Cage1
Cage2
Cage3
Cage4
Cage5
Cage6
There are still several cage training sessions available. For more information about upcoming cage sessions, as well as how to schedule your session, please see our calendar.
On behalf of the entire association, Blue Crew News would like to say thank you to all of our trainers who attend these sessions and make it possible for umpires to continue their zone work development. And also a special thank you to Prime Time Baseball for allowing the association the use of their facility.
Call for photos of association members at clinics, classrooms, fields, cages, etc. Please identify anyone in your submitted photos and attach a note in your email providing us with some context of your images. You can send your pictures to BCN Editor Robert Fobian.
Photo Captions
CAGE1 – Cage sessions offer all umpires in the association a special opportunity to look at pitches, call the zone and work on their timing and mechanics while receiving critical feedback from the association’s elite training staff. This excellent training is offered at no charge to all umpires in the association. Since most umpires are not on the field between November and February, pre-season cage sessions offer all umpires a chance to prepare for the season and continue their development. Here we see Andrew Mack, the association’s 2024 Most Improved Umpire, right back at it at Prime Time Baseball in Alexandria getting into the slot with trainer Mark Buchen catching.
CAGE2 – The association’s training staff uses many techniques at cage sessions to offer umpires different looks at the strike zone. Here trainer Anthony Mayer has stepped into the batter’s box to give Andrew Mack a vertical frame of reference for the zone as well as the ever present horizontal reference offered by the plate. Trainers in the batter’s box will even move around in the box to help umpires simulate real-game conditions of “getting squeezed on the inside” and how best to continue to call the zone correctly as well as being mindful of personal safety.
CAGE3 – Pitches at most cage sessions are delivered by machine and the training staff works diligently to locate pitches on the edges of the zone to best help umpires really dial in their perception. Here umpire Chris Layton works to identify that down and in pitch location while trainer Andrew Peltola catching tries to best dress the pitch.
CAGE4 – During cage sessions, trainers serving as catchers will listen to and communicate with the umpire about the location of the pitch. How many balls off the plate was that pitch? Two balls? A half-ball?…and so on. Here, umpire Chris Layton has made his call and is now discussing with trainer Andrew Peltola about where he had the pitch.
CAGE5 – Once again, umpire Andrew Mack, showing proper slot position to call the zone for a right-handed hitter with Mark Buchen again providing the catching and feedback duties.
CAGE6 – The pitch has come in. Catcher/trainer Mark Buchen is trying to hold that outside corner pitch and Umpire Andrew Mack is grabbing a strike. Did he get it right? In addition to a trainer serving as the catcher, there are also other trainers in the cage checking the umpire’s positioning, timing and mechanics stationed between the pitcher’s mound and the plate offering multiple perspectives and points of feedback during the session.
Table of Contents
Issue #2 – February 3, 2025