The IBAF has been working in the last couple of months on a project for a section of this web site dedicated to the umpires. The tool will be available to registered users only.
“Our goal is to have all of the umpires, and also potential umpires, register on the page” explained Gustavo Rodriguez, the chairman of the Umpiring Commission of the IBAF.
The page will contain news but won’t be limited to that: “We want to give the umpires a tool to interpret and define the official baseball rules. This should also help the baseball community understand the rules and interpret them” said Rodriguez.
The news section will be used to keep the umpire community abreast of any updates and umpire happenings. But the site will also contain documentation that will offer IBAF approved mechanics.
“A very important goal” added Rodriguez “Is to standardize mechanics. We will also be adding videos on peculiar game situations, in order to help this process”.
When the website goes live, the project will be only at the starting point. Further steps will be about implementing a system to create quizzes where umpires will be tested on their rules knowledge: “In the future we will also have a forum that will allow umpires to discuss through the moderation of a member of the Commission” comemnted Rodriguez.
“Umpires are a very important part of the game of baseball” said IBAF President Riccardo Fraccari, who had success as an international umpire in the 1980s “They are the ones who guarantee that the rules of the game are respected. We are willing to have a high umpiring standard in IBAF competitions and we are also willing to help the umpire communities to share ideas and rule interpretations. I personally believe very much in this project and will be following the development personally”.
