Baseball Umpires ~ The Secret of Why They Do It!
Posted: Monday, January 17, 2011
by Jared Parks
The Write Account
People who witness umpires during a ball game may wonder why they do it. By all appearances the umpire has weighty responsibilities and in return is shown little respect or appreciation for his or her efforts. The truth is, most umpires benefit in ways people do not realize.
The rewards come as a result of confronting the moment by moment decision-making demands umpires are faced with. Personal gratification is derived from knowing how to meet these challenges in a skillful manner. As the number of experiences increase it can create a heightened sense of awareness, improving the umpire’s performance and enjoyment of the activity.
On the surface the game of baseball like many organized sports has easy to follow objectives and basic rules which are fairly simple to understand. For the umpire however, who is expected to be intimately familiar with hundreds of underlying rules, a ball game is rarely "routine".
The quantity of rules exists to regulate an unlimited number of situations and circumstances which may occur during the course of a game.
Assuming the responsibility to govern any and all of the possible scenarios, by remaining poised to offer careful and quick judgments, while avoiding presumptions , is the challenge and the claim of the disciplined umpire.
Memorizing rules is necessary but no substitute for experience gained on the field. And no level of experience diminishes the need for steadfast concentration needed to continually make the right call on pitches or plays unfolding in fractions of a second.
Every movement an umpire makes on the field is supported by knowledge and training designed to provide the highest probability of accuracy when making judgment calls. The umpire cannot allow distractions to interfere with his or her concentration.
The umpire’s overall responsibilities can be described in three parts:
1.Maintain control to ensure the game proceeds in a timely manner.
2.Apply the rules and regulations to the plays in the game, and the behavior of the individuals.
3.Follow guidelines regarding positioning and timing when making judgment calls.
At times unusual circumstances occur when the umpire must also know the proper procedures to follow. Some of these instances include:
Games played with less than the preferred number of umpires. If this happens and events occurring simultaneously during the game can not all be observed, the umpire(s) must know which action has priority and where his or her attention should first be focused.
Situations arising during a game in which several rules must be applied in order to make the proper call. The umpire(s) must then know which rules are given priority over other rules.
There are times when a rule can not be applied verbatim or literally. In this case, the umpire must be able to correctly interpret the intent of the rule in order to make the right call.
Umpires also know at times they may rely on each other to determine the best decision when interpreting difficult plays. Members of the crew may meet briefly on the field to discuss what each saw. This offers more perspectives to what happened due to the different angle each umpire may have had when witnessing the play. (After this discussion any change made to the call is the option of the umpire who made the original call.)
Knowledge of the rules which govern a baseball game is a small portion of an umpire’s overall responsibilities. Knowing the correct position to be in at all times, employing proper timing, being aware of your partner’s responsibilities and demonstrating the ability to ignore distractions and concentrate are a few more of the qualities necessary to be a competent umpire.
The many requirements and constant demands during a game are considered challenges to the umpire. Meeting these challenges in a professional manner gives them personal satisfaction. The fulfillments earned by these experiences are the rewards many umpires enjoy and explain the secret of "why they do it"!
Jared Parks
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The author has been an umpire since 2000 officiating in over 750 documented games. He continues to umpire Little League and High School baseball and softball games.
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