BCUA Baseball Umpires Social
Submitted by bcua on Fri, 04/05/2024 - 11:34pm
About Us - Mission Statement
TO BECOME AN UMPIRE, CLICK HERE.
The Bergen County Umpires Association is an organization of baseball and softball umpires certified to officiate high school contests in New Jersey.
Our purpose is:
- promote the welfare of the games of baseball and softball on the county level by uniformly interpreting and administering the rules of those games as set forth by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) and the National Federation of High School Associations (NFHS).
- promote and maintain the highest degree of baseball and softball officiating by following a uniform set of mechanics and have available at all times an adequate number of thoroughly trained and capable umpires.
- preserve the traditions, foster the ideals, advance the interests and improve the quality and prestige of the baseball and softball umpires through a comprehensive program of classroom training and on-the-field experience and develop a spirit of friendship and maintain a high standard of ethics among umpires.
[Baseball] - Illegal Slide Clarification / Electronic Communication Equipment Failure - Procedure
Submitted by bcua on Thu, 03/28/2024 - 3:06pmFrom: Joe Belger, BCUA Baseball Interpreter
To: All Baseball / Dual Umpires
Re: Illegal Slide Clarification / Electronic Communication Equipment Failure - Procedure
At the baseball mechanics meeting on Tuesday March 19th, there was a discussion on a play involving an illegal slide. The question was asked if this resulted in a dead ball or a delayed dead ball. The answer given was that it is a delayed dead ball. This is incorrect. It is interference committed by the offense, and as such, it is an immediate dead ball. If it involves a force play slide rule violation, you would rule a double play.
Additionally, there has been a question asked about teams using electronic communication equipment and the implications of charged conferences if it stops working. Treat the trip the same as an injury trip. Accompany the coach to the player and observe and listen to the conversation. It should only involve the coach and catcher. As long as the conversation is only related to the repair of the device, it will not be a charged conference. If the device cannot be fixed, have the catcher remove the earpiece and play on.
Should it become abusive where you think they are trying to delay or buy the pitcher time, you can warn the coach that you are going to charge him with a conference(s).
Optimal Positioning at Home Plate
Submitted by bcua on Thu, 03/28/2024 - 11:23am
The evolution of the mechanics of calling plays at home plate has been fascinating to observe.
Plate umpires can make decisions on 250 to 300 pitches in a game, but one call at the plate might decide the outcome of the game. Consequently, the umpire community commits a lot of training to developing the best ways to judge plays at home plate. For many decades, umpires approached plays at the plate using the first-base line extended method, commonly referred to as 1BX. Plate umpires stand at an imaginary line that would extend the first-base foul line into foul territory past home plate.
About 20 years ago, a new technique emerged called third-base line extended known as 3BX. This is the opposite position from 1BX with plate umpires standing on an imaginary line from the third-base foul line.
One Call at the Plate Might Determine the Outcome of the Game
The gradual change in this practice recently produced a new tactic called, “The Wedge.”
“I first learned The Wedge at a camp three years ago in New Jersey,” said Mike Lum, a 20-year umpire who has worked on the college level for the last five years. “I’ve had conversations with minor league and college umps about The Wedge and we all wonder why we are just hearing about this. I think the major league umpires have been using this method for a while, but someone coined the phrase The Wedge only recently.”
From all accounts, The Wedge has been practiced for 5-7 years in the northern Virginia and Washington, D.C., area before blossoming recently into a hot trend on the East Coast over the last 2-4 years. The other dynamic that has widened the use of this new mechanic is the increased movement of catchers who want to avoid violating new obstruction rules during plays at home. Catchers are now starting several feet in front of home plate as opposed to standing on or near it in the past.
So why is it called The Wedge? Think of a shape of a wedge or a triangle. The two sides of the wedge represent the path of the runner and the flight of the ball. An umpire using The Wedge would be in between those two lines to see the point of the play where the tag is applied.
Chris Marshall is a major advocate of The Wedge. Marshall has worked college baseball for the last 21 years and appeared in his fourth NCAA Division I Super Regional last year at the University of North Carolina.
