MrUmp1

Looks very good. Maybe the next project will be to build a state of the art Umpire dressing room with showers, drinks. and a full buffett lol lol . Like I need the buffett.... Many of our ballparks have had some work done in the last couple of years and more to come. Baseball in southeast texas is moving up !!!!!!

I think this whole situation just shows how much more important coaches , fans, and parents put on high school athletics these days. Its not just this situation, there are many more that happen at many schools in different sports we never here of. In my day I can remember some of us on the ball team getting together to play wiffle ball at my house during the season and having a ball. Of course we didnt have all these fancy video games to play, so we went out and played. Just read all the comments on all the threads on this site. High School athletics is a big topic where everyone has an opinion. I liked the days that all I had to do was stop at the barber shop on Saturday morning and listen to the oldtimers do the armchair quarterbacking. It's time to get back to just having some fun.

Actually working the inside of the plate in what we call the slot, gives you a great view of the outside pitch. I know you say how ?? If you position your chin near the top of the catchers head and are just on the inside edge of the catchers shoulder you can see the ball go straight into the catchers mitt. So now you say but how do you know it is on the edge. If you notice how your catcher has set up, most of the time his right knee is very close to the edge of the plate. Catch it right there it is a strike. If the catcher has moved out off the edge, then he will have to catch it inside that outside knee. If they move to far out then it is a waste pitch, looks like a strike to people on the side because he nevers moves his glove, but he is a foot outside. Now you may understand why it may take a few years of umpiring to get a good consistent zone. Some guys are just naturals and are very good from the start and then some of us, me included, took a few years to really learn how to call strikes and balls. I would like to say that in just over a month, we have had over 2500 views of this thread. So far it has been very informative and some really great questions. Thanks

Pants... you need some water on your fire pants.. lol I do not know what has your panties tied in a knot about the strike zone, but I can tell you have never tried to Umpire anything maybe other than a little league game. Rhino understands what I am talking about when I talk about the strike zone. Hector has seen me call enough high school games to know I have a pretty good idea of what the strike zone is. Just watch a MLB game on TV and even those guys do not all call exactly the same zone. This is what makes baseball the great game it is. I have never called a perfect game and never will, but I love to umpire and be around some really great kids playing at the High School level in Southeast Texas.

LOL LOL from this sde of the river also!!! ;D I heard that CC Moody looks pretty good this year. ;) I saw Moody last year and the looked liked the Dominican National Team. They could have beaten any of the 5A schools at state tourny last year. Pretty good this year ??? Pretty good every year. They can draw from to many players.

Official stoke zone. From the bottom of the knees to a midway point between the belt and the bottom of the armpits. Which means at the top it should be maybe an inch above your belly button. Now this is what makes baseball the unique sport it is. Even in the pros those guys are not robots calling the exact same pitches Stokes or balls. Many coaches have a "book" on umpires and they know what pitches they are more likely to call strikes than most. Ask any coach and he will tell you the most important thing is that an umpire should be consistent in what he calls, then they can adapt from there. I had a coach yell at me at a game earlier this year about a pitch late in a game where he said all we want is you to be consistent. Since i have called many games for this coach over the years I ask him in between innings at what point would you could consider me being inconsistent? 1 pitch out of 200 or 5 or 10???? he just laughed. I can tell you that pitches called Stokes at a little league game are different that at a pro game. If you called the same zone then those little leaguers would walk way to many and become frustrated instead of having some fun and enjoying baseball. Now back in the 80's and early 90's I used to do some calculated wagering on some pro baseball games. ( calculated wagering = gambling lol ) What we bet was the over and under line on some games. We had data on pro umpires and what the total amount of runs scored in their plate games were. There were a few that had many more lower scoring than most and some had higher scoring games that most. So we took those few umpires and always bet under or over in those umps games. We did very well with this. The 2 that came to mind are Durwood Merrill and Chuck Meriweather. Now Durwood called every thing a strike so his games were lower scoring. Meriweather had a strike zone like a coffee can, so he had higher scoring games because there were more hits. All of this is what makes baseball my favorite game to watch and participate in.

There is only 2 or three of us umps at a game so i think we are out numbered, I'm not yelling back lol. There are other ways to take care of business in a much subtle way. For the most part in the games I have called in, it has been a very good year for sportsmanship. I know things may get a little on edge the next couple of weeks with playoff spots on the line, but I think for the most part everyone will handle it well. One thing I tell coaches and captains before a game is, championship teams act and play like championship teams. Think about it, if you take care of your business on the field, and handle the speed bumps along the way, then the game will take care of itself.

