobs, 00:13:31.100 --> 00:13:36.559 why do I need to be here? That's just my thought. 00:13:39.820 --> 00:13:44.240 And I'm not saying that these other umpires that 00:13:44.240 --> 00:13:46.940 I've worked with are bad umpires. They're not. 00:13:48.139 --> 00:13:57.360 They're decent. Let's put it that way. They're 00:13:57.360 --> 00:14:04.840 decent umpires. I have noticed every umpire does 00:14:04.840 --> 00:14:08.759 things different. I think I mentioned in a previous 00:14:08.759 --> 00:14:11.600 podcast, I was working with an umpire, one of 00:14:11.600 --> 00:14:16.620 these out -of -towners named Dean, and he showed 00:14:16.620 --> 00:14:20.340 up and looked like just the traditional backyard 00:14:20.340 --> 00:14:24.340 umpire with the blue pullover with the red and 00:14:24.340 --> 00:14:27.059 white stripes on it and the single ball bag and 00:14:27.059 --> 00:14:31.759 sneakers and whatnot. You know, the adjustment 00:14:31.759 --> 00:14:35.340 straps on his mask are flailing out like, you 00:14:35.340 --> 00:14:39.940 know, like Albert Einstein's hair. Real nice 00:14:39.940 --> 00:14:44.279 guy, but he's got his own way of working. You 00:14:44.279 --> 00:14:47.299 know, he does the, as Darren would call it, he 00:14:47.299 --> 00:14:50.220 does the gun for a strike. He points out to the 00:14:50.220 --> 00:14:54.440 side. For strike two, he just points two fingers 00:14:54.440 --> 00:14:59.899 out to the side and says, two. Okay, Dean, two 00:14:59.899 --> 00:15:06.509 what? Two balls, two strikes, two outs. Obviously, 00:15:07.490 --> 00:15:09.409 within the context, if you're paying attention, 00:15:09.610 --> 00:15:13.309 you know it's two strikes. But it's like, two 00:15:13.309 --> 00:15:22.690 what? Another umpire that I worked with a couple 00:15:22.690 --> 00:15:25.889 of weeks ago, real nice guy. I'd say he's been 00:15:25.889 --> 00:15:28.429 umpiring for like five or so years. He worked 00:15:28.429 --> 00:15:30.450 down in Florida, came back up to Maine and whatnot. 00:15:31.540 --> 00:15:36.139 And he's, in my opinion, he's the backwards umpire. 00:15:36.899 --> 00:15:42.480 He carries his indicator in his right hand. And 00:15:42.480 --> 00:15:49.919 when he gives the count, he's, him and Dean are 00:15:49.919 --> 00:15:52.720 both one of those, you know, hold two fists up, 00:15:52.759 --> 00:15:57.799 count is full. They're those kind of guys. I 00:15:57.799 --> 00:16:01.240 have my own thoughts on them. But this other 00:16:01.240 --> 00:16:06.460 umpire, when he gives the count, I shouldn't 00:16:06.460 --> 00:16:09.559 say logically, but almost every other umpire, 00:16:09.559 --> 00:16:11.500 it's balls on the left hand, strikes on the right 00:16:11.500 --> 00:16:16.539 hand. Right? Yep, he's backwards. He goes, balls 00:16:16.539 --> 00:16:22.100 on the right hand, strikes on the left. Which 00:16:22.100 --> 00:16:26.100 confuses the hell out of me when I'm working 00:16:26.100 --> 00:16:30.159 the bases and I look up and he's got... You know, 00:16:30.200 --> 00:16:32.940 three fingers on the right hand up and one finger 00:16:32.940 --> 00:16:35.019 on the left hand up. I'm looking at it going, 00:16:35.179 --> 00:16:40.960 he's got three strikes and one ball? What? Oh, 00:16:41.139 --> 00:16:45.200 wait, duh, he's backwards. Okay, he means three 00:16:45.200 --> 00:16:48.580 balls, one strike. He just needs to switch his 00:16:48.580 --> 00:16:52.340 hands around. But, yeah, everybody has their 00:16:52.340 --> 00:16:57.700 own different thing. Watch out for that. I was, 00:16:57.820 --> 00:17:02.320 I did work a majors game at a new to me field 00:17:02.320 --> 00:17:05.259 the other day. We'll get into that. And I had 00:17:05.259 --> 00:17:07.579 another new umpire from this other assigner. 