How to Umpire a Blow Out
We have all been on both sides of this equation. How, as an umpire, do we get a game going when it is a blow out? Should we try to even things up? Stay the course? Influence the game?
The bottom line is, we should only widen the zone of the team killing the other and we should give very fair warning we are doing so.
The way I like to handle this is I pick out the obvious "leader" of the team. You can almost always tell who this is instantly. When he comes to bat, I tell them "you better be swinging", and proceed to call anything close a strike . Then I tell him as he walks back to the dugout, "tell your team to be swinging". Experienced players and managers know exactly what is going on. A good manager will simply agree and say, "you better be swinging".
Umpires should never influence the game. And the above should only be done in extreme situations such as a 20-0 game. Imposing yourself on the game is a major mistake for an umpire should be avoided at all costs. Unfortunately, this is often not the case.
Do you know any other things umpires do to impose on the game?
Flames are very Strong
I don’t want to get too cocky, but our softball team, the Flames are very strong. Not only are they a very talented team, they are one of the funnest teams I have ever coached. They really are coming together and being around them is a joy.
Our first game was last night and I was pleasantly surprised. While I knew we had a good defense and very powerful hitting, our pitching was very suspect! Enter our new (for now anyway) star and team leader.
I have coached this girl for four years now. She is very talented but never really lived up to her talent. She didn’t like pitching, even though she had great potential, she didn’t like being hot, even though we live in Florida! She had little or no confidence and doubted herself.
I don’t know what happened this year, but she has come out of her shell completely! She is leading the team’s cheers and showing a level of confidence she never showed before. Confidence is a very shaky thing though and we will need to help her work through the difficult times she will inevitably face over the long season we have here in the south.
Tonight we held a light practice. FCAT testing is taking place in our county and this is serious business. During that practice this girl continued to lead the team. As we were leaving she asked me who was pitching. I told her I was planning on her. Her reply? “yeessssssssss”. A far cry from the one who didn’t care either way for 3 years.
Hopefully she will maintain this attitude as we march towards our top team championship!
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