Was that me the coach went off on hector ??? lol I knew what he was doing and yes fighting for his kids but most know when I look over the glasses it's time to shut it up lol and for you fans.. you would not believe how many times a coach has told me that if he didn't yell at me his parents would get upset with him for not yelling. Now that's really teaching the kids something they can use in life ........

Cause that's part of baseball. Just remember, if the game was so easy to call from the dugout or the stands, the umps would sit there in a recliner and call the game.

There is no protesting a game because of a judgement call. End of sentence. The only way a protest would be heard is if it was some sort of really strange happenings that a district committee would look at. In 16 yrs of Umpiring high schooll ball I have never seen a game protested.

If I am not mistaken ( and I have every right to say this lol) there was 2 BIG DUDES behind the plate, and the second one didn't throw anybody out and was wearing a black shirt and a hat that said TASO lol It was the best seat in the house !!!!!!!

Looks like Federation rules which Texas uses, says that if 5 complete innings are not played. then the game will be replayed from the beginning. Where and when they play are between the teams involved and perhaps even the district committee if the two teams can not come to an agreement which would be rare. Playoff games are different , any game started and then suspended because of weather, will be picked up from where it was. I had this happen in Houston last year in a series. I think we only got 2 batters into the bottom of the 1st inning when lightning suspended play and then the rains came.

You are correct sir!!!! kinda sounded like Ed McMahon there...... What most people get confused about is when to award the penalty. It's from the time of the throw by the fielder or the pitcher not from when the ball crosses into dead ball territory.

As you know Hector , I need short fences cause no way I can run fast enough to get those far away fences lol ;D ;D ;D

At the present. JV game cancelled for today, Varsity game now scheduled for 7:30

1. 1 base 2. 2 bases from the time of the throw whaich means a runner gets first and second. 3. 2 bases from the time of the throw, doesnt matter how long it takes to go into dead ball territory. 4. 2 bases from time of throw. 5. same as above, 2 bases from time of throw. In the last one you know the runner will have reached first when the fielder trys to throw the ball so he is going to get 3rd. Don't have my book right in front of me but there may be some special penalty if it is on purpose. I know that an umpire can in special situations award a runner whatever bases he thnks he would have achieved if the play would have been normal.

The batter would be called out and the runner placed back at 2nd. If the play was at Home Plate, the runner would be out unless there are 2 outs then the batter would be called out.

the infield @ Jasper is covered, secretary of chapter talked to coach Mixon this morning.

Look at what I put in bold in your quote. Thats the key. The batter must stay in his batting stance and not move and alter the play. If he never moves and the catcher hits him with the ball or his body then you have nothing. If he moves into the line of fire and alters the play then we have obstruction.

Thinking of coach Mac reminds me of what I think is a funny little story. I was umpiring W Brook and Crosby early in the season. It was one of the coldest nights I can remember umpiring. West Brook even set up in the 3rd base dugout because of the north wind. 36 degrees and wind howling. I tell both coaches in the pregame conference. I didn't care how much they yelled at me or what they called me, no one was getting tossed because if I had to stay out in the cold and wind they were too !!!!!!!

Last I heard he was at Clear Creek or Clear Lake or one of those Clear schools down that way working as an assistant.

Very, very well said. Hey...we could all be eating food out of a straw right now... It's important....but not that important... With that said....anybody got directions to Round Rock ? :D I took 290 all the way to IH35 went north to RR and then took that road to the east toward Hutto that went right to the ballpark.. lol Call me and you can follow me this year lol

Couple of things to look at. If the bat crosses the front edge of the plate or the front edge of his body then you have a swing. Most of the time when you get that whiplash action look from a check swing you have a strike also. Watch on MLB sometime when they show a slowmo of a check swing, and most of the time when they call a stike there is that bat going forward then the batter bringing it back quickly which gives that whipping motion. It is a tough call but you just learn through expierience what to look for.

I know Central Heights is ranked very high but I saw Hemphill play in the Jasper tourny and they have a very solid baseball team. Don't know if I would call this an upset but just my opinion.

Yes, does not matter if it hits the ground first or not.