Resource Center: Books & media
Books: Instructional
- Rules for Umps: Baseball, by Jeffrey Stern (editor), 2006. (The 2006 edition appears to be the latest available.)
- Baseball Field Guide: An In-Depth Illustrated Guide to the Complete Rules of Baseball, by Dan Formosa and Paul Hamburger. New York: Avalon Publishing, 2006
- Make the Right Call, by Major League Baseball. Chicago: Triumph Books, 1994. (This is a good book for studying "case law" on rules interpretations. Unfortunately, the 1994 edition appears to be the latest.)
- The Official Rules of Baseball: An Anecdotal Look at the Rules of Baseball and How They Came to Be, by David Nemec. Publication of MLB. Lyons Press, 1999. (This is a fun and informative look at the history of many of the rules of baseball.)
- You're the Umpire: 139 Scenarios to Test Your Baseball Knowledge, by Wayne Stewart
- The Rules Abide: The Thinking Fan's Guide to Baseball Rules (With History, Humor and a Few Big Words), by Jim Tosches
Books: Reference
- Rules of Professional Baseball: A Comprehensive Reorganization and Interpretation. by Chris Jaksa and Rick Roder. Thirteenth edition, 2010. This item is commonly referred to simply as "Jaksa-Roder".
- Official Rules and Interpretations Manual: A complete annotated rewrite. Wendelstedt Umpire School Staff. No edition. 2014. This item is commonly reffered to simply as "Wendelstedt."
- Minor League Baseball Manual for the Two-Umpire System, by Minor League Baseball Umpire Development, 2014.
DVDs: Training videos
- Pitching Regulations & Balks, a training video by Jim Evans. The DVD is $39.95 - a bit on the high side, but worth it. This Jim Evans video is the top-of-the-line source on learning balks and a must-have resource.
- How to Umpire Baseball and Softball. The DVD runs 30 minutes and is $19.95. I have not reviewed this DVD so I can't comment.
Books: General interest
- The Best Seat in Baseball, But You Have to Stand: The Game as Umpires See It, by Lee Gutkind. New York: Dial Press, 1975
- As They See 'Em: A Fan's Travels in the Land of Umpires, by Bruce Weber. New York: Scribner, 2009.
- You're Out and You're Ugly, Too: Confessions of an Umpire with Attitude, by Durwood Merrill. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998.
- Called out but Safe: A Baseball Umpire's Journey, by Al Clark and Dan Schlossberg
- The Umpire Strikes Back, by Ron Luciano and David Fisher
- They Called Me God: The Best Umpire Who Ever Lived, by Doug Harvey and Peter Golenbock