jim knight

Runner on second base / 1 ball 1 strike on batter / F1 balks but delivers the pitch / pitch hits the batter... what whould you do?

Welcome... I am from the great northwest as well... Montana.

Yep... I was a catcher.

Level I work and have worked.... NAIA College World Series three times (never had to make the call but would) / Pioneer League fill-in (Rookie class A professional... 250 games over 15 years / 5 playoff assingments) / Class AA Legion... need I go on with resume? It really comes down to how we handle these things... I have had to make several tough calls over the years as have all of you I am sure.

Really.... if a player misses home and it is appealed / the runner will be called out in my game... if I had one of my guys not make that call (and know the plate was missed) they would not ever work again. Sorry Pete, again we are going to disagree. At the levels I work, common sense is used... players are not fu@#ed with and we do not let them mess with us. If they dont touch but make a clean play and get the call, we let them know what we expect and they will touch the rest of the season or they wont get the call...

I agree that the game is and always will be fluid and yes, common sense is needed in umpiring as it is in any other profession. That is not licence to knowingly miss an obvious call in the name of tradition. Rip makes a good point on the ROUTINE DOUBLE play to mention to the offender that he needs to touch the base... my take on that is that if a simular play should happen again the fielder will not get the call... notice he is only addresses double plays that are well executed. Pete you like to go to the old "slo-mo has changed the way the pros umpire" comment... you and I will never agree on that. IMO the pro guys have learned from watching but do not call the game based on slo-mo replay. I have said this before... they work hard at getting the best position and call what they see. The speed and the skill set of the players in MLB make for some tough calls / Ask Rip about your FYC... Merry Christmas.

Okay... I will give you that... it is my view from my training and experience / Some things that have worked for me in place of the FYC is just talking to player or manager in a matter of fact way. Use the line-up card as a tool so you are not bringing attention to the conversation... or any other tools you might have like the ball or bat or cleaning off a bag or plate... Telling them is much better that showing them IMO. There is no time to think about replay at the professional level, I know. Like I said they are better at getting into position and reading plays because of the experience and number of games and situations they have seen. The speed at that level is hard to explain... but no, I do not believe todays MLB guys think about replay...

Wow... I really have to dissagree, PETE / the calls we are talking about in this post IMO have no place in baseball at any level. I sugest it is not slo-mo replay that has changed the way the MLB guys call the game as much as it is working to get proper position and improved timming... and simply put again if a player misses a base or a pitch is not in the zone... the situation should never have an effect on the call.... call what you see, work hard to be respected by your work. I know it is tempting to change things up in a blowout but it is the wrong thing to do.... I am sure I am not the only person to be involved in dramatic come backs in big games. I know it is tempting to teach some player or coach a lesson by blowing a call so it goes against them... it is simply the wrong thing to do.

Good subject... I fall on the side of calling what I see, always. If I do not see the whole play I work with what information I have. I work hard to improve so I am in the proper position to make the call just like it happened. We should all take pride in our zones and do not ever take into account the situation or count.

always wait till the end

If I am 56 and started in '78 I got you beat in almost anyway you look at it... right?

If you believe them when they say "nice job" then you have to believe them when they say "you suck"... I do not belive them.

Well put, Warren... good example of a time to get help / if I was your partner it would be nice to know that you were watching the ball... not the runner.

56 years old umpire since 1978 /

I am pretty sure we are saying about the same thing... there will be times like a ball hit to the wall when Base Umpire will stay with the ball a little longer in case of a trouble play... Timing of when the runner is around the bases or defensive players are the times I glance and sometimes stay with the runner as a base umpire. I always go back to the ball... The origional post had more to do with going for help, right? The general rule I use is... go for help if you need it / know your partner and always cover this in a pre-game disscusion... have fun work hard / good timing and good communication will always help.

I have a slightly different take on it... All umpires (in my opinion) should keep eyes on the ball, glance at the runners. It is better to get the call right in all situations.