Going to the dance

ere's the drill, original at the best clinic ever invented for new umpires. "On the rubber, set, call it." Before the use of pitching machines at the end of the 1980s, the phrase was unknown. It was not used to help train new umpires. Plate work training happened on the job, during a scrimmage if you were lucky. More often than not, it happened during a game.

With the pitching machine came the drill and the patented phrase:  

• "On the rubber" means that the pitcher has the ball in his hand. It is time for the umpire to step into his position behind the catcher and quit relaxing.
• "Set" means that the pitcher is using the set position and has come to the obligatory stop. The next thing he is going to do is pitch — and only pitch:  For the sake of the drill, there will be no picks to a base. It is now time for the plate umpire to squat (my editor probably prefers "crouch") behind the catcher and get into a better location to see exactly where the pitch is going.
• "Call it" means that, for the sake of the drill only, it's time to stand up and give the strike signal and vocalization.

Continued...