Umpire

Several people often misconceive softball as being an effortless, female dominated sport that requires little to no skill. Some say that softball is just a sport in which you hit the ball and run through bases trying not to get out. People who have never played softball, let alone any other sport, will say that softball is made easier for females. Before I began to play softball, I too speculated that softball was one of the most basic sports there was. Speaking from experience, softball is…

off the bag when they have the ball to allow the base to protect them from a potential take out slide from the runner. "If, in the judgment of the umpire, a base runner willfully and deliberately interferes with a batted ball or a fielder in the act of fielding a batted ball with the obvious intent to break up a double play, the ball is dead. The umpire shall call the runner out for interference and also call out the batter-runner because of the action of his teammate. In no event may bases be…

be the last. I vowed to myself that if I managed to make it through the game alive, I would never umpire again. “I’ll give you five dollars if you umpire the plate for the second game,” I said to Nate. He looked back at me and said with his usual cocksure attitude, “I wouldn’t umpire the plate for this second game if Hell froze over, It’s already 95 degrees outside.” We were getting ready to umpire the second game of a little league double header. My body ached…

myself. One example of this was when I was tasked with learning to umpire. I had played baseball since before T-Ball, and I had always enjoyed watching baseball with my family whenever it was on.…

The game begins, first pitch “strike one” yells the umpire. The crowed starts cheering and my energy level starts to rise higher, I can feel the energy start to take over my legs. The crowd keeps cheering, I jump out of my seat and run over to the dugout to speak the coach. Coach “number 8 is the girl that hits deep to right field but, swings at high pitches”. The coach sends the signal to the pitcher “Strike two” yells the umpire. By this time the aroma of popcorn, nachos, hot dogs and peanuts…

What exactly is adversity? The definition in Webster’s is adverse or unfavorable fortune or fate. For me, it's being able to get through each day with Tourette’s syndrome. This syndrome is a struggle every day and there are days and different situations worse than others. Dealing with this is difficult but manageable with the right attitude. This disease has taught me a variety of different things and helped me become competent in many life situations. Tourette’s affects me in many different…

softball game and then proved some rational on things that I would have like to see done differently. At the event I counted two employees who were working the event. I introduced myself to them and asked why there were only two people working and not umpires for the game. They informed me that the summer leagues are a lot slower than the fall and spring leagues and therefore did not require as much help. I feel that their main concerns were to make sure that each team got properly checked in…

they think the umpire got wrong. If a manager challenges a call, the umpires are required to look over the call once more with help from a specially trained umpire team in New York through a headset. As stated in a report by Fox Sports, "Baseball, which always has one eye to the past, was successfully looking into its future. And then replay came along." Ever since its creation, baseball has never had a replay/challenge rule. The game was working fine without it. The way the umpire called the…

just taken a dunk in the community pool across the park. The game was just about to begin; my team and I were eagle eyeing the opposing team, otherwise known as “The Bomb Squad.” It was so quiet that I could hear my own sweat hitting the bench. The umpire broke up everyone’s concentration by yelling, “Play Ball!” We were considered the home team, and our defense stormed the cherished diamond. After nodding off the first three signals from the catcher, Nate went into his wind up throwing a…

“That’s ball four,” the umpire called. I sighed, watching the runners advance to the next base on the field. I tossed the softball into my right hand, getting ready for my next pitch. I swung my right arm back, forward and around my head, finally releasing the ball with my fingertips as I had been taught. I watched as the ball spun in the air, travelling higher and higher, and then as it dropped behind the umpire. “Ball one,” the umpire exclaimed. Three pitches later, the batter walked to first…