Los Gatos Little LeagueYouth Umpire Training Guide

▪ Little League Strike Zone

▪ Plate Positioning

▪ Base Umpire Set Position

▪ Signaling

▪ Umpire Positioning

▪ Baseball Rule Myths

▪ Resources

Remember!!...If any part of the ball touches any part of the strike zone…it is a strike.

Little League Strike Zone

Plate Positioning – Feet & The Slot

Plate Positioning - Front View

Plate Positioning - Side View

Plate Positioning - Top View

Base Umpire Set Position

Umpire Signaling – “The Basic Six”

▪ Strike

▪ Ball

▪ Foul

▪ Time

▪ Safe

▪ Out

Umpire Signaling – Strike

▪ Stand up

▪ Wait 1 -2 seconds

▪ Arm high

▪ Facing pitcher

▪ Be heard (unless swinging strike)

Umpire Signaling – Ball

▪ Remain set

▪ Wait 1 -2 seconds

▪ Vocalize

Umpire Signaling – Foul

▪ Usually plate umpire

▪ Stand up

▪ Reach up with both hands

▪ Be heard (unless obvious)

Umpire Signaling – Time

▪ Same mechanic as calling “Foul”

▪ Either plate or base umpire

▪ Be heard

Umpire Signaling – Safe

▪ Usually base umpire

▪ Stand up

▪ Stretch arms wide

▪ Vocalize if close play

▪ Back to set position

Umpire Signaling – Out

▪ Both umpires

▪ Same mechanic as “Strike”

▪ Vocalize if close play

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

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.

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.

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.

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