Base Umpiring
As a base umpire, you have several responsibilities involving runners and fielders. But your #1 responsibility is calling runners out or safe.
If you are a beginning Little League umpire (0 – 2 years experience) and plan to umpire 10 – 12 year olds, I recommend that you first gain experience umpiring the bases before progressing to home plate.
Most people find home plate to be more challenging given the constant scrutiny of each pitch and the physical demands of crouching behind the catcher to call balls and strikes. Experience at the bases provides a great, initial introduction to umpiring techniques, the rules of baseball and will prepare you to umpire home plate.
The guidance that follows includes how to umpire with others as a team. It is based on an established, simplified approach to base umpiring that is well suited for beginning umpires and consistent with more advanced approaches used by veteran Little League umpires.
Follow the answers to these questions and you'll be on your way to umpiring the bases like a pro!
Learn the Base Umpire essentials
- Where do I stand at the start of each play?
- Which bases and runners am I responsible for?
- How do I get into position to make the call on a runner?
- How do I call a runner out or safe?
Expand your game with advanced Base Umpire techniques
- Besides out and safe calls - what are my other responsibilities?
- What are the main differences between umpiring baseball and softball?
- How do I spot and enforce obstruction and interference violations?
- How do I stay in synch and communicate with other umpires during the game?
Definitions from the Little League Rule Book and terms used on this site.
LL101 Site Glossary Version 5.pdf
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