Umpiring protcols, procedures and policies

Umpire Equipment
Plate umpire equipment is available at Stan Wadlow Park at all times. Equipment is not stored at outside parks such as Dieppe Park, Greenwood Park, and Topham Park. If you are assigned a game at one of those parks and require equipment, you will need to retrive it from Stan Wadlow Park and return it the next time you are at Stan Wadlow Park.

The equipment is available in the green job box on the third base side of Stan Wadlow #2. To access the green job box, there is a key in the lock box on the fence. The code to which will be emailed out at the start of the season.

Umpire Uniform
Umpires are required to purchase the uniform and equipment noted above with no exceptions.

Navy blue is the mandatory shirt colour. However, it has been made increasingly popular especially by the senior umpires to wear other colours such as baby/powder blue and black. It may be a good idea to purchase one of these colours in addition to your navy blue coloured shirt.

Different shirt colours may be worn as long as both umpires are matching.

Umpire Room
There is an umpire room for umpires to use to change and store their belongings for games at Stan Wadlow Park. It is located across from the women's washroom. It is generally available for use when the snackbar is open. Everyone is expected to clean up after themselves and respect other umpires' belongings. Failure to do so may result in the restricted use of the umpire room and/or loss of umpiring opportunities.

East York Baseball does not accept responsibility for loss, stolen, or damaged items.

Inclement Weather Protocol
When thunder roars, head indoors! If you hear thunder, you are to leave the fields and start a 30 minute timer before you can resume the game. This timer restarts everytime you hear thunder. If the thunder persists and the timer keeps restarting, consult with your partner and use your judgement as to call the game off or not.

If you see lightning, but hear no thunder, use your discretion. 

At the Rep and Select level, it is solely your call as to cancel the game or not. At the House League level, a member of the East York Baseball Executive will make the call.

Rainout and Cancellation Policy
Coaches and managers are to advise the Umpire-in-Chief as soon as possible if a game is going to be cancelled. As soon as that is communicated, it will be communicated to you by either email and/or text.

If a game is cancelled due to rain and/or unplayable field conditions and it is 1 hour or less until game time, you will receive your full game fee.

If it is cancelled due to rain and/or unplayable field conditions and it is more than 1 hour until game time, you will not be paid. 

Teams have until 11:59pm the day before a game to cancel for whatever reason. If a game is cancelled on the day of and it is not to due to rain and/or unplayable field conditions, you will be paid in full. Some exceptions apply to this policy, you will be made aware beforehand if that is the case for a certain game.

Incident Reporting (Warnings, Bench Restrictions, and Ejections)
Throughout the season issues may cause players, coaches, or spectators to get a little heated during the game.

There may be an incident that may warrant someone being warned, restricted to the bench, or ejected from the game. It is the umpires' responsibility to keep the game moving along as best as possible and to enforce the rules. East York Baseball and the Toronto Baseball Association have a zero-tolerance policy for umpire abuse. Do not hesitate to warn, restrict to the bench, or eject offenders. 

If you need to eject someone, follow the steps noted below:
1. Issue a warning that if the behaviour persists the offender will be restricted to the bench.
2. Issue a bench restriction which will allow the coach to remain in the game but on the bench and in the dugout. Under no circumstances can the coach leave the dugout to coach a base or player or attempt to communicate with the umpires. If the coach leaves the dugout or attempts to communicate with the umpires, he or she is immediately ejected from the game.
3. If the offender continues to act in an appropriate manner, proceed to eject the offender.
4. Take a mental note or write down any coach's and/or player's numbers that have been ejected.
5. Contact the Umpire-in-Chief immediately following the game to report the incident and follow it up with a completed incident report.
NOTE: If it a player or spectator that you feel the need to eject, follow the same steps minus the bench restriction. You may also directly skip issuing a warning and/or bench restriction and eject any offender(s) if necessary.

Click here to access the Umpire Incident Report.