What makes a great umpire?

I love baseball and although I am not an umpire, I believe a good or great umpire makes a huge contribution to the satisfaction of watching the game. I thought it would be interesting to hear from others what they appreciate in an umpire and/or what they find annoying. I prefer umpires who:

• make a verbal call for pitches that are balls
• calls the pitch quickly....no delayed ball/strike calls
• does everything with an air of authority (punch outs & safe or out calls)
• has his shoes shined
• doesn't chat it up with the fans/parents too much between innings

 

The Perfect Umpire

One that has the guts to throw out Andy Partin, Don Hutchins, Jeff Petty, Freddy Suggs, Ricky Keith, Jason Harris, Scott Bankhead, Jeff McNeely and Jason Hill out of a game all in the same season!!

 

A seeing eye dog.

 

Lasik!!!

 

One bark for ball, two barks for strike

No wonder Punched Out is such a great umpire!!

 

VOLUNTEER UMPIRES....What do you think Stretch?

 

When in doubt call an out

Now Now Freddy.....you know my wife is hooked on the money!!!!

 

No, not in that case. Just returned from the WWBA Underclass Championship in Ft. Myers and saw some great competition and some great umpiring. Had the pleasure of sitting with the site director for one of the games and he commented on the quality of the umpire..that got me thinking about this thread. The umpire he pointed out was giving a quick audible for balls and an immediate physical motion and audible for strikes. He was smooth, decisive and you knew he was in command.

Now, I'm sure many of the joking comments on here are from umpires or other members of the "fraternity", but we have all seen umpires range from outstanding to terrible and the difference is knowledge, professionalism, pride and consistency. I enjoy having a good umpire behind the plate and in the field....and I don't just notice when they are bad.

 

Here is what I like about an umpire:

- One that hustles to get into a position to make a call
- Authoritative, but not arrogant
- Allows a coach to argue his point without getting confrontational
- Consistent strike zone
- And his not afraid to listen to my helpful advice during games

and is not afraid to say, "Yeah, I blew that one"

 

Shoot...that doesn't take guts. That's a good weekend!!!


Seriously, those are guys that know the game and probably are the best to umpire with.