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Los Gatos Little LeagueYouth Umpire Training Guide
▪ Little League Strike Zone
▪ Plate Positioning
▪ Base Umpire Set Position
▪ Signaling
▪ Umpire Positioning
▪ Baseball Rule Myths
▪ Resources
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Remember!!...If any part of the ball touches any part of the strike zone…it is a strike.
Little League Strike Zone
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Plate Positioning – Feet & The Slot
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Plate Positioning - Front View
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Plate Positioning - Side View
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Plate Positioning - Top View
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Base Umpire Set Position
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Umpire Signaling – “The Basic Six”
▪ Strike
▪ Ball
▪ Foul
▪ Time
▪ Safe
▪ Out
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Umpire Signaling – Strike
▪ Stand up
▪ Wait 1 -2 seconds
▪ Arm high
▪ Facing pitcher
▪ Be heard (unless swinging strike)
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Umpire Signaling – Ball
▪ Remain set
▪ Wait 1 -2 seconds
▪ Vocalize
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Umpire Signaling – Foul
▪ Usually plate umpire
▪ Stand up
▪ Reach up with both hands
▪ Be heard (unless obvious)
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Umpire Signaling – Time
▪ Same mechanic as calling “Foul”
▪ Either plate or base umpire
▪ Be heard
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Umpire Signaling – Safe
▪ Usually base umpire
▪ Stand up
▪ Stretch arms wide
▪ Vocalize if close play
▪ Back to set position
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Umpire Signaling – Out
▪ Both umpires
▪ Same mechanic as “Strike”
▪ Vocalize if close play
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Umpire Signaling – Play!*
▪ Wait until pitcher touches pitching plate
▪ Point at pitcher
▪ Vocalize “Play!” (if needed)
▪ Remember to use this after all foul balls and time outs
*An important and underutilized signal
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Baseball Rule Myths▪ “Hands are part of the bat”
– The hands are not part of the bat; they are part of the batter.
If a pitched ball hits the batter's hands while trying to avoid
being hit, you have a batter hit-by-pitch. The ball is dead and
the batter is awarded first base. If the batter is swinging at the
pitch when hit, you do not have hit-by-pitch. You have a
strike. The ball is dead, but there is no base award; and, if it's
strike three, the batter is out.
▪ “Batter overrunning first base must turn right”
– Batter may turn in any direction as long as he or she returns
immediately to 1st with no intent to go to 2nd.
▪ “Ball is dead on a foul tip”
– Ball nicked by bat and going directly into catcher’s glove is
live, just like any other strike.
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Baseball Rule Myths▪ “When bunting, bat must be pulled out of strike zone to avoid a
called strike”
– For a bunt to be a called strike, there must be an effort to
intentionally meet the ball with the bat.
▪ “If a batted ball hits home plate, it's a foul ball.”
– Home plate is fair territory, as are the foul lines and first and third bases. A batted ball striking home plate is like any other batted ball and has no bearing on the determination of fair or foul.
▪ “The batter is not awarded first base if hit by a pitch after it bounces.”
– Hit-by-pitch is hit-by-pitch. So long as the batter is not swinging at the pitch, he is awarded first base if touched by a pitched ball. All of the normal features of the hit-by-pitch rule apply when the pitch bounces first.
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Baseball Rule Myths▪ “Tie goes to the runner”
– There is no such rule. The umpire must judge whether
runner is out or safe.
▪ “Runner must slide when play at base or plate is close”
– There is no “must slide” rule. Runner must slide or try to get
around the fielder making the tag.
▪ “Home plate umpire can overrule a base umpire”
– The umpire who made the call can ask for help but doesn’t
have to.
– No umpire shall criticize, seek to reverse, or interfere with
another umpire’s decision unless asked to do so by the
umpire who made the original call.
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Umpire Resources
Rules quiz site #1:
http://www.thetasoft.com/quiz/quiz.aspx
Rules quiz site #2:
http://www.littleleagueu.org/quiz/2016/06/02/LLU+Umpire+Quiz+101
Little League Umpire Resource Center:
http://www.littleleagueu.org/search#user_type=umpire
More Little League Rules Myths:
http://www.llumpires.com/rules/myths.html