Redmond West/North Little LeaguesBaseball & SoftballUmpire Training 101

Patrick O’Rourke, Umpire-in-Chief (UIC), Redmond West baseballAnne Fitch, UIC, Redmond softballGary Butcher, UIC, Redmond North baseball

Agenda

▪ Pre-game

▪ Safe and out

▪ Fair ball, foul ball

▪ Strike and ball

▪ Time

▪ Arbiter system

Philosophy

▪ It’s not about you

▪ It’s not about the parents

▪ It’s not about the manager or coach

▪ It’s not even really about baseball

▪ It’s about kids and character development using baseball as a tool

3

Some Terms

▪ Batter

▪ Runner (R1, R2, R3)

▪ Batter-Runner (BR)

▪ Fielder (F1-F9)

▪ Protest, Appeal, (Gripe)

4

Pregame: Gear

Plate Umpire (HP) Base Umpire▪ *Hat + mask

▪ *Shirt (same color as bases)

▪ Grey slacks

▪ Black belt

▪ *Indicator

▪ Water

▪ *Hat

▪ *Shirt (same color as HP)

▪ Grey slacks

▪ Black belt

▪ *Indicator (optional)

▪ Water

▪ Cleats/Turf shoes

▪ Red Flag (baseball only)

▪ Plate gear in the car!

5

• *Ball bag (black, grey)

• *Plate brush

• *Chest Protector

• *Shin Guards

• Cup

• Plate shoes (optional)

• Lineup holder (optional)

*RWLL provided

Between innings

▪ Quick drink of water

▪ Quick chat between umpires if needed– NEVER after a controversial call

– Just to clarify a signal or rotation. Anything more can wait until postgame.

▪ Control the time– Returning pitcher only needs 5 pitches

– By rule, teams have 1 minute to get ready.

6

Pregame: Partner

▪ Check the Hartman Park rainout line (Mon-Fri 3:01pm; Sat-Sun 8:01am). Call (425) 556-2394

▪ Meet partner 30 minutes before the game.

▪ Discuss your game plan:– Coverage—who’s looking for what.

– Signs: Infield fly (not at AAA), #outs, count, 1st-to-3rd

– What you’re working on improving; ask your partner to help you watch.

▪ Be done by 20 minutes before game time.

7

Base Umpire Responsibilities

▪ Safe and out at 1st, 2nd and 3rd

▪ Leaving early at 1st, 2nd and 3rd (use peripheral vision; eyes toward batter)

▪ Interference (by the runner on the primary fielder)

▪ Obstruction (by a defense player on a runner/batter-runner)

▪ Runners touching 1st and 2nd

▪ Runners retouching 1st and 2nd (fly ball)

▪ Keep an eye on the dugouts

8

Plate Umpire Responsibilities

▪ Lineup card, pitching changes, work with scorekeeper

▪ Balls and strikes

▪ Catch / no catch on fly balls

▪ Fair / foul

▪ Ensure base coaches before first pitch

▪ R3 tagging up on fly ball

▪ Runners touching 3rd base (fly ball)

▪ Infield fly (not at AAA)

▪ Game management (pace of warm-up pitches; play)9

Base Umpire Positioning

▪ “A” position– Behind first base, in foul territory

– No runners

▪ “B” position– Behind second baseman

– R1 only

▪ “C” position– Behind shortstop

– The rest of the time

10

Base Umpire Rotation

▪ Inside-out:– When the ball stays in the infield,

the umpire stays outside the diamond

▪ Outside-in:– When the ball goes to the outfield,

the umpire moves inside the diamond

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Pregame: Field

▪ Bases– Secured, break-away

– Double first for softball

▪ Foul lines

▪ Live ball / dead ball territory (dugout and cement path to dugout)

▪ Pitcher’s mound/rubber distance – 46-feet baseball

– 40-feet softball

▪ Home run fence (gaps)

12

Pregame: Teams

▪ Adults may not warm up pitchers– Before a game

– During a game

– After a game

▪ Players standing near the bat during fielding practice must wear a catcher’s helmet.

▪ Teams should leave their gear out of bags ready for inspection while they take infield practice.

