‹ Resources

Game Day Card

For when the game will not wait. Works with no signal once you have opened it.

Talking to the Umpire

The protocol, and the line it sits behind.
THE UMPIRE RULES THE PLAY. YOU COACH YOUR TEAM.
What is actually up for discussion
RULE
How a rule is being applied. A question with an answer. Fair to ask.
JUDGMENT
Ball or strike, safe or out, fair or foul. Made in real time, not revisited.
If you are going to ask
  1. Between innings — not immediately.
  2. Walk over. Never across the field, never from the dugout.
  3. Ask, do not tell. A question invites an answer; a statement invites a defence.
  4. Once. Accept the answer whatever it is, and go back to your bench.
When a parent on your side starts on the umpire, that is yours to handle and silence reads as agreement. “We’re not doing that — leave it,” once, calmly, toward your own sideline. That it came from you is the entire message.
Why it is not worth it
  1. Your players are learning from you whether officials are people you work with or people you fight.
  2. Your tone licenses the sideline's.
  3. Many youth umpires are fourteen and in their first job.
  4. The call is not changing. It was never on the list.
What this card is not
It is not an official ruling and it does not overrule the umpire on the field. It is a study aid you read before and after a game, not something to carry to a plate meeting as evidence. Where a question is your league’s to answer, this card says so instead of guessing — and it is not a substitute for the current official rulebook.
Ask a rules question in your own words →
Card text revised 2026-09-14. Every line here is taught in full in Call It Right or Teach the Game, both free. For pitch counts and rest, use the Pitch Count & Rest Rules tool, which models them per league.