Thesis: I will learn how to umpire and eventually umpire real baseball games within our community. My research paper will focus on the new electronic strike zone currently being implemented in some professional baseball leagues and how it compares to human umpires. I have always had a passion for baseball and have played it my entire life, but I am excited to be involved in the game from a different perspective. Umpires are notoriously criticized by coaches and players alike, so I am intrigued to see if calling a game is as hard as it seems. My driving question is: How do human umpires affect baseball games differently than electronic umpires? My project will involve studying the baseball rulebook as well as learning all of the things an umpire …show more content…
Baseball has always been a huge part of my life, and by becoming an umpire I hope to understand and become more involved within the sport. I will be able to use the skills I learn to become more involved in our local community and officiate other ballgames in the area. To become an umpire, I will first need to study the rulebook of a few different baseball leagues. While most of the rules are the same, many times they are league-specific rules that I will need to know to umpire across different leagues. After I have a thorough understanding of the rules, I will need to learn what an umpire does throughout a game. This includes but is not limited to: calling balls and strikes, knowing field positions and rotations across all field sizes, making a variety of different calls, and conducting proper equipment checks. I will document the entire process using photos and videos, from practicing strike calls to actually officiating live games. My mentor is Albert Aquino, who is the Umpire In-Cheif for both South Tahoe National Little League and South Tahoe Babe Ruth. He has umpired hundreds of baseball games and has also trained many other future umpires. I won’t have a problem getting enough hours, as it will likely take me much longer to learn everything an umpire needs to know before officiating a live game. My physical component will be photos and videos of myself throughout the entire process accompanied by a presentation where I guide the judges through my journey of becoming an