To ask, or not to ask?

[SnareDrum]

This is actually from last August, but I figure we're all chomping at the bit a little, plus there are some new guys on here... so here goes. It's from softball, but you can easily visualize baseball.

 

Girls FP 14U tourney (national qualifier), winners bracket semi-final. I'm PU in a two-man, and it's my sixth game of the day (not really by choice), and my 21st baseball or softball game of the week (also not really by choice). I was dead-dog tired, but I'm still hustling and getting to my spots in a very close and intense, yet smooth game. Rain had been sparse and the ground crew sparser, so the area around HP... let's just say the dust was deep (over the guard on my plate shoes) and had a consistency like baby powder.

 

It was 5-5, bottom 5th, 2 out, R3. Batter hits a sharp one hopper to F1 who knocks it down before picking it up and turning to throw to first... but she doesn't. Maybe she forgot how many outs there were or maybe she heard people yelling about R3 bolting for home. I'll never know.  F2 is just in front of the plate pointing to first, but F1 uncorks a low throw home.  My brain said "Feet! Move to the right!". but the feet wanted nothing to do with it. I saw the catcher go down to her knees for the ball, I saw the ball go into her mitt just before it would've hit the dirt... then the biggest mushroom cloud of dust I had ever seen in my life exploded in front of me as the runner slid in. Trying to see through it, I saw her spin, and by her arm motion in relation to the runner, I had a tag on R3 just before she slid across where the plate should be. NOW, my feet start working and as I swung around to the front of the plate for a better look, F2 holds her glove up out of the swirling cloud and I see the ball in it. I wait a beat as I quickly replay it in my mind... "OUT!"

 

Here comes the OC. "ROGER! SHE DROPPED THE BALL! SHE DROPPED IT!!"

 

"Bob (not his name), I have a tag just before she slid across and she's out.  Now let's go. The clock's running."

 

Bob takes a deep breath, and in a much calmer, softer voice says, "Can you please at least ask your partner?" Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted my partner. I had worked with her a lot, and I could tell... she had something. 

 

So what do you do? I don't mind if you toss a couple of respectful rocks at my bad positioning or lack of hustle, etc. Feel free. Think of it as an informal poll. In THIS situation, do you ask? Yes or No. I'll post what happened next later tonight.

 

I REALLY need a new season to start so I can stop re-hashing the last one!

[Dannytheman]

OK, based on what you say, "Your partner has something." I would say, "sure Skip, I will check."

All I ever want is to get the call right. If I get the eyes from my partner, I want to hear what they say. THEN, it is up to you.

[Richvee]

Had s similar play last summer. Majors LL. small field.  I had the plate. R2. Batter hits a base hit to LF. R2 comes around to score, Ball is cut off between 3rd and home and the throw goes to 2nd to get the BR trying to advance. My partner is on the outside. Throw beats BR to second, But I see the ball trickle out on the home plate side of 2nd. My partner sure can't see the ball. He's on the wrong side. He bangs the kid out. We've worked a lot together, so all he had to do was look at me, and he knew something was up. (That, plus all the hollering from the offensive side). He came to me, I told him what I saw, apologized to me for not waiting to see the ball, and he changed the call. get it right. maybe swallow some pride. Learn from it...But get right when we can. That's #1 priority. 

[grayhawk]

Had s similar play last summer. Majors LL. small field.  I had the plate. R2. Batter hits a base hit to LF. R2 comes around to score, Ball is cut off between 3rd and home and the throw goes to 2nd to get the BR trying to advance. My partner is on the outside. Throw beats BR to second, But I see the ball trickle out on the home plate side of 2nd. My partner sure can't see the ball. He's on the wrong side. He bangs the kid out. We've worked a lot together, so all he had to do was look at me, and he knew something was up. (That, plus all the hollering from the offensive side). He came to me, I told him what I saw, apologized to me for not waiting to see the ball, and he changed the call. get it right. maybe swallow some pride. Learn from it...But get right when we can. That's #1 priority. 

 

Why was he outside? On the small diamond, ball goes out, BU goes in. Did he just have a brain fart?

 

Also, on the OP question, I agree with Danny.

[Richvee]

Had s similar play last summer. Majors LL. small field.  I had the plate. R2. Batter hits a base hit to LF. R2 comes around to score, Ball is cut off between 3rd and home and the throw goes to 2nd to get the BR trying to advance. My partner is on the outside. Throw beats BR to second, But I see the ball trickle out on the home plate side of 2nd. My partner sure can't see the ball. He's on the wrong side. He bangs the kid out. We've worked a lot together, so all he had to do was look at me, and he knew something was up. (That, plus all the hollering from the offensive side). He came to me, I told him what I saw, apologized to me for not waiting to see the ball, and he changed the call. get it right. maybe swallow some pride. Learn from it...But get right when we can. That's #1 priority. 

 

Why was he outside? On the small diamond, ball goes out, BU goes in. Did he just have a brain fart?

Yep. Brain fart would would be accurate. 

When I saw the cutoff and the throw go to 2nd and where my partner was, my first reaction was "...oh no..he's gonna get screened.He's an older guy. He taught me a lot. But as the season goes on you can tell he gets tired. Reactions are a bit slower.  

[James Walker]

I have a guy I work with a lot. If a coach asked me to go for help, and I can see it in his face he's got something, even if I'm 100%, I get with him. Sometimes he's got it exactly like I do. Sometimes not. Now your sitch, for me anyway, is about going for help after he chewed on you. It depends on how he's been before that. If it was in the heat of the moment, I'm getting help. If he's been a d!ck and chirpin all day, its no skip, I was on top of it.

And stop being so damn hard on yourself. Your human, you get tired and things blow up on you. We all kick one now and again. Live and learn brother.

[James Walker]

Deleted

[SnareDrum]

So as I said, I could tell that she had something.  Regarding "Bob", he's not exactly a favorite among a lot of umpires around the area, but I've never had a (what I would call) major problem with him.  It was a BIG game, and after his initial outburst, he had calmed down and asked me politely to ask my partner.  I said that I would.

 

My partner had been hovering back behind 2nd base (one of the things that tipped me off) and I trotted out there and asked her "What did YOU see?". She said she saw the ball go in the glove, pop out on the tag, the the F2 picking it up to show it to me. "So, you got safe?" "I got safe," she replied.  I asked her if she had the BR at 2nd and she said that she did. BR had overran 1st on the throw and had returned to 1B as I had made the out call. Now, as we all know, it's now completely my choice on what to do next.  I called and signaled "RUNNER'S SAFE!"  Bob just nodded, clapped his hands and went back to his dugout, but now I had the DC in my ear. He wasn't overly excited, but I could tell that he just wanted to hear face-to-face why I had just reversed my call and where the BR would be placed. I told him I hadn't seen the ball on the ground, my partner had a great look, and we had one run scoring and an R1.

 

The glare the DC gave his pitcher on the way to the dugout would've melted a glacier.  In our post-game, my partner said that with all the dust, she barely saw the ball herself and we both agreed that getting it right always outweighs pride. Bob's team took a one-run lead into the sixth, but lost after giving up 5 runs...