All about the challenge

I’ll say this first. “Umpiring a Minor League Baseball game at any level is easier than umpiring travel baseball, high school or any college-level baseball game.”  There are big differences; however, there are also huge similarities and one being that “Small Things Matters”.

After umpiring Minor League Baseball for eight seasons plus, I learned a lot about the wonderful game of baseball. I was blessed to umpire in the International League (Triple A) for two full seasons plus one month. My last season professionally umpiring ended September 2001 and after that my focus was on God, family, career and just life itself. In short, umpiring slowed, and I did minimal umpire work on and off for twenty years. Then four years ago, I was fortunate to get back into umpiring with United Umpires, Todd Marler and the umpiring gang there. What an awesome group of umpires and men to be around.  The United Umpires I have worked with are good hearted and caring, focused and committed to umpiring and truthfully I have learned from them.  For example, when calling balls and strikes, safes and outs, fair or foul balls, and balks their training and professionalism stands out.  Most of which are solid performances and at times very entertaining, however, there’s more to umpiring at all levels and those “Small Things Matter”.

Umpire: The use of basic mechanics such as pointing, saying four ball, following the single batter-runner up the firstbase line, saying ball four with a runner attempting to steal, and of course using mechanics to avoiding the double call on the bounding baseball up the foul line going past first or third bases (who’s call is it?).  All of these “Small Things Matter.” Addressing benchjockeying or minor unsportsmanlike conduct or comments early, fall under "Small Things Matter", and you the umpire might be the only one to see it or hear it.  There are many many more "Small Things (that) Matter" during every game.  All "Small Things Matter" and are pivotal for everyone involved in that game, the players, coaches, fans, parents, your partner(s), and the video camera.  Never forget the presence of the video camera.

The Game:  The Small Things that are seen or unseen, heard but not heard (if you will), but maybe overlooked or ignored by umpires for whatever reason, until they impact that game, Matter.  It’s then more likely too late to address and things are well on their way to getting out of hand and could lead to hard play, confrontations, verbal conflicts and of course, ejections.

Some of the overlooked “Small Things Matters” are unauthorized players outside of dugouts, multiple on deck batters, towels on the ground behind the pitcher’s mound, coaches or players sitting on buckets on the field, batters taking practice swings near the home plate dirt as pitchers warm up, pitchers having white on their gloves or having white tape or bracelets on either arm, benchjockeying, unacceptable player comments to opposing players when switching between innings, repeated cheap verbal jabs from coaches to umpires, the outfielder openly yelling at the plate umpire, and my personal unique favorite, playing catch with a football on the baseball field during dead ball.  It has been my experience, if umpires address the benchjockeying comment(s) or action(s) early in the game and when it’s minor, it’s less likely to become conflict later in the game.

So the questions I have been asking myself are… What can be done to assist umpires (myself included) to become sharper at our skills, and to identify and simply do better with the Small Things (that) Matter in a game of baseball? 

Umpiring Beyond the Bases was started because “Small Things Matter” and recognizing these small matters early can make big differences in the game.  Umpiring Beyond the Bases assists and challenges umpires to better identify and address the “Small Things (that) Matter”, and to sharpen basic mechanics and responsibilities while building self-confidence.