13

Pregame: Check player equipment

▪ Bats– Baseball bats for baseball, softball bats for softball– BPF 1.15 for baseball (1.20 for softball) unless wood– No dents in bats– Composite bats must be on the approved list

▪ The manager must supply the list

– No bat rings (donuts)!

▪ Batting helmets: look for cracks

▪ Catcher’s gear– “Long model” chest protector for boys– Dangling throat guard

▪ Uniforms– Pitchers can’t have white sleeves showing

▪ Jewelry: no watches, bracelets, earrings, necklaces, etc.

14

Pregame: Plate meeting

▪ Umpires and 2 managers only. – Use managers’ first names

▪ Start 5 minutes before game time– Provide heads-up to managers 5 minutes prior to plate meeting

▪ Collect lineups– Umpires control the game starting at this point

▪ Brief synopsis of ground rules (specific to the field)– Catcher or player with mask/catcher mit to warm-up pitcher

▪ Time limits– Generally, no new inning after 2 hours; stop at 2hr, 15 mins

▪ Get game balls (2; more on a wet day)

▪ Confirm that all players are legal and properly equipped– Confirm which players aren’t eligible to pitch

15

Starting the game

▪ 9 or more players on each team.

▪ Fielders (except catcher) in fair territory.

▪ Batter in the box.

▪ No one on deck. All other offensive players in dugout.

▪ Base coaches– Can be players with helmets

▪ One adult in the dugout always!

▪ Limit of 1 manager plus 2 coaches

▪ Defensive manager location

16

Agenda

▪ Pre-game

▪ Safe and out – “Outs are good!”

▪ Fair ball, foul ball

▪ Strike and ball

▪ Time

▪ Arbiter system

How to call safe and out

▪ Order is important!1. Play is about to happen: stop moving.

2. Play happens: watch.

3. Think about what you saw.

4. Find the ball. Make sure it’s where you think it is.

5. Decide what your call is going to be.

6. Announce + signal the result to everybody (if not obvious)

▪ “It ain’t nothing ‘til I call it.”

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How to call safe and out

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How a Runner Can Be Put Out

▪ Runner is tagged while off a base.

▪ Runner or next base is tagged when runner is forced.

▪ Runner passes a preceding runner.

▪ With a fielder attempting to make a tag, runner goes more than 3 feet to the side of a line from the runner to the base.

▪ Runner abandons the bases.

▪ Runner slides headfirst while advancing

▪ Runner fails to either slide or attempt to get around a fielder waiting to make a tag

▪ Missed touching a base (appeal play: later).

▪ Failing to retouch after a catch (appeal play: later).

▪ Interference (later).20

Catch or No-Catch?

▪ It’s a catch when the ball is in flight and the fielder shows:– Secure possession of the ball in the hand or glove.

– Complete control of the ball.

– Voluntary release of the ball.

▪ It’s a no-catch once the ball is no longer in flight:– It has hit the ground.

– It has hit the fence or any other object.

– It has touched any person other than a fielder.

▪ When it’s a catch, the batter is out.

▪ It can be a catch in foul territory (ball stays live).

21

Tag plays

▪ Unless forced, runners can only be put out by being tagged when off a bag.

▪ A tag requires control of the ball by the fielder.

▪ A tag may be made with the ball itself or with the glove when the ball is inside the glove.

▪ If the ball comes out during the tag, the fielder didn’t have control.

22

Force Plays

▪ A force starts when a batter hits a fair ball.

▪ A runner is forced if he/she must advance to make room for the Batter-runner (BR) going to 1st, or for another runner who is forced.

▪ A force ends when the runner in question reaches the next base or when a following runner is put out.

▪ Example: R1, R3. When the batter hits the ball, R1 is forced to 2nd, but R3 is not forced. If the BR tries for 2nd, R1 is not forced to 3rd. If the BR is put out at 1st, the force on R1 is removed.

▪ A forced runner can be put out either by tagging the runner or by tagging his next base before the force ends.

▪ To tag the base, the fielder needs possession of the ball (in hand or glove) and contact with the base.

23

Plays on the Batter-Runner (BR) at 1st

▪ She’s out if she’s tagged before reaching 1st base.– With ball securely held in a hand

– With a glove securely holding the ball

▪ He’s out if 1st is tagged before he reaches it.– With any part of the fielder’s body with the ball securely held in the fielder’s

hand or glove.

