Behind The Mask

Hello everyone, it’s that time of the year where the boys of summer take over and another baseball season is about to begin. It’s time to dust off the bleachers, grab a bag of seeds, a cold Gatorade and head to the yard.

Even after 30 years of being behind the plate, the game still excites me and the rule book always teaches me something new.

As we kick off the 2013 season, it has occurred to me that we never really explained what goes on in that meeting at home plate just as the game begins.

As we discussed last year, there are 10 sections in the rule book. The “game preliminaries” fall within the 3.00 section, more precise rule 3.01.

Now, within rule 3.01 there are a half-dozen sub-points that outline this rule.

In its true essence, this meeting is more like a meet-and-greet between the coaches and the officials.

As an official, it’s my duty to walk the field, note any areas that may become an issue, i.e., such as, openings in fence lines, dugout protocol, equipment check and so on.

Then it’s my responsibility to communicate this information to the coaches.

The coaches are responsible for line-up cards being exchanged, and any other information that pertains to the safety of the players.

Then we discuss any new rules or answer any rules questions at this time; that way, we are all on the same page before we begin the game.

Now, keep in mind when you open the floor to questions, sometimes you get really well thought-out, solid questions and sometimes, well, not so much.

So, here are a few of the questions I’ve been asked over the years……I’m not kidding, these are real:

– “Where’s your strike zone going to be today?”

– “Do you know all the rules or just a few?”

– “How are you going to call a home run?”

– “What do I have to do to get kicked out... just askin’”

– “Can we get this game over early; I have to go to court.”

– “How much do they sell a hotdog and a coke in the concession stand for?”

And, my all-time favorite:

”You had better be on your toes, my kid is pitching today”, which reminds me of Billy.

Billy was a kid that really didn’t have a great deal of talent, but his dad sure thought he did.

One day Billy was on the hill, set to throw the first pitch of the game. The wind up, the pitch … he air mailed the ball, right thru the very tip top of the backstop.

His Dad yells, “Better slow ’er down Bill, you’re throwing them thru the fence!”

I immediately thanked God for my equipment, for I knew this was going to be a long day.

Until next week ...