MLB Umpire Camp Is Weird As Hell

If you’re interested in becoming an MLB umpire, where else are you going to start but Umpire Camp?

In recent years, the MLB has been pushing Umpire Schools, where people can learn how to be an umpire and, maybe, work in the MLB. For some people, this is a pretty exciting proposition: I get to be on the field, but I don’t have to run? And all I need is decent vision and a high school diploma? Sign me up!

To prepare these potential baseball cops, the schools run through everything that an umpire will need to look out for: calling balls and strikes, seeing when someone is safe, and, of course, all of the hand motions that they’ve gotta do while on the field. Owing to the latter, the videos of these events are very, very strange.