“I’ve completely bought into using The Wedge,” said Marshall, who is the interim president of the New Jersey-based United Collegiate Umpires. “I can remember missing two plays at the plate in a Division I postseason tournament game a few years ago because I was using the old-school thinking. I read the plays correctly but they developed differently than I expected and I got them both wrong. The Wedge now gives me a whole new view of plays at the plate.”
The 1BX and 3BX positions have been commonly taught as places to stand and watch. The Wedge, however, is all about movement and putting umpires in a position to see the play completely and correctly. A key difference between The Wedge and the 1BX-3BX methods is that the home plate umpire is keying off the catcher’s movements to gain a good position to see the play. Using 1BX and 3BX, umpires use the flight of the ball. It is a new mindset.
“In the past, umpires would choose a pre-determined place to stand, either at the point of the plate or at the first-base or third-base line extended. That puts umpires in a pretty good position to see most plays. But if the play explodes, they will not get the best angle,” Marshall said.
Marshall cites four specific plays where The Wedge helps umpires get the optimal view at plays at home plate:
Swipe tags (when the catcher applies a tag using a swipe motion)
Crash plays (when the catcher and runner collide)
Block plays (when the catcher blocks the runner from reaching the plate)
Dropped balls (when the catcher drops the ball)
“I had been using third-base line extended for years until I learned The Wedge at a clinic two years ago in Binghamton (N.Y.),” said Sal Algozzino, a 23-year umpire who has worked two D-II regionals in his career. “The Wedge allows you to see all types of plays at the plate, but you can’t just stand in one place like we used to do. You must be very aggressive and be ready to move.”
When using The Wedge, some instructors say umpires should act like backpacks for the catchers while others urge umpires to stay on the catcher’s glove-side hip. Here are the mechanics of working the wedge:
Locate the ball.
Position yourself 2-3 feet immediately behind the catcher, lining up with the catcher’s left hip.
Move in-step with the catcher and remain 2-3 feet behind him.
Be prepared to make a final step — the “Read Step” — to see the tag applied. Marshall added, “Umpires need to take quiet, purposeful steps as the ball arrives to put themselves into that window to see the play.”
Two key parts of The Wedge mechanic contradict traditional thinking about home plate coverage, according to Marshall. First, umpires have been taught to keep 4-8 feet away from the play to have a wider field of vision. Second, umpires have been advised not to go into fair territory to call plays at the plate. Umpires using The Wedge often wind up in fair territory in front of the plate or even up the third -base line.
Marshall said, “The Wedge can be difficult to grasp right away but it is worth sticking with it because of the advantages it gives you in seeing the play. The game is changing and we need to change with it. As umpires, we might see a close play at the plate once a month so it may take a while to practice it. I wish we had more bangers at the plate so we could work on it.”
Tim Gaiser, a 23-year umpire who has worked college baseball for the last 18 years in upstate New York, is another proponent of The Wedge.
“I learned The Wedge four years ago and I now apply the wedge fundamentals to plays all over the field,” said Gaiser. “The Wedge has helped me immensely. I look at it this way: I umpire baseball games involving boys ages 15-22. They stay the same age every year but I get one year older every year, so I need to find ways to be more efficient. The Wedge challenges what has been taught for years, but it puts us in the best place to see the play. It makes us better umpires.”
Softball Rules Changes - 2024
Submitted by bcua on Mon, 07/10/2023 - 6:28pm1-8-6: Permits electronic information to be transmitted to the dugout from anywhere outside of live ball area.
Rationale: The rule change reflects current technology and still requires that electronic devices used for coaching purposes may only be used in the dugout butdoes not stipulate where the video is recorded or how it is transmitted.
3-2-2: Beginning January 1, 2027, uniforms may only bear a single manufacturer's logo, school name, school logo, mascot and/or the participant's name. Advertisements, messages, team slogans, etc., will no longer be permitted.
Rationale: Consistent language has been established for NFHS sports that describe what information is permitted on the uniform. A player’s name, school name, school nickname, school mascot and/or the school logo may be placed on the uniform.
3-2-5: Removes the color restriction for headbands and ribbons.
