Umpires, Understanding Your Emotions

Umpires make hundreds of decisions or calls that are final during a ball game and in most cases the majority of them are spot on. But, I am not discussing those calls today. Today, I want to discuss what goes through the mind of an umpire when he is unclear or completely wrong when he makes a ruling on the field.  Nothing will take a big man or woman down quicker than taking a public position, then be proven wrong in front of everyone!

I want to discuss this in hopes of better understanding the process of what being wrong feels like (on a public stage), in hopes of being able to better cope with those negative and even scary feelings. Personally I believe until we acknowledge our fears we can never resolve them, move beyond them or even better learn from them. 

                               Baseball Rules in Black and White

The first thoughts to enter an umpire’s mind when he makes an incorrect call is to immediately begin replaying what he just saw and ruled. Secondly, the umpire will begin processing a half dozen or more other options that he could have ruled. The umpire knows he has one second or less before the coach who has bagged on his strike zone all game comes out to have a not so friendly chat about the call.

An umpire will always be the first to know when he has made an incorrect or questionable call, the bigger issue becomes who will be the second to know. If no one notices you may get lucky, but no one is always that lucky.

As the irate coach is approaching, the normal emotions trying to consume an umpire are fight or flight, but you as the umpire are not going anywhere. Obviously physical fighting is out, so you must use words to defend yourself. You must communicate your position (using the fewest words possible) regarding the call. No one ever said defending an indefensible position was easy.  The more efficient (using the fewest words possible) and honest you can be while communicating your position, the less bloody and beaten your ego will be.

I have a hunch that really great umpires learn more from getting a call wrong than they ever did from getting a call right.

This post is brought to you by Baseball Rules in Black and White, a "better way to learn and apply the rules of baseball".  

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