00:17:09.819 --> 00:17:12.980 Real nice kid. He seems like he really wants 00:17:12.980 --> 00:17:16.880 to learn. He just has no idea what he's doing. 00:17:18.160 --> 00:17:21.740 So luckily we both got there about an hour before 00:17:21.740 --> 00:17:25.299 the game. So I was able to go over stuff with 00:17:25.299 --> 00:17:33.809 him. And, you know, he did fine. But he's got 00:17:33.809 --> 00:17:35.529 a lot of work ahead of him. Let's just put it 00:17:35.529 --> 00:17:42.930 that way. So I titled this episode Head on a 00:17:42.930 --> 00:17:49.210 Swivel. And this is just some bullet points of 00:17:49.210 --> 00:17:52.089 some stuff that I've seen over the last month 00:17:52.089 --> 00:17:56.079 or so that we've been... playing up here in Maine, 00:17:56.220 --> 00:18:01.900 and just things that you need to think about 00:18:01.900 --> 00:18:08.240 when you're on the field. The first thing is 00:18:08.240 --> 00:18:13.059 always be looking at the field and keep your 00:18:13.059 --> 00:18:18.700 head on a swivel. So I'll kind of try to break 00:18:18.700 --> 00:18:20.859 this down into two parts. Always be looking at 00:18:20.859 --> 00:18:24.670 the field. Always. Always, always, always, always. 00:18:25.369 --> 00:18:30.029 If you are one of those umpires that always has 00:18:30.029 --> 00:18:36.930 to look down at your indicator, you need to learn 00:18:36.930 --> 00:18:40.450 to work the indicator so you don't have to look 00:18:40.450 --> 00:18:46.750 down. Okay? If my indicator has one ball and 00:18:46.750 --> 00:18:53.289 two strikes, pitch comes in, Swing, strike three, 00:18:53.509 --> 00:18:57.549 batter's out. I don't even have to look at my 00:18:57.549 --> 00:19:02.390 indicator to reset it. I know it's simply one 00:19:02.390 --> 00:19:06.730 click on the strike wheel, three clicks on the 00:19:06.730 --> 00:19:11.009 ball wheel, and one click down on the out wheel. 00:19:11.650 --> 00:19:14.490 That's it. I don't even have to look at the indicator 00:19:14.490 --> 00:19:19.450 to reset ball strikes and add an out. I don't 00:19:19.450 --> 00:19:24.990 need to. Most all indicators that I've ever seen, 00:19:25.049 --> 00:19:28.430 when you move the wheel to a different number, 00:19:28.589 --> 00:19:32.349 it lets out an audible click. And sometimes you 00:19:32.349 --> 00:19:35.890 can even feel it in your finger on the dial. 00:19:36.470 --> 00:19:39.829 So be listening for that. That way you don't 00:19:39.829 --> 00:19:43.769 have to look down at your indicator. If you do 00:19:43.769 --> 00:19:46.990 have to look at your indicator, bring the indicator 00:19:46.990 --> 00:19:50.650 up in front of your face. So you can keep your 00:19:50.650 --> 00:19:52.970 eyes out on the field. And I'll tell you why 00:19:52.970 --> 00:19:57.769 this matters. Two weeks ago, I was working a 00:19:57.769 --> 00:20:01.109 game on the bases. It was a majors game. We had 00:20:01.109 --> 00:20:06.410 runners on first and third. One out. I'm over 00:20:06.410 --> 00:20:13.009 in the C position. And the batter strikes out 00:20:13.009 --> 00:20:19.799 looking. Umpire calls strike three. Pretty aggressive 00:20:19.799 --> 00:20:23.759 strike three call, by the way. I kind of like 00:20:23.759 --> 00:20:30.119 it. So he punches the kid out. The catcher throws 00:20:30.119 --> 00:20:33.940 the ball back to the pitcher. The pitcher isn't 00:20:33.940 --> 00:20:36.799 even on the dirt of the mound. He's on the grass. 