Outside the Stripes
Major League Baseball umpire uses football down indicators to keep track of balls and strikes
How can a piece of football equipment help a baseball umpire work the plate?
Over the years, innovations in one sport can find its way to another sport. Back in the old days, football umpires used steel-toe shoes that baseball plate umpires used to protect their feet. Baseball umpires use plate shoes to protect the top of their feet from foul balls. Football umpires used to wear plate shoes to protect their feet when stepped on by football linemen. Before the football umpire moved to the backfield, they also experimented with a batting helmet to protect themselves from head shots. And, some baseball umpires have used hockey goalie masks when working the plate.
And now, I recently observed a baseball umpire using football equipment; not for protection, but keep track of balls and strikes.
Major League Baseball umpire Bruce Dreckman uses football down indicators to keep track of balls and strikes. He uses one hand for the balls and one hand for the strikes.
For decades, umpires have used an indicator (don’t call it a “clicker” around an umpire). They signal strikes with their right hand and hold the indicator in their left hand and … click the appropriate wheel on a ball or strike. They either hold the indicator in their hand when it comes time to call fair/foul or safe/out or put the indicator in their pocket once a ball is in play.
Some umpires try to call a game without an indicator. This is easier to do in Major League ball parks since the score board flashes the count after every pitch. But all it takes is an extended replay review, argument, or crazy play for the umpire to forget the count. Other umpires don’t like having to look down at the indicator as it looks like they need help in keep up with a seemingly simple task.
Enter the down indicator, used by officials to keep track of the down and position of the ball between the hashes. Just like officials use the down indicator looped over their fingers to coincide with the down, Dreckman uses the football down indicators to keep track of the count – one had for balls and one hand for strikes. He doesn’t have to down to see what the count is, he just has to feel what finger the indicator is on, and he knows the count.
In the video below, watch Dreckman closely and you can see him working the football down indicator. You also get to see him kick out a Yankees coach. (Incidentally, if you want to keep up with MLB umpiring news, Close Call Sports is an amazing site).
Nice to see some football equipment being used by a major league umpire!
(Cover photo a screen grab from Close Call Sports YouTube).
