by UmpMatt | Mar 6, 2019 | Blog
Over the past few weeks, the NCAA’s new HBP rule has come into play in multiple games. On Tuesday, enforcement of the rule resulted in the final out of a game between the University of Texas and University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Under the new 2019 rule, a...
by UmpMatt | Mar 5, 2019 | Blog
Two videos of pitchers’ pickoff moves have sparked much conversation on Twitter in the past week. Check them out below and let us know on our Facebook page: Balk or Not? Picked off to END the game! 📹 @HailStateBBpic.twitter.com/lKmwe0zsgS — NCAA Baseball...
by UmpMatt | Mar 1, 2019 | Blog
MLB Spring Training is underway, which means members of the big league umpiring staff are getting back to work. Check out this interesting rotation play from the first week of games: No Umpire at Home Plate (Video) In a game between the Mets and Astros, the umpires...
by UmpMatt | Dec 20, 2018 | Blog
Here is one that many of us may have to learn through experience… an infield fly that appears obviously fair may turn out to be anything but that. If a ball is hit in the air in front of the first or third base bags, there’s always a chance it will roll...
by UmpMatt | Dec 11, 2018 | Blog
The hidden ball trick is a rarely seen play, but umpires have to be on top of it. In professional baseball, players might alert an umpire to what they are planning. At lower levels, especially in youth baseball, this is unlikely. Umpires working the one-man system...
by UmpMatt | Dec 5, 2018 | Blog
We often hear casual fans refer to officials “swallowing the whistle” late in games, but that concept should not be in any umpire’s vocabulary. If a call would be made in the first inning it should be made in the ninth. To drive home this point, we...
by UmpMatt | Nov 30, 2018 | Blog
On Tuesday, we asked you to check out a classic infield fly rule debacle from 2003. We also asked if you, as the umpire, would need to make any corrections if you forgot to declare an infield fly during a game. Mike on our Facebook page had it right– he said...
by UmpMatt | Nov 27, 2018 | Blog
Yesterday on our Facebook page we heard what some of you are up to — enjoying the offseason, officiating another sport, or taking no offseason in sunny California! Whether you are on the field or looking ahead to next baseball season, it’s never a bad time...
by UmpMatt | Oct 27, 2018 | Blog
As most baseball fans already know, Game 3 of the 2018 World Series was the longest postseason game ever– 7 hours, 20 minutes. Any game featuring 18 innings figures to also feature some close plays for the umpires to officiate. Let’s take a look back at a...
by UmpMatt | Oct 22, 2018 | Blog
With the World Series set to kick off tomorrow night in Boston, let’s take a look back at Game 1 of the 2013 World Series at Fenway Park. In this video, 2B umpire Dana DeMuth initially calls Dustin Pedroia out at second base, ruling that Cardinals SS Pete Kozma...