00:20:38.220 --> 00:20:40.519 Now, remember, there are runners on first and 00:20:40.519 --> 00:20:43.160 third. Well, as soon as the ball got to the batter, 00:20:43.359 --> 00:20:48.359 they both popped off their bases. The kid on 00:20:48.359 --> 00:20:52.940 first jumped a little early. Not terrible, but 00:20:52.940 --> 00:20:56.799 he did leave early. But they decided not to go 00:20:56.799 --> 00:21:00.619 anywhere. He decided to stay at first. Well, 00:21:00.759 --> 00:21:04.359 the pitcher gets the ball, turns and looks at 00:21:04.359 --> 00:21:07.140 first base and sees that this runner is just 00:21:07.140 --> 00:21:10.539 kind of nonchalant, just slowly walking back 00:21:10.539 --> 00:21:14.099 to the base. First baseman's standing right there 00:21:14.099 --> 00:21:19.170 at the base. Pitcher. Grabs the ball. Fires to 00:21:19.170 --> 00:21:24.730 first. And gets the out. Now I'm over in the 00:21:24.730 --> 00:21:28.210 C position. Between second and third base. I'm 00:21:28.210 --> 00:21:33.769 over 60 feet away from this. I saw the pitcher 00:21:33.769 --> 00:21:36.930 turn. I saw him throw the ball to first. And 00:21:36.930 --> 00:21:43.829 I see the tag. I immediately start walking towards 00:21:43.829 --> 00:21:47.799 first base. I point. towards first base with 00:21:47.799 --> 00:21:50.480 my left hand, bring up the hammer in the right 00:21:50.480 --> 00:22:00.779 hand, and verbalize out at first. The plate umpire 00:22:00.779 --> 00:22:06.980 had no idea that anything happened. It happened 00:22:06.980 --> 00:22:12.619 so quick that he punched the batter out, looked 00:22:12.619 --> 00:22:17.160 down at his indicator, And when he looked back 00:22:17.160 --> 00:22:20.579 up, I'm standing there pointing at first base 00:22:20.579 --> 00:22:24.579 with my right fist in the air. And he's like, 00:22:24.839 --> 00:22:30.339 what just happened? Of course, that was out number 00:22:30.339 --> 00:22:32.900 three. So all the players started heading back 00:22:32.900 --> 00:22:38.140 to the dugout. And I walked over to my between 00:22:38.140 --> 00:22:41.319 innings position. And the plate umpire comes 00:22:41.319 --> 00:22:44.180 walking over to me. He says, what happened? What 00:22:44.180 --> 00:22:49.490 did I miss? The pitcher decided to back pick 00:22:49.490 --> 00:22:54.450 the runner at first and got him. Oh. Well, I 00:22:54.450 --> 00:22:57.029 was wondering what happened because everybody's 00:22:57.029 --> 00:22:58.930 like running back to the dugout. I look down 00:22:58.930 --> 00:23:02.250 to reset my indicator, and I look up, and you're 00:23:02.250 --> 00:23:05.349 signaling it out at first. I say, what did I 00:23:05.349 --> 00:23:12.329 miss? Always be looking at the field. Always. 00:23:13.549 --> 00:23:18.210 And always keep your head on a swivel. And basically, 00:23:18.250 --> 00:23:23.450 that means always be looking for things. I had 00:23:23.450 --> 00:23:26.849 my very first obstruction call on a third baseman 00:23:26.849 --> 00:23:32.089 in that same game. Runner from second, or actually 00:23:32.089 --> 00:23:35.349 the runner was on first. There was a line drive 00:23:35.349 --> 00:23:41.819 to right, fairly deep right. I believe there 00:23:41.819 --> 00:23:43.480 was also a runner on second because I was in 00:23:43.480 --> 00:23:45.839 C. Or it might have been a runner on third. I 00:23:45.839 --> 00:23:49.740 honestly don't remember. But I do remember the 00:23:49.740 --> 00:23:54.119 ball goes out, so I go in. So I cross the base 00:23:54.119 --> 00:23:59.640 path to the working area. And it was a runner 00:23:59.640 --> 00:24:04.119 on second. So he goes by. As I'm working my way 00:24:04.119 --> 00:24:08.519 in, I just happen to look over. To third base 00:24:08.519 --> 00:24:12.380 to make sure he gets the touch at third. And 00:24:12.380 --> 00:24:16.519 as I quickly glance over there. I notice the 00:24:16.519 --> 00:24:21.740 third baseman is standing. A good 10 feet from 00:24:21.740 --> 00:24:28.500 the base. But right in. The lane. Or right in 00:24:28.500 --> 00:24:32.720 the runners path. To that base. The runner had 00:24:32.720 --> 00:24:37.440 to check up. And. almost literally pushed the 00:24:37.440 --> 00:24:39.460 third baseman out of the way to get around him 00:24:39.460 --> 00:24:46.839 so he could get to third. If I hadn't just glanced 00:24:46.839 --> 00:24:52.099 over to check on that touch at third base, I 00:24:52.099 --> 00:24:55.599 never would have seen that. I immediately called 00:24:55.599 --> 00:24:58.579 obstruction on the third baseman. It didn't matter 00:24:58.579 --> 00:25:01.980 anyway because the runner tagged third and kept 00:25:01.980 --> 00:25:06.440 going. Ended up walking into home. I mean he 00:25:06.440 --> 00:25:10.019 was safe by a mile and a half. Because they didn't 00:25:10.019 --> 00:25:11.740 even throw the ball to home. They just got it 00:25:11.740 --> 00:25:14.779 back into the infield. So obviously the obstruction 00:25:14.779 --> 00:25:20.039 was waived off. But. I still had it. Because 00:25:20.039 --> 00:25:29.480 I kept my head on a swivel. Let's see. What else 00:25:29.480 --> 00:25:33.710 do I have here? Oh yes. I believe it was actually 00:25:33.710 --> 00:25:37.309 that same game. There was a lot of base work 00:25:37.309 --> 00:25:41.869 in this game. I was in A. We had no runners on. 00:25:42.650 --> 00:25:49.630 It was a pot fly to short right field. And I 00:25:49.630 --> 00:25:51.990 mean short right to the point where the first 00:25:51.990 --> 00:25:55.029 baseman, second baseman, and the right fielder 00:25:55.029 --> 00:26:00.710 all came in for this ball. Or I should say the 00:26:00.710 --> 00:26:03.940 first baseman. backed up for it, and the second 00:26:03.940 --> 00:26:09.500 baseman and the right fielder came in. And I'm 00:26:09.500 --> 00:26:14.660 watching this happen, and all three players are 00:26:14.660 --> 00:26:18.980 indicating, I got it, I got it. And I'm like, 00:26:19.099 --> 00:26:23.299 this is not going to be good. I talked to the 00:26:23.299 --> 00:26:25.440 plate umpire later, and he said he was watching 00:26:25.440 --> 00:26:27.759 it and thought, this is not going to be good. 00:26:29.869 --> 00:26:32.849 I'm expecting a huge collision. Ball's going 00:26:32.849 --> 00:26:36.750 to be on the ground. This isn't good. This is 00:26:36.750 --> 00:26:41.349 going to be bad here in about two seconds. The 00:26:41.349 --> 00:26:45.529 ball comes down. I see the first baseman's glove 00:26:45.529 --> 00:26:51.430 go up. And all three of them, they all ended 00:26:51.430 --> 00:26:54.009 up in the exact same area at the exact same time. 00:26:54.910 --> 00:27:01.599 But they all stopped short. of an actual physical 00:27:01.599 --> 00:27:05.880 collision. They all just kind of came together 00:27:05.880 --> 00:27:12.460 and stopped. I see the first baseman's glove 00:27:12.460 --> 00:27:17.180 come up. I see the catch. And then all three 00:27:17.180 --> 00:27:24.019 players drop to the ground. Now, what do you 00:27:24.019 --> 00:27:28.140 think a rookie umpire might do in this situation? 00:27:30.440 --> 00:27:34.920 Well, I saw the ball in the glove, so I immediately 00:27:34.920 --> 00:27:43.799 call it out, right? Wrong. I waited. Everybody 00:27:43.799 --> 00:27:46.759 went to the ground. I took a couple of steps 00:27:46.759 --> 00:27:51.680 back to where I could see the glove. I saw that 00:27:51.680 --> 00:27:55.180 the ball was still in the glove. Secure possession. 00:27:56.980 --> 00:28:00.319 And then the first baseman sits up. reaches into 00:28:00.319 --> 00:28:04.339 the glove, takes the ball out. So I've got secure 00:28:04.339 --> 00:28:08.000 possession. I've got voluntary release. That's 00:28:08.000 --> 00:28:13.559 an out. Okay, that is a catch. I signaled it, 00:28:13.660 --> 00:28:18.500 said that's a catch. And we played on from there. 00:28:20.680 --> 00:28:26.160 But had I jumped the gun, so to speak, and immediately 00:28:26.160 --> 00:28:29.650 called that out, As soon as I saw the ball hit 00:28:29.650 --> 00:28:31.630 the glove, what do you think would have happened? 