▪ He’s protected if he runs straight through 1st and returns.– He can turn either way!

– He loses protection if he makes a move toward 2nd

24

Plays at the plate

▪ Timing! – wait until players stop moving

▪ Can be a force play

▪ Positioning: first baseline extended

▪ Mask and indicator in left hand

▪ Does the catcher have the ball?

▪ Wait for the dust to clear

25

Double first base

▪ Allowed but not required at any level– Typically used in softball only

▪ Most of the time, the colored side doesn’t exist– Fielder forcing out the BR

– Runner returning to 1st

– Runner touching the base before the pitch

▪ When there’s a play on the BR at 1st, the BR must use the colored side.

▪ When there’s not a play on the BR, he may use either side.

26

Leaving Early

▪ On 60’ diamonds, runners must maintain contact with their bases during a pitch.

▪ Requirement starts when ALL of these are true:– Pitcher has ball and is in contact with the rubber (softball: in the circle, not threatening)

– Catcher has his mask on and is behind the plate facing the pitcher

– The runner is not currently advancing.

▪ Requirement ends when EITHER:– The pitcher disengages the mound

– The pitch reaches the batter (baseball)

– The ball leaves the pitcher’s hand (softball)

27

Leaving Early: Softball

▪ Immediate dead ball (no pitch) – call “time”

▪ The runner is out.

▪ If two or more runners left early, you can only call one out.– Pick the most advanced runner.

▪ Majors and higher:– Runners may leave when the pitcher releases the ball

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Leaving Early: Baseball

▪ If any runner leaves early, all runners left early.

▪ When the play is over and nothing else is going to happen, call time.

▪ If the batter hit the ball, the plate umpire judges the base value of the hit. – Don’t give the batter extra bases because of errant throws or because he advanced

while a play happened.

– Be guided by where the batter was when the ball was thrown back to the infield.

▪ All outs stand.

▪ Return all runners to their starting bases unless this would push the batter further back than the value of his hit.

29

Angle over distance!

▪ Being “straightlined” to the play is bad; get 45-degree angle

▪ Being too far away is bad, but not very bad.

▪ If you have to choose between them, opt for angle

30

Agenda

▪ Pre-game

▪ Safe and out

▪ Fair ball, foul ball – where’s the ball?

▪ Strike and ball

▪ Time

▪ Arbiter system

Fair or Foul?

Where is the ball when…

▪ It is touched or settles before 1st/3rd?– “Touched” means by a person.

▪ It first touches a person, an object or the ground after passing 1st/3rd in the air?

▪ It passes the front edge of 1st/3rd after bouncing?

32

Fair or Foul?

▪ When not obvious foul, say “foul” and push the door open to signal foul

▪ When it’s obvious foul, just push the door open

▪ Never say “fair” – just point.

33

Agenda

▪ Pre-game

▪ Safe and out

▪ Fair ball, foul ball

▪ Strike and ball

▪ Time

▪ Arbiter system

The Pitcher

▪ Two legal pitching positions: set and windup.

▪ Softball has one legal position/motion.

▪ Illegal pitches:– Quick pitch (batter not reasonably ready)

– Pitching while not in contact with the rubber

– Back foot comes off the ground; crow hop (softball only)

▪ Penalty for illegal pitch: Ball.– Ignored if batter reaches 1st and all runners advance.

▪ The pitcher does not have to come to a stop (60’ diamond)

35

The Pitch

▪ It’s a strike if:– The batter attempts to hit the ball and

misses.

– The batter hits a foul with less than two strikes.

– Any part of the ball crosses any part of the strike zone before hitting the ground.

▪ Otherwise, it’s a ball

36

How to call balls and strikes

▪ Be completely still during the pitch

▪ Track the ball with your eyes

▪ Evaluate the trajectory and the zone

▪ Decide what you’re going to call

▪ Stay down to call balls, come up to call strikes

▪ Provide pitcher the count when needed, or action could next (3 balls, or 2 strikes)

37

How to call balls and strikes

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Working the slot

▪ Set up with head between the batter and the catcher

▪ Slot foot (batter’s side): toe even with batter’s heels AND catcher’s heels

▪ Drop foot: toe even with slot foot heel

▪ Head: chin no lower than catcher’s helmet

▪ Back: straight—be sitting on a stool, not leaning over

▪ Nose: pointed at the strike zone

▪ Chin: pointed toward opposite front of plate

▪ Eyes: are the only things to move

39

Foul tips

▪ Ball and bat meet (“ping!”)

