Personal Ref Performance Eval

[jCast]

K365 Open was a fantastic tournament and I was happy to have been able ref the plate from start to finish. I've been doing this reffing gig for the last eight tournaments and have never really touched on performance or input about performance on the boards. I approach these tournaments with the intention of doing my best to be fair, accurate, and firm so that you--the players--can have the best game experience possible with a solid foundation of trust. That being said, I'd like to know what you all think about the job that I'm doing. If I'm doing a great job, I'd love to hear it. If I should die in a fire, if you can provide matches, that could be something to work on.

I'm open to comments, critique, and (dare I say it) praise. I find it important to know where I am doing well and where I can be doing better. So please, rattle off whatever you feel--I can take it. Any and all feedback is appreciated.

[machinegunkelly]

sure thing........i as pitcher thought in pool play your strike zone was to small, but it was consistent!....in the elims rounds your strike was much bigger and also very consistent. I like that u would confirm the close calls w the other umps and did ur best to get the call right.....

[antw00]

JCast, I like your decisiveness. I thought there were pitches that would catch the outside of the strike zone that you called balls, but other than that, very fair and honest. Just make sure you are always in the best position to see plays. Like for instance, I hate when the head ref is 20 feet behind the plate calling a foul ball on the 3rd base line. My beef is with almost every first base ref. But good job brother

[JohnPWilks]

K365 Open was a fantastic tournament and I was happy to have been able ref the plate from start to finish. I've been doing this reffing gig for the last eight tournaments and have never really touched on performance or input about performance on the boards. I approach these tournaments with the intention of doing my best to be fair, accurate, and firm so that you--the players--can have the best game experience possible with a solid foundation of trust. That being said, I'd like to know what you all think about the job that I'm doing. If I'm doing a great job, I'd love to hear it. If I should die in a fire, if you can provide matches, that could be something to work on.

I'm open to comments, critique, and (dare I say it) praise. I find it important to know where I am doing well and where I can be doing better. So please, rattle off whatever you feel--I can take it. Any and all feedback is appreciated.

This goes for me as well. I always welcome and encourage criticism or feedback.

[chaz]

sure thing........i as pitcher thought in pool play your strike zone was to small, but it was consistent!....in the elims rounds your strike was much bigger and also very consistent. I like that u would confirm the close calls w the other umps and did ur best to get the call right.....

I agree with Matt. Only thing you could have done better was listened to the 3rd base ump in the finals on my kick.

You are very consistent, strong and fair. I thank you again for spending your day in the heat so we can play. Especially when people are yelling in your ear (VIDF) all day!

[antw00]

thank you again for spending your day in the heat so we can play. Especially when people are yelling in your ear (VIDF) all day!

That wasn't us!!! . We heckle Jason out of love

[jCast]

sure thing........i as pitcher thought in pool play your strike zone was to small, but it was consistent!....in the elims rounds your strike was much bigger and also very consistent. I like that u would confirm the close calls w the other umps and did ur best to get the call right.....

I agree with Matt. Only thing you could have done better was listened to the 3rd base ump in the finals on my kick.

You are very consistent, strong and fair. I thank you again for spending your day in the heat so we can play. Especially when people are yelling in your ear (VIDF) all day!

Chaz, the 3rd base ref said he didn't see where the ball had landed and deferred to me (at least that's what I recall). By default I defer to whatever the line refs see unless there is a gross disparity between their view and I what I see. Had he said that the ball at all landed fair from his view, the call would have absolutely gone your way.

However, I will admit that I was not lined up with the baseline to ensure that the call I made was precise. From my vantage point it did look legitimately foul, but I was on an angle and it very well may have been touching the line as MBK pointed out during the game. Unfortunately, there was no other official with a good view to verify with and I would be left taking a team captain at his word. In the future, I need to get my ass on that line to remove any shadow of doubt.

The feedback has been helpful thus far, guys! Keep it coming!

[chaz]

sure thing........i as pitcher thought in pool play your strike zone was to small, but it was consistent!....in the elims rounds your strike was much bigger and also very consistent. I like that u would confirm the close calls w the other umps and did ur best to get the call right.....

I agree with Matt. Only thing you could have done better was listened to the 3rd base ump in the finals on my kick.

You are very consistent, strong and fair. I thank you again for spending your day in the heat so we can play. Especially when people are yelling in your ear (VIDF) all day!

Chaz, the 3rd base ref said he didn't see where the ball had landed and deferred to me (at least that's what I recall). By default I defer to whatever the line refs see unless there is a gross disparity between their view and I what I see. Had he said that the ball at all landed fair from his view, the call would have absolutely gone your way.