00:28:32.230 --> 00:28:34.990 The ball would have come out of the glove involuntarily, 00:28:34.990 --> 00:28:38.950 and now I'm standing here looking like an idiot 00:28:38.950 --> 00:28:41.750 because the ball's on the ground, and I just 00:28:41.750 --> 00:28:50.589 called the out. Oh, no. This is not good. Luckily, 00:28:50.769 --> 00:28:56.769 I waited. Turns out I didn't need to, but just... 00:28:57.579 --> 00:29:02.640 Little things to think about. Make sure that 00:29:02.640 --> 00:29:05.700 there is secure possession and then voluntary 00:29:05.700 --> 00:29:12.579 release before you start making your call. Another 00:29:12.579 --> 00:29:21.039 one is always wait to make a call on a ball that 00:29:21.039 --> 00:29:27.759 could be foul. The reason I say this. The majors 00:29:27.759 --> 00:29:31.140 game I had this past week. The one game I had 00:29:31.140 --> 00:29:36.920 that week. I was working the plate. And we had 00:29:36.920 --> 00:29:42.980 a ground ball. Came off the bat. And hit the 00:29:42.980 --> 00:29:46.240 first base line. But it was on the foul side 00:29:46.240 --> 00:29:50.220 of the line about two ball widths. But as it 00:29:50.220 --> 00:29:59.539 was going down the line. It curved back in. Fair 00:29:59.539 --> 00:30:02.420 crossed the line into fair territory where the 00:30:02.420 --> 00:30:07.000 first baseman grabbed it. Took two steps, stepped 00:30:07.000 --> 00:30:13.019 on first base. That's an out. Now, as soon as 00:30:13.019 --> 00:30:15.859 that ball came off the bat and went into foul 00:30:15.859 --> 00:30:19.640 territory, if I had just called it foul right 00:30:19.640 --> 00:30:25.440 there and killed the play, I just killed what? 00:30:25.849 --> 00:30:32.769 Ended up being a fair ball. I know there are 00:30:32.769 --> 00:30:36.289 some bonfires out there that will do that. They'll 00:30:36.289 --> 00:30:40.529 see a ball. Oh, it's in foul territory. Yep, 00:30:40.609 --> 00:30:46.529 foul ball. Or as it should be, foul. And then 00:30:46.529 --> 00:30:49.009 the ball crosses back into fair territory. And 00:30:49.009 --> 00:30:54.579 it's like, oh, look what you did. Now, obviously, 00:30:54.599 --> 00:31:00.220 if it stayed foul until it was past first base 00:31:00.220 --> 00:31:02.119 and then came back fair, then it's a foul ball. 00:31:03.099 --> 00:31:07.279 But this one came back fair about 10 feet from 00:31:07.279 --> 00:31:13.279 first base before it got there. So, yeah, don't 00:31:13.279 --> 00:31:21.599 be too quick on your calls. That very same game, 00:31:21.720 --> 00:31:26.160 there was a... Play at first on a runner coming 00:31:26.160 --> 00:31:29.980 back, retreating back to the base. And my base 00:31:29.980 --> 00:31:34.440 umpire, who, like I said, did a good job, but 00:31:34.440 --> 00:31:39.500 needs work. Ball comes in. He sees the tag go 00:31:39.500 --> 00:31:43.099 down. He immediately starts to throw up the hammer, 00:31:43.279 --> 00:31:47.960 gets his arm about halfway up, and then sees 00:31:47.960 --> 00:31:51.460 that the ball is on the ground, not in the glove. 00:31:52.430 --> 00:31:57.069 So now he's mid -call, and he suddenly has to 00:31:57.069 --> 00:32:01.670 change from an out to a safe mechanic. So that 00:32:01.670 --> 00:32:04.410 was something that him and I talked about at 00:32:04.410 --> 00:32:06.650 the end of that inning. I said, you got the call 00:32:06.650 --> 00:32:11.609 right, but just take a second or two. You don't 00:32:11.609 --> 00:32:15.369 need to rush, especially in that situation. You 00:32:15.369 --> 00:32:16.750 want to make sure you get the call right the 00:32:16.750 --> 00:32:20.329 first time. Just take a couple of seconds. Okay. 00:32:20.750 --> 00:32:25.710 Secure possession. There was the tag. Do we have 00:32:25.710 --> 00:32:28.849 voluntary release? No, because the ball's on 00:32:28.849 --> 00:32:37.190 the ground. Okay, safe. Always, always just try 00:32:37.190 --> 00:32:42.009 to slow down. I know I'm guilty of it myself, 00:32:42.250 --> 00:32:46.210 of you see a play and you immediately just want 00:32:46.210 --> 00:32:49.390 to hammer that runner out. or you immediately 00:32:49.390 --> 00:32:55.710 want to give the big flary safe mechanic that 00:32:55.710 --> 00:32:59.849 looks like you're trying to fly away, don't. 00:33:00.210 --> 00:33:06.250 Give it a second and just process everything 00:33:06.250 --> 00:33:13.490 before you make that call. Two weeks ago, I was 00:33:13.490 --> 00:33:18.710 caught in a rundown situation. Between first 00:33:18.710 --> 00:33:24.230 and second. And this. The runner. He's going 00:33:24.230 --> 00:33:25.890 back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth. 00:33:25.990 --> 00:33:27.730 Now I'm looking for interference. I'm looking 00:33:27.730 --> 00:33:31.930 for obstruction. I'm looking for the tag. Well 00:33:31.930 --> 00:33:36.730 the shortstop comes in. Gets the ball. And then 00:33:36.730 --> 00:33:41.710 trips over his own two feet. As he's trying to 00:33:41.710 --> 00:33:46.900 tag the runner. And falls down. Okay, that was 00:33:46.900 --> 00:33:51.920 nobody's fault. That was his own. He fell. But 00:33:51.920 --> 00:33:59.720 the glove was really close to tagging the runner. 00:34:01.559 --> 00:34:06.680 I did not make any call because I did not see 00:34:06.680 --> 00:34:12.320 a tag from the vantage point that I was standing 00:34:12.320 --> 00:34:16.639 at, which was literally... almost on top of the 00:34:16.639 --> 00:34:21.280 play, there was visible daylight between the 00:34:21.280 --> 00:34:26.440 glove and the jersey at the closest point where 00:34:26.440 --> 00:34:28.659 there could have been contact. I could still 00:34:28.659 --> 00:34:32.460 see a sliver of daylight there with my own eyes. 00:34:34.719 --> 00:34:40.400 Runner gets into second. I rule him safe. Next 00:34:40.400 --> 00:34:44.760 thing I know, I hear time being called. I figured 00:34:44.760 --> 00:34:47.619 it was one of the coaches. No, it was Dean, the 00:34:47.619 --> 00:34:51.820 plate umpire. And I turn around and I see him 00:34:51.820 --> 00:34:56.360 jogging out towards me. So I go walking in and 00:34:56.360 --> 00:34:58.559 we get together and he looks at me and he says, 00:34:58.599 --> 00:35:04.219 did he not tag him? And I'm thinking to myself, 00:35:04.400 --> 00:35:09.119 Dean, if he had tagged him, I'd have called the 00:35:09.119 --> 00:35:13.119 runner out. I didn't. So therefore, he didn't 00:35:13.119 --> 00:35:17.980 tag him, did he? But just that question, did 00:35:17.980 --> 00:35:25.239 he not tag him? No. No, there was no tag. There 00:35:25.239 --> 00:35:27.500 was daylight between the glove and the jersey. 00:35:29.980 --> 00:35:35.099 Oh, okay. Well, it looked like he did. But yeah, 00:35:35.159 --> 00:35:39.150 it looked like he tagged him to you. This rundown 00:35:39.150 --> 00:35:41.070 is taking place between first and second base, 00:35:41.110 --> 00:35:42.730 and you're still standing behind the damn plate. 00:35:43.670 --> 00:35:45.809 Of course it looked to you like there was a tag. 00:35:47.070 --> 00:35:51.110 I was a hell of a lot closer than you were, and 00:35:51.110 --> 00:35:57.150 there wasn't one. And why are you coming out 00:35:57.150 --> 00:36:02.469 here and questioning me? The defensive coach 00:36:02.469 --> 00:36:05.849 I can see coming out and saying, hey, it looked 00:36:05.849 --> 00:36:08.460 like there was a tag. You know, was there one? 00:36:08.619 --> 00:36:12.159 Or what did you see that made you, you know, 00:36:12.159 --> 00:36:16.659 give the safe call when he got to second? I would 00:36:16.659 --> 00:36:20.900 expect that. I'm not expecting my partner to 00:36:20.900 --> 00:36:23.360 come out. Oh, well, it looked like there was 00:36:23.360 --> 00:36:30.659 a tag there. Really, dude? Like, come on. And 00:36:30.659 --> 00:36:34.460 that's the problem with these other umpires. 