ost amateur umpires at the high school level work games as part of a two-person team. During playoffs, as a result of scheduling blunders, or for the occasional important game, you may have the opportunity to work as part of a three- or four-man crew. Let me start by saying, “Look out!”

I don’t want to take the time to discuss the fundamentals of working three- or four-man. Rather, I would like to discuss some of the differences faced by umpires “working the middle.”

When working 2-man, there are essentially two middle positions: B and C. When you take on additional umpires, you take on two other middle positions as well: Deep B and Deep C. The base umpires split some of the responsibilities and areas of coverage.

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