However, I will admit that I was not lined up with the baseline to ensure that the call I made was precise. From my vantage point it did look legitimately foul, but I was on an angle and it very well may have been touching the line as MBK pointed out during the game. Unfortunately, there was no other official with a good view to verify with and I would be left taking a team captain at his word. In the future, I need to get my ass on that line to remove any shadow of doubt.

The feedback has been helpful thus far, guys! Keep it coming!

I was told the 3rd base ref called it fair right away. Again, no big deal. You do a great job. It's all good (unless that cost us the game). I kid, I kid!!

[shaboomsinurpussay]

admin is probably the absolute worst ref ive seen to date....every single call he made,every single play we played i wanted to switch out refs.....even after my homer....

we need instant replay

and the halfway rule is funny when the refs arent sure what it is....just keep your composure and insist its a rule

[JellyDogg]

I can't believe you called IB for kicking outside the box. You should die, but probably not in a fire since it was a correct call. Maybe something quick like a parachute not opening.

[chaz]

I can't believe you called IB for kicking outside the box. You should die, but probably not in a fire since it was a correct call. Maybe something quick like a parachute not opening.

Same thing happened to BK in Atlanta.

[jCast]

I can't believe you called IB for kicking outside the box. You should die, but probably not in a fire since it was a correct call. Maybe something quick like a parachute not opening.

Same thing happened to BK in Atlanta.

Yeah, but I hear the guy that made THAT call was a real asshole.

[Pobbie4]

JCast you did a great job all day. Your zone was consistent and you were able to maintain it from 9a-whatever time the finals ended. You stayed in control of every game, which is hard the closer to the finals the tournament gets. I am glad we all learned from VBKO and what the second bounce has to do through the kicking zone!

JPW we only had you against FL and you were professional, extremely knowledgable, and kept the game moving the best you could. The changes in personnel that both teams were making were unavoidable at that point in the game/tournament.

Aljay had a good day for his first event. He gained confidence with each inning and adapted to the slight rule changes from what he is used to quickly.

Umpiring is not easy, not every call is going to be correct. You guys are under the microscope, especially with Fro walking around with his camera. There were multiple calls that could have gone either way but there was not the one obviously missed call that changed a game.

[chaz]

I can't believe you called IB for kicking outside the box. You should die, but probably not in a fire since it was a correct call. Maybe something quick like a parachute not opening.

Same thing happened to BK in Atlanta.

Yeah, but I hear the guy that made THAT call was a real asshole.

Agreed.

[JellyDogg]

I can't believe you called IB for kicking outside the box. You should die, but probably not in a fire since it was a correct call. Maybe something quick like a parachute not opening.

Same thing happened to BK in Atlanta.

Yeah, but I hear the guy that made THAT call was a real asshole.

BK was farther out of the box, which makes that call more correcter and less worthy of death.

[jCast]

I can't believe you called IB for kicking outside the box. You should die, but probably not in a fire since it was a correct call. Maybe something quick like a parachute not opening.

Same thing happened to BK in Atlanta.

Yeah, but I hear the guy that made THAT call was a real asshole.

BK was farther out of the box, which makes that call more correcter and less worthy of death.

He must have been...I saw that all the way from VA Beach.

[JohnPWilks]

I can't believe you called IB for kicking outside the box. You should die, but probably not in a fire since it was a correct call. Maybe something quick like a parachute not opening.

Same thing happened to BK in Atlanta.

Yeah, but I hear the guy that made THAT call was a real asshole.

BK was farther out of the box, which makes that call more correcter and less worthy of death.

That call in Atl, was so correct, I called from Norfolk while watching it on UStream. Then Krystle told me to shut up and stop reffing a game when I'm not even in the same state.

[-TK-]

I can't believe you called IB for kicking outside the box. You should die, but probably not in a fire since it was a correct call. Maybe something quick like a parachute not opening.

Same thing happened to BK in Atlanta.

Yeah, but I hear the guy that made THAT call was a real asshole.

BK was farther out of the box, which makes that call more correcter and less worthy of death.

That call in Atl, was so correct, I called from Norfolk while watching it on UStream. Then Krystle told me to shut up and stop reffing a game when I'm not even in the same state.

Why hasn't a video of that kick been posted yet? I'd love to see it (BK at GKO).

[-TK-]

Jcast, I think you did great. BUT, I do think that you should have discussed with your 3rd base ref before ruling Chaz's ball foul. His arm went fair immediately, he called it fair right away and you over-ruled him without discussion. His response, you had a better angle, which- 20 ft back from home plate, was not the case- your angle was worse then his.