▪ Ball goes sharp and direct to the catcher’s hand or glove

▪ Catcher catches the ball

▪ Just like the batter missed the ball. – Strike

– Can be strike 3

– Ball is live

▪ Base umpire: can help if requested

▪ How to call

40

Bunts

▪ A bunt is a batted ball not swung at, but intentionally met with the bat.

▪ If a bunt goes fair, it’s just like any other batted ball.

▪ If a bunt goes foul, it’s a foul ball. If there were two strikes, the batter is out.

▪ If the batter holds the bat out to bunt but doesn’t move it toward the ball, it’s not an attempt in baseball (and thus not a swinging strike). This is an attempt in softball.

41

End of an at-bat

▪ Three strikes: an out

▪ Four balls: a walk

▪ Hit by pitch (when awarded 1st)

▪ Batter interferes with play at plate or throw by catcher: batter is out

▪ Defensive interference: given 1st

▪ Hits the ball into play: the fun stuff starts happening!

42

Agenda

▪ Pre-game

▪ Safe and out

▪ Fair ball, foul ball

▪ Strike and ball

▪ Time

▪ Arbiter system

Hit by a pitch

▪ Ouch!

▪ The ball is always dead (“Time!”)

▪ Usually, the batter goes to first

▪ If the batter swung, it’s a strike

▪ If the ball was in the strike zone, it’s a strike

▪ The batter was born with hands. The bat wasn’t.

▪ If the batter didn’t attempt to avoid the ball, it’s a ball

44

Live ball/Dead ball

▪ Ball becomes live when the umpire points at the pitcher and says “Play!”– Wait until the pitcher has the ball on the rubber.

– Wait until fielders are in fair territory.

– Wait until runners are on the correct bases.

– Usually wait for a batter to be ready.

▪ Ball becomes dead when the umpire says “Time” or “Foul.”– Sometimes it’s implied or obvious.

– Nothing can happen when the ball is dead.

– No one except the umpire can call time.

– The offense will not be granted time-out to confer with a player more than once per inning (except for injury).

45

Thrown balls out of play

▪ Thrown by a fielder (or a batted ball intentionally deflected): two bases from Time-of-Throw.– First play by an infielder, Time-of-Pitch. Unless the batter and all runners have

advanced a base.

▪ Pitched: one base from Time-of-Pitch. If it’s ball four, the batter gets 1st only.

▪ A fielder with the ball falls in dead-ball territory: one base

46

Batted balls out of play

▪ When a ball enters dead ball territory or becomes lodged (in catcher’s or umpire’s gear), the umpire calls “Time” and moves runners depending on how the ball got there.

▪ Foul ball: runners return to their Time-of-Pitch bases.

▪ Fair ball and it goes over the home run fence before touching anything except a fielder: four bases.

▪ Any other fair ball: two bases from Time-of-Pitch

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Pitching substitutions

▪ A new pitcher gets 8 warmup pitches, or 1 minute.– Returning pitchers only need 5, depending on hustle.

▪ Each pitcher must face at least one batter before being removed, including the starting pitcher on the lineup.

▪ The pitcher must be replaced after the 3rd visit in an inning or the 4th

visit in a game.– A visit is a time-out granted for the manager or a coach to confer with any

defensive player.

– When the pitcher is being replaced, a visit is not charged to the new pitcher.

– In case of injury, the umpire should monitor the discussion and not charge a visit as long as the only topic is the injury.

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Run limits for RWLL

▪ In AAA/Coast baseball and softball – 5 runs per inning: if the offense scores 5 runs before committing 3 outs in innings

1-5, then the inning is over. The scorekeeper will tell the umpire if 5 runs have been scored. No run limit in the 6th inning.

– 10-run rule for game: if the home team is winning by 10 runs after 3.5 innings completed, or the visitor team is winning by 10 runs after 4 complete innings, then the game is over.

