Bulletin Board
Umpire Staff:
Marc Landals – UIC 234-788-7437
Tim McGoldrick – Assignor 440-570-5407
The link to the weekly pay sheet:
https://mastermindsinc.wufoo.com/forms/s1fxfdjy0pdpldo/
The above link is used to turn in your games each week. It can not be used to store the information each day and then submit at the end of the week. Please only use this link to actually submit your games for payment. We also ask that if you are a multiple week umpire that is only getting a single check for all games worked that you still submit a weekly game sheet.
*The link sometimes seems to fail to load or loads extremely slow. My advice is to try a couple
times with some patience before you start blowing up our phones*
Please arrive at your game sites 45 minutes ahead of your scheduled start. Field managers have
been instructed to verify all umpires are present and accounted for 30 minutes before game
time. If you are not there by that time they are going to be calling Tim or myself (or both
usually). If you know you will not make by ½ hour before the scheduled start please call Tim or I
so that we know the situation and pass on good information to on site staff.
All umpires are required to use the locker room to change from their street clothes. NO
DRESSING IN THE PARKING LOTS. I know some of us spend a large majority of our summers
doing tournaments where this becomes habit but we have locker rooms at all sites so let’s use
them.
Appearance is everything in our profession so we expect uniforms to be clean and unwrinkled.
A clear and informative plate meeting is a must. A large amount of the managers confusion we
see on a game to game basis, about any number of items, can be prevented by a
comprehensive and well done plate meeting. Plate umpires must keep accurate lineup cards for
both teams. This is imperative. Any weather stoppages, protests, ejections etc. will need
accurate and readable cards to help return us to play. These types of things always end up on
my desk and I need to be able to answer any and all questions with accurate information.
With that in mind, a pregame discussion with your partner before the meeting at the plate is a
valuable tool to get us on the same page with mechanics and signals.
One of the crew needs to have a timepiece but cell phones are prohibited on the field. It’s a bad look checking your phone between innings and it personally aggravates me. Official
game time starts when the first pitch is thrown, if there is any doubt about time limit being reached RHBB will defer to playing a full inning. The shootout, while in place to end games that
have reached time limit, is a tough way to end a baseball game for all concerned.
Strict enforcement of the number of warmup pitches will go along way towards keeping the
pace of play steady. It’s 8 for a new pitcher and 5 for anyone returning to the mound.
Ejections require a report to be given to field managers or one of the umpire staff ASAP.
There are buckets or boxes in each umpires room. Sun, Mon, Tues we keep the balls from the
games. After that you can give the game balls to the teams. We are trying to build a decent
used ball surplus at each location for stadium games and wet fields. Please help us out.
Last but not least, you are here because you were invited to be. Contrary to popular belief, we
do not accept any and all umpires that apply. Work hard, have fun and have a great
tournament!!
Roy Hobbs Baseball has updated its playing guidelines for the Vintage, Timeless and Forever Young divisions of the RHWS.
Vintage (65+) – No changes, just clarifications.
Timeless (70+) – Changes in participation, courtesy runner advancement, outfield rules and plays at the plate.
- Participation – in both hitting and defense in pool games is now mandatory; however players can sign off on not playing. Exception: Free Agents must play. In 2018, several teams signed multiple free agents as “insurance policies” but were severely limited in at-bats and defensive playing time. If teams are going to collect Free Agent fees, they will have to demonstrate regular playing time for Free Agents.
- Courtesy runners – If a pickoff attempt is made on a courtesy runner, that runner must retouch last legally obtained base before advancing.
- Outfield rules – Outfielders may not throw out runners at first base; however, they may force runners at all other bases.
- Plays at the Plate – All plays at the plate are force plays; no tag needed; no blocking the plate. This is a safety consideration.
Forever Young (75+) – No overall changes, except that rules are now consistent with Timeless Division in the 4 areas above.