home plate umpire

Question
Hi Mr.Hoover, can an umpire touch or lean on a catcher? I'm a catcher and our umpire was hit hard in the junk with a pitch... my question is after he recovered and the game restarted, I didn't like how he was putting his hand on my upperback for support while crouching getting in position to watch every pitch after he got nailed. To tell you the truth, it distracted me and I had problem to stay focussed to catch...and if I don't catch the baseball the umpire could get hit again. Eric

Answer
Eric,

We instruct umpires to never touch a catcher.  Umpires in the professional level will keep a hand very close to the catchers upper back to read where they are going on a passed ball.  However, we now instruct umpires to look at the catchers shoulders to read where they are going, as placing a hand on them is outdated and could be considered inappropriate.

I would have told him not to do that, and if he continued, I would have notified your head coach about how it distracted you.

As for worrying about the care and safety of the umpire, that is not your job.  If he was wearing the proper gear he would have been okay.

I hope this has helped.

-Martin Hoover