Baseball umpires are charged with running a game and making decisions fairly. An umpire has to know and administer the rules, call balls and strikes, make fair and foul calls, and determine whether a ball is a home run or not. When there are close calls or controversial decisions, an umpire may explain his decision but he should not engage in arguments with managers, coaches or players.
Know Rules
When the umpire steps on the field, he is the authority figure in the game of baseball. As a result, he needs to be familiar with every situation that could occur during a game and understand the rules that will have to be applied. Those rules include knowing what happens if a runner interferes with a fielder or a fielder prevents or obstructs a runner going to the next base. These rules may seem like they are equivalents, but they are applied differently. A runner who interferes with a fielder as he catches the ball or makes a throw will be declared out and the umpire may award a second out if he thinks a double play would have happened. However, if a fielder who is not directly involved in making a play gets in a base runner's way and obstructs him, the play continues to its conclusion. If the umpire believes the obstruction prevented the runner from getting to the next base, he can award that base to the runner.
Balls And Strikes
Calling balls and strikes is the primary job of the home plate umpire. He must understand the strike zone and must make all calls fairly. An umpire should not make a quick call when declaring whether the pitch was a ball or a strike. Instead, he should take a fraction of a second to consider what he is about to call. This will allow for greater consistency and will prevent coaches and players from questioning those calls. No umpire should try to "even things out" if he believes he made a mistake on a previous call. The best thing to do is to call every pitch and every play as fairly as possible.
Proper Positioning
Knowing where to stand on the field is essential for umpires. A base umpire should put himself to have the best view of the play. That is usually a position about 8 to 10 feet away from the base with an angle that allows him to look directly at the play. Standing a few feet farther away gives the umpire the proper perspective to make the call.
Demeanor
There is no reason for the umpire to engage in arguments with players, managers or coaches. The umpire's job is to make calls and keep the game going. Taking time to argue with individuals prevents the game from moving. However, there are several moments in the game that cry out for an explanation. In those cases, the umpire should take the time to listen to a manager's question and explain the decision once and move on. If the manager gets abusive, the umpire should stop the argument immediately and he can eject the manager from the premises if it is warranted.
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