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Throwing your partner under the bus


mstaylor
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A couple that come to mind for me...

 

- Batter checks swing. Plate umpire calls it a strike. Offensive coach yells for PU to "check that"- and he does!

 

I'm the base umpire on this one. He really caught me off guard there! Without ever having had this happen to me, or having any time to think about the best/most instructional/least embarrasing way to handle this, I just signalled a strike and said, "Yes, he did".

 

Then, after the game, I explained to my partner why he can't do that.

 

- I'm BU again. A pitch comes in real close to a batter. He jumps back out of the way. I lose sight of the ball as it passes behind the batter.

 

PU jumps out from behind the plate, points at me and yells, "Did it hit him?!".

 

Beats the hell out of me. Kind of shocked that he asked, I sort of make up a new signal on the spot. I shrug my shoulders and say, "I don't know".

 

Partner then signals for us to get together. I explained to him that you can't really treat a hit batter the same as a check swing appeal and that from my vantage point I really had no idea if the batter got hit, so I can't help him out. But I did tell him that if he didn't see it, then he can't call it. He called the pitch a ball.

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  • 5 weeks later...

I thought this was settled 10 years ago. Listen up everybody. In the two man system you do the best you can. Angle over distance.-Jim Evans.

As the base umpire you are responsible for calls on the bases. Make the best call you can. Stop asking your plate umpire for his opinion. That is not the right mechanic. Make a call. Time can be granted and a head coach can come out and ask you to ask your partner about a pulled foot or a swipe tag.

I personally, have never said no. If my uic gives me info that can help me get the call correct I will use it. " the difference between a fair umpire and a good umpire is a good umpire knows his responsibilities and carries them out."- Mr. Jim Evans

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The C.C.A. manual has two rotations when the ball stays in the infield. R-1 is safe at second on a double play attempt and advances to 3rd base on the throw to 1st. The play at third is the uic's call if you pre game it that way.

The other one is R-1 and a ground ball that is thrown to 1st and R-1 advances to 3 rd base on an overthrow. Uic has the play at 3rd base and U-1 has dead ball responsibilities on the overthrow. If there is another let me know please. Most umpires do not use this mechanic nor do they like it. I think it is a good mechanic and I have seen it work well. The arguement goes line this- why would I focus on something that will probably not happen when I could focus on something I know will happen and that is a throw to 1st base and a possible pulled foot or swipe tag or dead ball responsibility in an overthrow.C.C.A. wants uic to go hand to mask, clear the catcher to the left , and move to the third base side of the mound to be secondary coverage on illegal slide into 2nd base and then move toward third base if there is a play there. I have covered third on a bunt when I read R-1 not stopping on the bunt and advancing to third. Some umpires will neve rotate until the ball leaves the infield.

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If my "partner" ever shouted that I was out of position the s.o.b. would finish the game without me. I would drive to a good bar and order a cocktail and try to forget that I had to work part of a game with an asshole.

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 Most umpires do not use this mechanic nor do they like it. I think it is a good mechanic and I have seen it work well.

Im in the "most umpire" category here because I havent seen it work well and I have seen it blow up.

 

IT supports my theory that the mechanics that are given are based on whatever happened last to the big dogs who put the manual together. lol.

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That's funny. Of course you are absolutely correct.umpiring is always evolving. We are always learning. Pace of game is a big factor. You can write all these mechanics down and write manuals with diagrams fairly easily. It is another thing altogether to make it happen on the field.

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