Umpires and referees are both sports officials, but they have some pretty different jobs. An umpire is somebody who officiates or oversees a sporting event, such as a baseball game, softball, cricket and many other sports that involve a ball being thrown or hit. Officials that are referred to as referees make calls in sports such as basketball, football, and ice hockey.
The referee wears a different outfit than an umpire—they wear clothing that is similar to what you’d see at a basketball game: striped shirt, pants/skirt, and a whistle around their neck. The umpire wears a traditional baseball uniform with a chest protector and kneepads.
Umpires and baseball
If we take the game of baseball as an example, the umpires are in charge of calling balls, strikes, outs, fouls and other baseball-related events.
An umpire has to make sure that all players follow the rules of their sport and don’t cheat by doing things like hitting the ball with their hands instead of their bats or using steroids to give them an advantage over their competitors. They also make sure that the game runs smoothly by making sure that all the balls are replaced after they’ve been hit into the stands or out of bounds, and they can even award points for good plays if necessary.
There are two types of umpires: field umpires and base umpires (baseball only). Field umpires work on the field during play; base umpires work behind home plate or one of the field plates and make decisions whether it was a fair or a foul ball. They also call whether the ball was safe or out. They all have some specific responsibilities depending on what plate they are ruling.
Sports with referees
Referees make calls about rules violations by teams during play (or misconduct by players off the field). There are some sports like basketball and soccer that are only officiated by referees. They are in charge of enforcing the rules of the game. They wear shirts with stripes on them, black pants or shorts, and black shoes with socks pulled up to their knees.
One of the rare sports that has both referees and umpires is american football. While an umpire always stays an umpire, a referee has many different names that vary in different games.
The assistant referee assists the officials by helping them keep track of time, score, and penalties. They also help them make decisions about whether or not something happened during the game (like whether someone fouled someone else).
Many people confuse umpires and referees. In fact, the two terms are often used interchangeably in sports. But they’re actually very different and hopefully this article helped you with clearing things up. The easiest distinction to make is if the ball is being hit it is for sure an umpire. If it’s not, chances are high that a referee is calling the game.