00:36:35.469 --> 00:36:39.469 Dean, for instance, at the plate meeting, a question 00:36:39.469 --> 00:36:45.650 came up about an uncaught third strike. Or as 00:36:45.650 --> 00:36:48.590 everybody and their grandmother calls it, dropped 00:36:48.590 --> 00:36:53.750 third. God, how I hate that term. Uncaught third 00:36:53.750 --> 00:36:58.869 strike. When does the runner forfeit their opportunity 00:36:58.869 --> 00:37:03.510 to run to first base? Well, it's when they physically 00:37:03.510 --> 00:37:09.829 enter the dugout. Or other dead ball area. They 00:37:09.829 --> 00:37:14.510 can walk right to the dugout door. And then turn 00:37:14.510 --> 00:37:18.070 around and run to first base. They just can't 00:37:18.070 --> 00:37:23.789 walk into the dugout. And then Dean, the plate 00:37:23.789 --> 00:37:29.090 umpire. Says, literally one of the coaches gave 00:37:29.090 --> 00:37:33.389 that explanation. And Dean says. Well, that's 00:37:33.389 --> 00:37:36.030 not how it normally works, but if that's the 00:37:36.030 --> 00:37:37.570 way you guys want to do it, that's fine with 00:37:37.570 --> 00:37:48.409 me. Okay. So after the plate meeting, the managers 00:37:48.409 --> 00:37:50.130 walked away, and I'm standing there with Dean 00:37:50.130 --> 00:37:52.210 watching the warm -up pitches, and I said, oh, 00:37:52.269 --> 00:37:55.869 by the way, with that question on the uncaught 00:37:55.869 --> 00:37:59.449 third strike, in Little League, it's when they... 00:37:59.980 --> 00:38:02.260 You know, enter the dugout or dead ball area. 00:38:02.639 --> 00:38:05.360 They give up their opportunity to run to first. 00:38:07.480 --> 00:38:12.119 Oh, well, I guess I haven't seen that. Well, 00:38:12.280 --> 00:38:14.719 you would have if you looked in the damn Little 00:38:14.719 --> 00:38:21.420 League rulebook. I mean, maybe in NFHS and all 00:38:21.420 --> 00:38:24.679 the other leagues that you umpire for, they have 00:38:24.679 --> 00:38:27.659 different rules regarding that, but this is the 00:38:27.659 --> 00:38:33.719 rule in Little League. So maybe you need to kind 00:38:33.719 --> 00:38:35.519 of freshen up on your little league rules there, 00:38:35.519 --> 00:38:46.880 buddy. I don't know. I don't know. So now that 00:38:46.880 --> 00:38:49.360 I've rambled on and on and on, I do want to share 00:38:49.360 --> 00:38:52.219 one funny story that came out of the game this 00:38:52.219 --> 00:38:56.760 past Thursday. And this is one of the funniest 00:38:56.760 --> 00:38:59.000 things I've ever heard on a baseball field. since 00:38:59.000 --> 00:39:04.320 i've been umpiring batter comes up takes a ball 00:39:04.320 --> 00:39:11.280 a little high and outside the next pitch apparently 00:39:11.280 --> 00:39:13.679 i don't know if he decided to do this himself 00:39:13.679 --> 00:39:19.000 or he got the sign from the coach but he decides 00:39:19.000 --> 00:39:25.099 to to try to lay down a bunt no big deal it was 00:39:25.099 --> 00:39:29.090 a very nice very nice bunt But the catcher ended 00:39:29.090 --> 00:39:31.909 up getting to it, threw him out at first. Good 00:39:31.909 --> 00:39:35.329 play all around by both the catcher and the batter. 00:39:36.550 --> 00:39:40.050 But the funny part of this was I'm standing behind 00:39:40.050 --> 00:39:43.110 the plate, and the catcher was a kid named Griffin. 