Rationale: Adds consistency amongst headwear requirements for other NFHS sports.
3-2-7: Defines where a wristband with a playbook/playcard may be worn. If worn by the pitcher, the wristband with a playbook/playcard must be worn on the non-pitching wrist or arm.
Rationale: Clarifies where this equipment can be worn. This change will prohibit wristbands from being worn on the belt. It remains legal for players to keep the wristband with a playbook/playcard in their back pocket.
4-2-7, 10-2-3e, h: The umpire may call (end) a game if playing conditions in or around the facility become unacceptable to safely continue the game.
Rationale: Provides rule justification when an umpire ends a contest due to unacceptable playing conditions to continue play in addition to weather.
6-1-2c, 2-47: The pitcher may now have both feet off the ground at the same time as long as both feet remain within the 24-inch width of the pitching plate and the pitcher does not replant the pivot foot. A definition for a replant was added.
Rationale: The rule change permits both feet to disengage from the playing surface while delivering a pitch. The addition of Rule 2-47 defines that a replant of the pivot foot occurs when the pitcher pushes off the playing surface from anywhere other than the pitcher’s plate prior to the act of delivering the pitch.
6-2-2: Pitchers can only use dirt, powdered rosin or comparable drying agents that are listed on the USA Softball’s certified equipment webpage to dry the hand.
Rationale: Clarifies the difference between tape and other non-approved substances on the pitching hand or fingers versus the use of approved substances under the supervision and control of the umpire.
2024 SOFTBALL EDITORIAL CHANGES
1-5-1c, 1-6-1, 1-7-1, 2-4-3, 1-6-1b, 7-1-2 PENALTIES 2 & 3, 7-4-4
2024 SOFTBALL POINTS OF EMPHASIS
- Game Management
- Unacceptable Conditions
- Unreported vs. Illegal Substitutions
- Pitching Mechanics: Replant
NFHS
Electronic Communication Devices from Dugout to Catchers to be Permitted in High School Baseball
Submitted by bcua on Thu, 07/06/2023 - 3:05pmThe use of a one-way communication device between a coach in the dugout and a team’s catcher for the purposes of calling pitches will be permitted in high school baseball beginning in 2024.
This change to Rules 1-6-2 and 3-2-5 was one of five rules revisions approved by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Baseball Rules Committee at its June 4-6 meeting in Indianapolis. The recommendations were subsequently approved by the NFHS Board of Directors.
The new rules prohibit coaches from communicating with any other player besides the catcher on defense and with any player while batting. The coach must also be in the dugout when using the communication device.
“This change is consistent with the growth of the game and is indicative of a measured and responsible approach to enable technology into our level of competition,” said Elliot Hopkins, NFHS Director of Sports and Educational Services and liaison to the Baseball Rules Committee. “The committee has made these changes to maintain the balance between offense and defense; increase the pace of play; and will responsibly manage technology so there is no advantaged gained by schools that have more available resources than some of their contemporaries. Creating a level playing field is paramount to education-based athletics.”
Game management by umpires was addressed with a change to Rule 10-2-3h. The edit removes spectators’ behavior from the umpire-in-chief’s jurisdiction when deciding to forfeit a contest. Only infractions by players, coaches or team/bench personnel are under the umpire’s jurisdiction. The committee agreed that poor behavior by spectators should be handled by game administration.
“This change is a complementary rule to support schools’ game management role in addressing unacceptable behavior and will allow the umpire to focus on the action and players on the field,” Hopkins said.
Rule 1-6-1 was added and designates a wristband with defensive shifts, pitching choices or game directions as non-electronic equipment and must be a single, solid color and worn on the forearm. Pitchers’ cards must not be white, gray or a distracting color and worn on their non-pitching arm.
A complete listing of the baseball rules changes will be available on the NFHS website at www.nfhs.org. Click on “Activities & Sports” at the top of the home page and select “Baseball.”
According to the most recent NFHS High School Athletics Participation Survey, baseball is the fourth-most popular sport for boys with 481,004 student-athletes in 15,925 high schools nationwide. The survey also indicated that 1,156 girls across the country play high school baseball.