My favorite part of the old Esquire magazine was the "What I've Learned" column, where the magazine interviewed celebrities or well-known people, and those people would reveal, well, what they've learned over the years.
You can read more about them here.
For example, from Dan Aykroyd, Saturday Night Live alumnus and Blues Brothers band member: "You can never spend enough time with your children. You can never listen to them enough, give them enough focus and attention. Accept their advice and their criticism. You can never do that enough."
Or Author Stephen King: "I have to work every day because I have to keep it fresh. If you take a few days off, it all starts to look kind of tacky—like an old campaign poster that’s running in the rain."
So, that inspired me to jot down what I've learned in 34 years of umpiring. Some of it might be helpful, some might not. But here it is, in no particular order:
Nothing beats working hard. Nothing. Of course, there's a lot that goes into that. Hard work means you focus on every pitch. It means you study your rule book and position manual. It means you hustle everywhere you go.
Don't beat yourself up when you make mistakes. You're human, and it's going to happen. Easier said than done, I know. But as long as you learn from it, it's actually a good thing. I've often told young umpires I got to where I am because I've messed up almost every rule in the book. But I learned from those mistakes.
Why do you umpire? That will be different for everyone. For me, it's the challenge. I like trying to be perfect, knowing it's never going to happen. I like seeing if I can handle 90-plus MPH pitches and game management issues that crop up. And umpiring is fun. It's always been fun. When it's not fun, I'll stop doing it.
And the friendships. My goodness, the friendships. I've met some amazing people over the years, from all parts of the world, thanks to umpiring. I am so grateful for that.
Baseball players, even the very good ones, don't always make the playoffs. But once you're a pretty decent umpire, you get the playoffs and the big games. Every year.
There is nothing better than seeing a young umpire who is really good and who really wants to learn. That is so rewarding, knowing that you might play a small part in fueling that passion, and in making them a better umpire.
Listen to supervisors, clinicians, mentors, and trainers. They really are trying to make you better. They're not giving up their weekend just so they can boss people around or look good in front of people who don't know as much as them. They are really, honestly, trying to make you a better umpire.
That being said, not everything they say will be something you can use. Figure out what works for you and use that.
Ask questions. Wonder why. Ask "What if?" Early in my career, I might have a play at first base, for example, where there was an overthrow and the ball stayed in play. But I would ask myself "What if the ball stuck in the fence? What's the rule?" Stuff like that. And if I didn't know, I would look it up later. And if I couldn't find it, I would ask someone I trusted.
Be afraid. Maybe it doesn't work for you, but fear is a great motivator for me. I am very, very afraid of screwing up in front of two teams and whatever fans are there. It's embarrassing. So I try to focus and concentrate, and prepare myself for anything that could happen. I'm ready.
Want to really learn a rule? Then make a presentation to a group. If you have to teach the designated hitter rule to a group of 20 experienced umpires, you'll make sure you learn it inside out so you don't embarrass yourself.
Call strikes. Oh my God, call strikes! At every level short of professional, your default should always be "strike." If it's close and you're honestly not sure whether it's a strike or not, then call it a strike.
It's only a game. Never forget that. But it's also a game that is very important to those people involved in it. Even if it's 13-0, players will get very upset if you mess up. It's OK for them to joke around when they're down 13-0, but they won't let you get away with it.
Don't compare yourself to other umpires. Don't begrudge another umpire getting the big game, or more games than you, or whatever it is. Be happy for them. You can't control what happens to other people. You can only control yourself, and how you react to things. If you're not getting the assignments you think you deserve, ask your assignor, or supervisor, or peer. Hopefully, they'll give you an honest answer and you'll know what you need to work on.
Like I said before, it's a game. So if you're supervising or mentoring another umpire, remember the big picture. Don't focus on the small thing. Is it really important right now that their voice isn't loud enough? Be positive. Be constructive, be helpful. They might remember your harsh, unnecessary criticism forever. And it might be a factor in them deciding not to umpire any more. But they also might remember your positive feedback and how you made umpiring fun and made them feel good about themselves. Which would you rather they remembered?
There are more. Hundreds more. But that would take too long. What are some of your "What I've learned" items? Send them to umpirementors@gmail.com and we'll print the best in a future column.
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