(2) The proper batter may take his place in the batter’s box at any time before the improper batter becomes a runner or is put out, and any balls and strikes shall be counted in the proper batter’s time at bat. Rule 6.03 is the rule that talks about what happens when someone bats out …
1. Did you have fun? Oh, hell yeah. Umpire school is one of those all-encompassing vacations where you're engaged both mentally and physically. It isn't relaxing, per se, but it is calming to focus on only one thing every waking moment. 2. Are umpires required to vocalize ball and strike calls, or is a hand …
Continue reading Commonly asked questions about umpire school.
1. Get the mean plan. You can always skip a dinner or a breakfast and go out to a restaurant, and I certainly did, but especially the first few days you don't want to have to figure out how to feed yourself on top on remembering everything else. Also, the food -- the dinners especially …
Continue reading My Advice to Future Attendees of Umpire School.
At umpire school, I was famous. Not because I'm incredibly good at being an umpire, or because I'm amazingly attractive, or because I'm fucking smart(1), but because I am a chick.(2) The chick. As a result, every one at umpire school knew who I was. Even if we didn't do roll call every day in …
Here's what a typical day at umpire school is like: 1. Roll call starts at 9 am(1). We have to answer to our last names with authority. Some guys try to get cute with it(2), but I just stick to "here." 2. Many days, especially at the beginning of school, we have class. We cover …
So it turns out I may be suited to this umpiring thing. Of course, I'm a beginner and have a million things to learn (TWO MILLION), but I get umpiring and I'm really enjoying it even though I am soooo fucking tired. Here's why I think I like it: 1. I don't have a lot …
Most of the jokes and critiques you hear about umpires involve their poor eyesight behind the plate.(1) But what most people don't notice is how often umpires are in the right spot at the right time. That is because we tell the future. It's also called positioning. We spend a lot of time here talking …
Yesterday, I hurt myself. While we were learning pivots(1), I pulled a quad when I landed. It's not serious, just enough to mean that I have to take it easy for the next couple of days, which SUCKS, because we're learning plays at first base and two-person system and a lot of mechanics, and I …
5.09(b) Any runner is out when (1) he runs more than three feet away from his base path to avoid being tagged unless his action is to avoid interference with a fielder fielding a batted ball. A runner's base path is established when the tag attempt occurs and is a straight line from the runner …
I knew that coming to umpire school would be a challenge -- that's part of the reason why I did it. In addition to the normal challenges of learning how to umpire (which is hard), I knew that I would be under a certain level of scrutiny as a woman, and that there would probably …
Baseball Julia 