Other than that.. you did great. The first base ref on the other hand all day. Does anyone know why he was chosen to ref the finals?

[MEATBALLKEVIN]

great topic!

A. The first base ump MUST be in the field of play. You can not possibly make the right call as a 1st base ump by being behind the first baseman or up the line. You can not see the ball get in to the first baseman hands when you are looking at his back. Being in the infield allows the ump to see the runner and first baseman catching the ball clearly. Its sometimes a tough call but when the ump is behind the play its bull shit.

B. If there is a 3rd base ump he should make the call on a ball being foul or fair in the outfield ESPECIALLY when there are clean painted lines. There are certain things a home plate (head ump) can over rule,thats not one of them IMO

C. Home plate umps need to learn what 1 ft on each side of the plate is.

[Dematas]

sure thing........i as pitcher thought in pool play your strike zone was to small, but it was consistent!....in the elims rounds your strike was much bigger and also very consistent. I like that u would confirm the close calls w the other umps and did ur best to get the call right.....

I agree with Matt. Only thing you could have done better was listened to the 3rd base ump in the finals on my kick.

You are very consistent, strong and fair. I thank you again for spending your day in the heat so we can play. Especially when people are yelling in your ear (VIDF) all day!

Chaz, the 3rd base ref said he didn't see where the ball had landed and deferred to me (at least that's what I recall). By default I defer to whatever the line refs see unless there is a gross disparity between their view and I what I see. Had he said that the ball at all landed fair from his view, the call would have absolutely gone your way.

However, I will admit that I was not lined up with the baseline to ensure that the call I made was precise. From my vantage point it did look legitimately foul, but I was on an angle and it very well may have been touching the line as MBK pointed out during the game. Unfortunately, there was no other official with a good view to verify with and I would be left taking a team captain at his word. In the future, I need to get my ass on that line to remove any shadow of doubt.

The feedback has been helpful thus far, guys! Keep it coming!

I would like to know what he was doing reffing third then if he didn't see the play

[Dematas]

great topic!

A. The first base ump MUST be in the field of play. You can not possibly make the right call as a 1st base ump by being behind the first baseman or up the line. You can not see the ball get in to the first baseman hands when you are looking at his back. Being in the infield allows the ump to see the runner and first baseman catching the ball clearly. Its sometimes a tough call but when the ump is behind the play its bull shit.

B. If there is a 3rd base ump he should make the call on a ball being foul or fair in the outfield ESPECIALLY when there are clean painted lines. There are certain things a home plate (head ump) can over rule,thats not one of them IMO

C. Home plate umps need to learn what 1 ft on each side of the plate is.

You are right on the money here.

[MEATBALLKEVIN]

Umping is all about angles and how you position yourself. What you all saw on a shitty Ustream video on a laptap filmed from BEHIND home plate gives you no right to make a call! If you were actual players you would understand more. You all are programed in a different way, which is fine. But it doesnt make you right .

[Dematas]

Umping is all about angles and how you position yourself. What you all saw on a shitty Ustream video on a laptap filmed from BEHIND home plate gives you no right to make a call! If you were actual players you would understand more. You all are programed in a different way, which is fine. But it doesnt make you right .

I sure hope to be playing in the final four and finals soon, but if we don't make it, I am more than willing to ref.

[MEATBALLKEVIN]

sure thing........i as pitcher thought in pool play your strike zone was to small, but it was consistent!....in the elims rounds your strike was much bigger and also very consistent. I like that u would confirm the close calls w the other umps and did ur best to get the call right.....

I agree with Matt. Only thing you could have done better was listened to the 3rd base ump in the finals on my kick.

You are very consistent, strong and fair. I thank you again for spending your day in the heat so we can play. Especially when people are yelling in your ear (VIDF) all day!

Chaz, the 3rd base ref said he didn't see where the ball had landed and deferred to me (at least that's what I recall). By default I defer to whatever the line refs see unless there is a gross disparity between their view and I what I see. Had he said that the ball at all landed fair from his view, the call would have absolutely gone your way.

However, I will admit that I was not lined up with the baseline to ensure that the call I made was precise. From my vantage point it did look legitimately foul, but I was on an angle and it very well may have been touching the line as MBK pointed out during the game. Unfortunately, there was no other official with a good view to verify with and I would be left taking a team captain at his word. In the future, I need to get my ass on that line to remove any shadow of doubt.

