Ever wonder what an umpire's thinking? What IS an umpire's strike zone supposed to be? Here's your chance to find out. Brandon Jackson, a long-time and well-respected collegiate umpire, explains umpiring philosophies and goes through some commonly misunderstood baseball rules that you might need to know someday.
Plus Justin Stone of elitebaseball.tv answers the Question Of The Week about whether the tennis swing will ruin a baseball swing.
In this 55-minute episode, you'll learn:
- whether umpires view regular season games differently from playoff games
- how batting out of order should be handled
- what it means to run out of the baseline
- what the "runner's lane" means along the first base line
- where exactly is the top and bottom of the strike zone
- why the low strike is challenging for umps to call accurately and consistently
- why the outside strike is challenging for umps to call accurately and consistently
- whether the umpire should pay attention to a batted ball into the outfield, or watch baserunners
- a couple different ways for the defense to make an appeal
- whether the umpire should get out from behind the backstop to see plays
- whether Brandon thinks teams should teach fielders how to stop runners or have league-mandated rules on the subject
- an idea to help coaches understand umpires more empathetically
- whether "make up calls" actually exist
- whether umps have a bias against coaches they don't get along with
- whether umpires give more favorable calls to coaches who try to be extra friendly
- Justin Stone's EliteBaseball.tv, which is free to try for 48 hours.
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