▪ Majors baseball and softball

▪ 10-run rule for game: if the home team is winning by 10 runs after 3.5 innings completed, or the visitor team is winning by 10 runs after 4 complete innings, then the game is over.

Time limits for RWLL

▪ No new inning may start after 2 hours and the game must be stopped at 2 hours and 15 minutes, except as noted below. The scorekeeper shall record the official start time of the current game, and may notify the plate umpire at the precise moment that time limits are reached if requested by the plate umpire. A new inning begins at the moment the third out is made on the home team.

▪ MAJORS / COAST - Time limits shall not apply when there is no following game. On fields with lights, time limits shall apply even when there is no following game if the game is played on a weeknight (Sun-Thurs) and the scheduled starting time of the game is after 6:30 p.m.

▪ AAA - No new inning will start after 2 hours. With no game following, the last inning may be played until completion. The final inning may have unlimited runs scored for both teams if the plate umpire declares an inning prior to the 6th inning the final inning. [Note: This is an umpire decision, not a manager discussion.]

▪ MAJORS/COAST/AAA – Tuesday/Thursday games schedule for 5:00pm on Hartman #5 or Harman #6 will be played as follows: No new inning may begin after 7pm; Drop dead at 7:15pm. At 7:15pm the teams must immediately leave the fields.

Complete a volunteer form

www.RedWestLL.org

Arbiter system – home page

#1: District 9

#2: self-assign and review your schedule

#3: Contact info for other umps

#4: Insert mobile and recognizable photo

#5: check box

#6: message from D9 umps

Arbiter: self-assign

#1: Self-assign

#2: filter by site; RWLL uses Hartman Park

#3: Can also filter by date

#4: Tournaments only

Arbiter: see your schedule with calendar

#1: Filter: next 30 days

#2: click apply

Arbiter: see your schedule, partner

#1: Filter: show all

#2: Each game has a #

#3: choose plate (HP) or bases

See field, home (3rd base dugout) and away (1st base dugout) teams

Field training

Saturday, March 19 10:00am – 11:45am at Hartman Park Bring water Dress warm Stretch

Q&A

Scoring runs

▪ Usually, a run scores when a runner touches 1st, 2nd, 3rd and home in order.

▪ No runs can score on a play involving the 3rd out on the batter before reaching 1st or a force play.– Tagging a forced runner is a force play.

▪ If the 3rd out is not a force, runs count if the runner touches the plate before the tag happens.

▪ Appeals covered later…

58

Obstruction / Interference

▪ Fielder, not in possession of the ball or act of fielding the ball, impedes the progress of a runner

▪ Type A: play is being made on obstructed runner. Example: Catcher waiting for throw as runner trying to score.– Action: immediate dead ball – “time, that’s

obstruction.”

– Penalty: at least 1 base beyond the last base touched

▪ Type B: play isn’t being made on obstructed runner. Example: 1B gets in the way of batter-runner going to 2nd base– Action: delayed dead ball

– Penalty: umpire judgement to place runner at advanced base or not

▪ Offensive interference: an act by the team at bat that interferes with, obstructs, impedes, hinders, or confuses any fielder attempting to make a play.– Example: base runner hit by batted ball

– Example: base runner impedes defense from fielding a ball

– Example: base coach interference

– Action: immediate dead ball – “time, that’s interference”

– Penalty: runner is out, and move other runners back to previous base

▪ Batter’s interference– Interfere with a catcher’s throw, play at the plate, hits catcher

with backswing

▪ Defensive (catcher’s) interference– Catcher’s mitt interferes with swing

– If dead ball, delayed dead ball – “time, that’s interference” and batter is awarded 1B

– If ball put in play, wait to see what happens. Call time after play ends, and offensive coach chooses to accept play or penalty

Online training resources

http://umpirebible.com/rules.htm: Read about little league baseball rules and umpire mechanics in more common language than you’ll find in the official rules book (aka, green book). The author, Nick G, umpires little league in WA state.

http://www.thetasoft.com/quiz/quiz.aspx: Online baseball and softball umpire quiz, for beginners and veterans, owned by WA state District 9 umpire Rob Little

www.littleleagueumpiring101.com: Self-paced training website with graphics and instructional videos for new and beginning Little League volunteer umpires.