Chandler National Little League staffs umpires for the AA, AAA, Majors, Juniors & Seniors Divisions. Our umpires have received training by AZ LL District 13 staff. Many CNLL umpires work for other organizations as well and have experience officiating baseball up to the college level.

Balls/Strikes, Fair/Foul, Safe/Out calls are judgments by the umpires on the field and are not up for discussion or argument by coaches/players or spectators. Many of our umpires are teenagers doing the very best they can and do not have an interest in who wins/loses a game. If you have any questions regarding CNLL Umpires, please contact CNLL’s Umpire in Chief.

Chandler National Little League is always looking to introduce new people into the world of umpiring. We are the largest and most prestigious Little League organization in Arizona. We have been to the Little League World Series twice and we are the only Little League in Arizona to accomplish that feat.

We have a rigorous curriculum to become a CNLL umpire. You must complete a mechanics clinic co-sponsored by CNLL and District 13. It is an all-day event held at one of the local baseball facilities like Snedigar or Nazomi Sports Complexes. You must successfully pass an extensive rules test administered by our Umpire-In-Chief. Minimum age is 13 years-old as of the opening day of the current season.

So, if you are an existing umpire looking for a new challenge or just someone who would like to become an umpire, contact CNLL UIC David Cantor at umpireinchief@chandlernational.com for additional information.

Board members role in assisting the umpires

Every time there is a controversial call on the field the umpires have a couple of options.  They can either get together and discuss the play and confirm or overturn their call; OR they can request the assistance of a Board member who is present at the game.

The Board gets a lot of feedback after one of these situations.  Some parents believe the Board member is overturning these calls.  Quite the contrary, the Board member’s role is to ensure the umpires are properly considering the rule(s) which would affect their decision and that they are carefully reviewing all the circumstances of the play as it applies to a rule.

Part of the reason for this role is that it is quite unlikely that the Board member actually saw the play.  Quite often there are four games going on simultaneously and the Board member has responsibility for all four of the games.  Most of the Board members are not experts on the playing rules.  Therefore, their role is to mediate the meeting and NOT make a decision on the call.  On the other hand, all of our umpires have passed an extensive rules test.  For the most part, they have better knowledge of the rules than many of our managers.

Hopefully this clears up the question of the Board member making the decision on the call.  All the member does is lead a meeting between the umpires.  It is still solely the responsibility of the umpire who made the original call to either confirm or overturn his call.