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Courtesy of everyone's favorite gear hound and all around great influence here @MadMax, @Richvee and I had the chance to meet up with @cgroom and his crew before last night's Frontier League game here in NJ. The guys could not have been nicer and we had a great conversation about a whole bunch of things . Their work on the field was a joy to watch as it was a demonstration of how the three man system is actually supposed to work. There may have been one slip up, but nothing like I have seen recently, like when I as PU had to cover 2B because U1 was acting like a ticket holder as the BR was steaming around 1B as the ball and U3 (that being Richvee) were in left field. Many thanks to both Max and Caleb for putting us in contact with each other and hopefully we will be able to see them or anyone else on this forum if they come through Northern NJ for their assignents

As always, context matters. Age, game type, etc. are all factors to consider. Remember, back 2(?) seasons ago, when a MLB batter got Ejected for tapping the helmet w/o ABS Challenge being implemented in MLB yet? Where’d he pick that up? Atlantic League (at the time)… which was using ABS on MiLBUs. That batter had just been called up, and he did it out of learned reaction. Is that an excuse? No. Is that an explanation (as to why)? Yes! Should he have been ejected? Yes, he’s a pro – he should know better. But these are amateurs we’re talking about, and kids at that. Adults (eg. Men’s Amateur)? Eject ‘em, absolutely. Kids, though, are morons. I’m going to give the coach(es) an opportunity, albeit brief, to “rescue” and discipline the kid before I dump him. If we look at college ball, for example, I operate in an environment where I have a churning confluence of levels and rules. Not only do I have a hybrid of OBR and NCAA, but I’ve got NAIA and JUCo players playing alongside D-1 talent, who just came from a season / post-season that has video review. We don’t have video review (yet). Am I supposed to dump a Runner because he starts doing “the headphones” when I call him out at 2B? I don’t dispute the warrant; I bristle at the automatic, the imperative – “I (we) must eject you (amateur < adult)”.

This is another pregame discussion. Get with your partner and agree that when the PU points to the BU and hollers 'Challenge', the BU automatically hollers 'Confirmed.' Or vice versa if a tag or force play was challenged as well. Why only let one of the crew have fun?