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Just a quick reminder of our annual meeting for Friday Jan. 29th @ 5 PM. The location is at the Round Table Pizza Palor 5440 Thornwood Dr. San Jose, CA. The meeting will handle paperwork from 5-5:30 and from 5:30 to 6:15 I will be giving you the updates for the coming season.
The training session for Saturday has been changed. We will gather at Herman MS from 8:30 to 12 PM. Everyone assigned to that training session should bring at least a lawn chair, paper and writing tool. I will give out all the details during our meeting on Friday.
Please bring or be ready to fill out all of your paperwork along with your association dues. See all of you on Friday at 5 PM!!!
Mike Wheeler
swheeler1962@msn.com
209-403-6732
NOTE: This is a mandatory meeting to complete paperwork, pay your annual fees, and learn about all the opportunities for the upcoming season. Our room will have limited space, so it will be a umpire-only meeting. However, parents are needed to help with the paperwork.
Please contact us to get on the umpire mailing list.
We are also looking for a parent volunteer to become our Head Umpire. This is a position that coordinates our umpire association with BVPB. If you have interest in this board position, please contact Greg Schlick vicepresident@bvponybaseball.com
For our Umpires: Complete the Umpire Association application, the medical waiver form, and bring the $40 fee to the meeting. You can download the application and waiver form below.
Umpiring Tips
No Time for Chat
Umpires should limit routine umpire-to-umpire conferences between innings. Most of those conferences are non-essential and sometimes even delay the game.
Try to avoid talking with your partner after an inning when a close play, a disputed ruling or an argument has occur ed. After each half inning, the base umpire should bounce to the between innings position on the first base foul line about 15 feet from first base towards home plate.
Umpire-to-umpire conferences should occur if, for example, there is concern about the legality of the pitcher or another troubling issue. Sometimes a veteran base umpire can build the confidence of a less experienced plate umpire by saying, "Your strike zone look good. Keep up the good work."
Otherwise, in the absence of poor weather conditions, impending darkness or other legitimate concerns, avoid needless umpire-to-umpire chats.
Hit to Right Not Caught, Snap Throw to First
Always be alert on a hard shot to right field that falls safely or is trapped. Weak fielders are no longer hidden in right field. Conversely, many right fielders now have a center fielder's or infielder's skills. Increasingly, right fielders and occasionally center fielders come up throwing to first after fielding hard smashes or trapped balls.
Always pause, read and react on a hard shot to an outfielder with a possible throw to first. Your pause and read will tell you not to cross in front of the outfielder's throw to first. Rather react by moving to your calling position by going one step into fair territory or, if necessary, to "clear" the play, one step foul. Those positions will allow you to keep all the elements (the ball, the fielder, the base and the runner) in front of you without interfering with the play.
The plate umpire will move out to the left of the catcher and go about halfway down the first-base line to observe the action. In the event of a broken play and an attempt by B1 to advance to second, the base umpire must cut immediately behind the runner, move inside the diamond and print for second base.