The feedback has been helpful thus far, guys! Keep it coming!

I would like to know what he was doing reffing third then if he didn't see the play

He clearly saw the ball land because he IMMEDIATELY pointed in to fair territory. He just had no spine and didnt stand by his call when Jcast questioned it.

[Dematas]

Why would the home plate ref question that call, doesn't make sense to me if that happened.

[MEATBALLKEVIN]

Why would the home plate ref question that call, doesn't make sense to me if that happened.

It happened . Not sure why,but it did.

[-TK-]

sure thing........i as pitcher thought in pool play your strike zone was to small, but it was consistent!....in the elims rounds your strike was much bigger and also very consistent. I like that u would confirm the close calls w the other umps and did ur best to get the call right.....

I agree with Matt. Only thing you could have done better was listened to the 3rd base ump in the finals on my kick.

You are very consistent, strong and fair. I thank you again for spending your day in the heat so we can play. Especially when people are yelling in your ear (VIDF) all day!

Chaz, the 3rd base ref said he didn't see where the ball had landed and deferred to me (at least that's what I recall). By default I defer to whatever the line refs see unless there is a gross disparity between their view and I what I see. Had he said that the ball at all landed fair from his view, the call would have absolutely gone your way.

However, I will admit that I was not lined up with the baseline to ensure that the call I made was precise. From my vantage point it did look legitimately foul, but I was on an angle and it very well may have been touching the line as MBK pointed out during the game. Unfortunately, there was no other official with a good view to verify with and I would be left taking a team captain at his word. In the future, I need to get my ass on that line to remove any shadow of doubt.

The feedback has been helpful thus far, guys! Keep it coming!

I would like to know what he was doing reffing third then if he didn't see the play

He was firm in his call until Jcast called it foul. Arm went up right when it hit.

[jCast]

Why would the home plate ref question that call, doesn't make sense to me if that happened.

I didn't question the call but rather whether or not he had seen anything to begin with. I didn't even WANT to make that call, but he gave every indication (at least to me) that he didn't see what happened. At that point, someone had to make a call. It could very well have been poor communication as MBK seems to have gotten more from the line ref than I did.

[admin]

Umping is all about angles and how you position yourself. What you all saw on a shitty Ustream video on a laptap filmed from BEHIND home plate gives you no right to make a call! If you were actual players you would understand more. You all are programed in a different way, which is fine. But it doesnt make you right .

Hence the need for REF HELMET CAMS...

[MEATBALLKEVIN]

Why would the home plate ref question that call, doesn't make sense to me if that happened.

I didn't question the call but rather whether or not he had seen anything to begin with. I didn't even WANT to make that call, but he gave every indication (at least to me) that he didn't see what happened. At that point, someone had to make a call. It could very well have been poor communication as MBK seems to have gotten more from the line ref than I did.

He put his arm up and made it clear it was a fair ball within 1 second of it landing.

[jCast]

He was firm in his call until Jcast called it foul. Arm went up right when it hit.

If that's the case, then I'll take that on board. I should have been in a position where I could see my guy from start to finish, although it can be a bit difficult when peering through people on the sidelines and base coaches. Regardless, that's something I'll be working on in the future. I honestly had no idea I was overruling his call. Hell with all that booing, the less I was part of the game, the happier I was.

[Dematas]

Why would the home plate ref question that call, doesn't make sense to me if that happened.

I didn't question the call but rather whether or not he had seen anything to begin with. I didn't even WANT to make that call, but he gave every indication (at least to me) that he didn't see what happened. At that point, someone had to make a call. It could very well have been poor communication as MBK seems to have gotten more from the line ref than I did.

Either way, it isn't your fault. That is his call all the way and for him to put you into that situation is just terrible of him.

[Dematas]

He was firm in his call until Jcast called it foul. Arm went up right when it hit.

If that's the case, then I'll take that on board. I should have been in a position where I could see my guy from start to finish, although it can be a bit difficult when peering through people on the sidelines and base coaches. Regardless, that's something I'll be working on in the future. I honestly had no idea I was overruling his call. Hell with all that booing, the less I was part of the game, the happier I was.

I always ask home plate refs, why do you all stand so far back anyway?

[jCast]

He was firm in his call until Jcast called it foul. Arm went up right when it hit.

If that's the case, then I'll take that on board. I should have been in a position where I could see my guy from start to finish, although it can be a bit difficult when peering through people on the sidelines and base coaches. Regardless, that's something I'll be working on in the future. I honestly had no idea I was overruling his call. Hell with all that booing, the less I was part of the game, the happier I was.

