The ABUA is the largest membership association for amateur baseball umpires in the U.S.

The ABUA's purpose is to improve the overall quality of umpiring in youth league, high school and college baseball through innovative teaching and educational programs, and superior educational resources.The ABUA protects its members with the most comprehensive insurance package in the industry
(Liability, Medical & Lost game fees)!

The ABUA provides a national organization and network where individual umpires and local associations can promote professionalism, integrity and a love of the game.


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In The News

Case of Newark Little League melee goes to jury

Case of Newark Little League melee goes to jury

Credit: nj.com - NEWARK - After two weeks of he-said vs. he-said testimony, a jury must decide whether a little league coach who got into a physical altercation with an umpire is responsible for the severe injuries the umpire suffered after as many as 16 unknown assailants joined the fight. Henry Milstrey is charged in the June 8, 2011 assault on Robert Kevin Waters, the president of the Newark Little League who was umpiring a game between Newark and Irvington in Vailsburg Park. Both men took the stand during the trial and told opposite stories. Milstrey said he was nothing but polite throughout the game, respectfully asking Waters to call the game on account of it getting dark. Waters said Milstrey was cursing and yelling at him, demanding he end the game. Milstrey said after the game ended...
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An Inopportune Time

An Inopportune Time

Time is the announcement by an umpire of a legal interruption of play. The ball becomes dead when an umpire calls time. The proper mechanic to signal "Time" is to raise both arms above the head while aggressively declaring "Time!" Raising the hand in the “do not play” signal is considered to be the same as calling time under NFHS and NCAA rules (NFHS Signal Chart A, NCAA 6-5h). In professional play, that signal does kill the ball but it is highly discouraged and not acceptable. All umpires have the authority to call "time" when they deem it necessary (NFHS 10-2-3b, NCAA 6-5, pro 9.04b2). There are times when “time” must be called and times when it should be called. There are also instances when “time” should not be called and there are instances where an umpire wishes he hadn’t called it....
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NFHS Play Situations

NFHS Play Situations

For some reason this season has brought us an abnormal number of very good play situations from high school games.  As most states are now in tournament play and winding down the season in the next couple of weeks let’s look at some interesting plays and questions. 1. Question – How often can a team change pitchers and how many times can a pitcher go to the pitching position?  Ruling – This must be more popular as a strategy because it is one of the most frequently asked questions in recent weeks.  Under Rule 3-3-2eNote a pitcher can return to pitch only once per inning.  For example if a team is using two pitchers and neither is leaving the game that means each one can pitch up to twice in each inning.  No one can pitch three times in the same inning.  Keep in mind that the re-entry rule...
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The Baseball Rule Book: It’s not all Black and White

The Baseball Rule Book: It’s not all Black and White

Whenever I do rules clinics with the teams I am affiliated, one of the first things I stress is that numerous sections of the rule book are not black and white. And depending which umpires are working the game, what might be a violation one night is nothing the next night. It’s all about interpretation and judgment. It’s the human element of umpiring. Take the “ordinary effort” language in the Infield Fly rule. What might be ordinary effort for some umpires might be viewed as extraordinary effort by others. Umpiring is often a matter of experience, feel and interpretation. United States Supreme Court Justice John Roberts referenced baseball umpires regarding the debate over the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. He compared Justices to baseball umpires enforcing clear rules.  He...
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Youth coach arrested for head-butting softball umpire during kids' game

Youth coach arrested for head-butting softball umpire during kids' game

Credit: abcactionnews.com - HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. - "It's the big event at the end of the softball season. It's an exciting and fun time," said Debbie Bretz. It was an All-Star game. The best 12-year old softball players in the Miss Florida Softball League -- Lakeland's Christina Girls versus Auburndale. "It was a difficult game with lots of questionable calls," said Bretz. But the girls’ softball game turned into a spectacle on the field when a coach questioned an umpire's judgment and a heated argument erupted near home plate. "That's where there becomes a little push and shove between the coach and the umpire. There's a little bit of chest bumping and finally in the end, the coach head-bumps the ref and ends up hitting him right at the bridge of his nose," said Hillsborough County...
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Deputies: Lakeland softball coach charged after headbutting umpire

Deputies: Lakeland softball coach charged after headbutting umpire

Credit: TBO.com -- A girls softball coach from Lakeland faces a battery charge after deputies say she headbutted an umpire after a game in Lithia last weekend.Gordon Elliott Moore, 37, of 4324 Melbrooke Court, Lakeland, is charged with battery on a specified official or employee. Moore, who is the coach of Christina Girls Minor Division, 12 and under team, was released in $2,000 bond.Moore got into an argument with the home-plate umpire Kimberly Anderson after the last out of a game Sunday afternoon at the FishHawk Sports Complex in Lithia, the sheriff’s office said. Stephen Connell, another umpire, saw Moore gesturing with his arms and talking loudly, so he got between Moore and Anderson.Moore then bumped Connell, 56, of Venice, in the chest and headbutted him on the nose, according to the...
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Referee punched in face by teen player dies

Referee punched in face by teen player dies

(CNN) -- A referee for a recreational soccer league who was punched in the face by a teenager has died, police in Salt Lake City said. Ricardo Portillo, 46, was refereeing a game in the Salt Lake City suburb of Taylorsville on April 27 when he cited a player for an infraction and issued him a "yellow card." In soccer, a yellow card is a caution to the player; a second results in his ejection from the game. The decision, police say, prompted the 17-year-old player to turn around and punch Portillo in the face. At first, authorities thought Portillo suffered only minor injuries from the assault. But after he was taken to a hospital, doctors discovered he had suffered serious internal head injuries, police said. For seven days, he remained in critical condition. "He loved soccer,"...
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Alleged attack on umpire may lead to charges

Alleged attack on umpire may lead to charges

A New London man may be charged criminally after allegedly attacking an umpire following a baseball game last month at Ripon College. On Monday, April 15, the city of Ripon Police Department responded to a call of a battery that occurred following a game against Carroll University on the Ripon College campus. On arrival, officers were informed one of the umpires that had worked the doubleheader baseball game had been struck in the face after the game by a party who had been in the stands during the game. Statements from witnesses and victim indicated a male subject had been in the stands during the game. He allegedly was yelling at officials during the game and was unhappy about calls made by officials. After the game, the subject approached umpires as they were leaving the playing field...
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