00:39:45.110 --> 00:39:48.929 Good catcher, good batter. He's got a pretty 00:39:48.929 --> 00:39:51.090 good bat this year. He's already hit one home 00:39:51.090 --> 00:39:55.449 run. And not a little league home run either. 00:39:55.530 --> 00:39:57.550 I mean, straight from the bat over the fence. 00:39:58.570 --> 00:40:01.449 And he's had a couple other hits that I've seen 00:40:01.449 --> 00:40:04.090 this season that have almost gone over the fence. 00:40:06.429 --> 00:40:11.889 Only fell like five feet short, if that. But 00:40:11.889 --> 00:40:15.329 he's also a very good catcher. I feel pretty 00:40:15.329 --> 00:40:19.630 safe behind him. So Griffin's there in the catcher's 00:40:19.630 --> 00:40:21.690 box and he's down. He's got his mitt up. He's 00:40:21.690 --> 00:40:28.130 ready to go. The batter is ready to go. The pitcher 00:40:28.130 --> 00:40:32.530 starts his windup, and I see the batter start 00:40:32.530 --> 00:40:37.730 squaring the bat. And just as he squares the 00:40:37.730 --> 00:40:43.030 bat, I hear the batter say, sorry, Griffin, and 00:40:43.030 --> 00:40:50.010 then drops the bunt down. Funniest thing I have 00:40:50.010 --> 00:40:53.230 ever heard on a baseball field. Sorry, Griffin. 00:40:53.449 --> 00:41:00.769 Tap. I've never heard of a batter apologizing 00:41:00.769 --> 00:41:05.230 to the catcher for making the catcher go get 00:41:05.230 --> 00:41:09.989 this bunt. Funniest thing ever. I was laughing 00:41:09.989 --> 00:41:11.730 after the play. It ended up being the third out 00:41:11.730 --> 00:41:16.650 of the inning. I was laughing. Like, seriously? 00:41:17.610 --> 00:41:21.530 I don't know. Maybe it's one of those you had 00:41:21.530 --> 00:41:28.610 to be there. But it was just funny. So that brings 00:41:28.610 --> 00:41:36.170 us to our question of the month. And this question 00:41:36.170 --> 00:41:39.369 of the month should be fairly easy if you know 00:41:39.369 --> 00:41:43.369 your baseball rules. And the question is as follows. 00:41:45.610 --> 00:41:50.039 When does the infield fly rule... Go into effect. 00:41:51.599 --> 00:41:56.300 When. Does the infield fly rule. Go into effect. 00:41:58.119 --> 00:42:00.599 Think about that. And maybe we'll talk about 00:42:00.599 --> 00:42:05.019 that. In the next episode. But if you don't know 00:42:05.019 --> 00:42:07.960 the answer. Good time to get into the rule book. 00:42:08.199 --> 00:42:14.099 And look it up. So with that. We come to. The 00:42:14.099 --> 00:42:18.099 end of another episode. This one ran a little 00:42:18.099 --> 00:42:21.239 bit longer than I was intending thanks to my 00:42:21.239 --> 00:42:25.219 constant jabbering. But if you stuck in there 00:42:25.219 --> 00:42:29.460 for the entire time, I do appreciate you very 00:42:29.460 --> 00:42:33.800 much. Thank you for listening. Always be sure 00:42:33.800 --> 00:42:39.300 to subscribe. You can listen to these episodes 00:42:39.300 --> 00:42:42.519 wherever you get podcasts. I just hit the microphone. 00:42:42.579 --> 00:42:46.349 I apologize. These episodes are also up on YouTube. 00:42:46.909 --> 00:42:49.050 Eventually on the YouTube channel, I will start 00:42:49.050 --> 00:42:53.949 possibly doing videos. I'm starting to lose my 00:42:53.949 --> 00:42:59.170 voice. You know, maybe some gear reviews, you 00:42:59.170 --> 00:43:03.909 know, breakdowns of different, you know, Little 00:43:03.909 --> 00:43:07.250 League videos and such. If there's anything you 00:43:07.250 --> 00:43:09.550 want to see on the YouTube channel or topic here 00:43:09.550 --> 00:43:11.989 on the podcast, again, you know, send me an email, 00:43:12.110 --> 00:43:16.380 bluecrewdiaries at gmail .com. And, yeah, we 00:43:16.380 --> 00:43:19.900 will go from there. So, as always, thank you 00:43:19.900 --> 00:43:23.260 all very much for listening. And I will see you 00:43:23.260 --> 00:43:24.579 on the dime.