I always ask home plate refs, why do you all stand so far back anyway?

Because it makes us look emo and ironic.

Moving to the line each time hasn't become mechanical for me as of yet. After that game though, its going to real quick.

Sent from my dope Android phone using Tapatalk.

[Dematas]

He was firm in his call until Jcast called it foul. Arm went up right when it hit.

If that's the case, then I'll take that on board. I should have been in a position where I could see my guy from start to finish, although it can be a bit difficult when peering through people on the sidelines and base coaches. Regardless, that's something I'll be working on in the future. I honestly had no idea I was overruling his call. Hell with all that booing, the less I was part of the game, the happier I was.

I always ask home plate refs, why do you all stand so far back anyway?

Because it makes us look emo and ironic.

Moving to the line each time hasn't become mechanical for me as of yet. After that game though, its going to real quick.

Sent from my dope Android phone using Tapatalk.

Sounds good and I think you all do a heck of a job.

[-TK-]

He was firm in his call until Jcast called it foul. Arm went up right when it hit.

If that's the case, then I'll take that on board. I should have been in a position where I could see my guy from start to finish, although it can be a bit difficult when peering through people on the sidelines and base coaches. Regardless, that's something I'll be working on in the future. I honestly had no idea I was overruling his call. Hell with all that booing, the less I was part of the game, the happier I was.

I always ask home plate refs, why do you all stand so far back anyway?

Because it makes us look emo and ironic.

Moving to the line each time hasn't become mechanical for me as of yet. After that game though, its going to real quick.

Sent from my dope Android phone using Tapatalk.

Sounds good and I think you all do a heck of a job.

Stop sucking up.. It won't help you with the calls... Hell, I even walked with him to the M&G and he still called Chaz's fair ball foul!

Jk jk I cannot confirm nor deny it was foul

[Catch-22]

Three thoughts on the reffing:

1) I just want to say that without a doubt this was the best reffed tourney I've ever played in. There were no game-changing missed calls in any of the 8 games I played in, which is a first for a tournament for me frankly. It's not to say that every call was correct, but I don't think anyone can expect perfection. There's no instant replay and on some bang-bang plays or potential foul balls, there are going to be close calls. But overall, a fantastic job, I think.

2) I think something that helped the reffing this tourney too came from the players' side in that players are getting really familiar with the rules, including the gutshot ones, like being called for being out of the kicker's box. We got called for that against FL and had two runs wiped off the board when we were trying to come back. pDunc got called for it in the final, I believe. But I think they were both the right call, so you can't really be pissed about it.

3) The only rule that I thought could have been called more consistently was the first baseman taking his foot off the base call. Some refs seem to call it where the first baseman only needs to have his foot there for an instant and others seem to require the first baseman to really almost keep it there the whole time to get the out. It'd be nice if the at the ref meeting before a tourney, whoever is in charge of that could just make sure all the refs are on the same page.

[Trey it Up]

I thought the reffing was pretty bad overall--especially at 1B. I couldn't tell you how many times we got hosed by the 1B refs. I kept hoping for a make-up call or two, but unfortunately this tournament we didn't get anything to go our way.

Our first game against OSC we kept asking the ref to watch for catcher encroachment, as the OSC catcher was often a full step in front of our bunters. It kept going on and on throughout the game. In the 5th inning the ref asked one of our players what encroachment meant.

J-Cast, as far as criticism of you:
*I agree that you are very fair and consistent, but like others have mentioned your strikezone is about 3-4 inches too small.
*Also, Chaz's kick was clearly fair (from the stands). I think you were just out of position to see it. It's one of those plays that if you're not 100% convinced it's foul, let if play out and confer with your other refs after the play. Which brings me to another point...
*Confer with your other refs more often. You have the ability to overturn plays--especially egregious ones. While you might not have the best angle from 1B, you often have a better angle than a 1B ref who is out of position to see a play. Tyler getting called out in the 1st inning of the iB game likely cost us the game. There's picture evidence of him a full step past the base before the ball got to the first baseman. While I don't fault you for the call, you knew as well as everyone else (literally everyone else, including iB players) that he was safe. Not overturning an obvious call like that unfortunately set the tone for the game.

[jCast]

C. Home plate umps need to learn what 1 ft on each side of the plate is.

I will admit, this has been tough when there hasn't been painted or taped lines to define the strike zone. I typically try to envision a width that looks right and then go by that when I have no physical markings to depend on. Since consensus seems to be that my strike zone is a little tight, perhaps I should just add +2 by default to kind of balance it out.