What should I/we have done?

[JHSump]

What do you do when, despite a good pregame, you or your partner make a mistake in coverage, and it blows up in your face?

 

Take the following example.

 

Varsity HS game tonight. I am PU. No runners on. Partner is in A. Short fly ball to CF. F8 is charging hard. We pregamed this situation, along with many others. We both agreed he would go out and take the catch/no catch on a trouble ball involving F8 charging in or out. But, on this play he comes in and pivots. I, meanwhile, have run out toward the mound, but I have no angle on the play. F8 dives and raises his glove with the ball in it. I look to my partner, but he makes no call. So, it looked to me like a successful diving catch. I say "catch" and signal out.

 

All &**#%& breaks out.

 

OHC asks me to ask my partner. I go to my partner and ask if he has anything. He says, the ball was short-hopped. Oops. I correct the mistake --- we let the BR take first. DHC asks me what happened. I simply explain I thought it was a catch, but my partner corrected me. He said, ok. Clearly, everyone (from the side) saw the ball short-hopped.

 

We got it right. And, everyone was ok. But, what should I have done?  Or what should we have done?

 

I suppose I could have waited longer, and looked to my partner to make the call, but it looked to me that he had only glanced at the play as it unfolded, while he was coming in on a pivot.  We discussed it after the game, and he said he mistakenly thought the fly ball was not a trouble ball.  But, the question is, what do you do in such a situation if you or your partner make such a coverage mistake? Make no call, then call time and get together? Make a call, and correct it if necessary (as we did)?  What?

 

These things happen.  What would you do?

[Richvee]

As PU, when the ball goes up to short CF, (or RF for that mater), glance at your partner to see what he's doing. If he comes in and pivots, it's your call. make the call. After that, if he has info for you and you choose to use it, that's fine. Correct the call and move on. But it's your call to make once BU comes in and pivots. 

[Kevin_K]

Perhaps instead of running toward the mound, you might take an angle heading between F6 and F5 to avoid getting straight lined.

 

On a side note, if your partner is pivoting to watch the runner hit the bag, how was he able to see the no catch?

[UMP45]

Watch the ball glance at the runner. Once an umpire has enough experience he has a "sense" of when the batter-runner is about to touch 1st.

[BalkHawk]

You and your partner both did what you were "supposed" to do.

Maybe next time he'll read that one as trouble.

Sell the catch with conviction, especially when it's dubious at best; the call has to be made and you are all they got.

Change it to a trap with equal enthusiasm; like you hit a sac fly.

First, tell the manager who is about to feel sorry for himself. Maybe you can give him a chance to show class.

[maven]

Your partner should have gone out. You picked up the call and did the best you could. When asked, you got help and got it right.

Sounds like textbook making the best of a partners mistake. Glad he had eyes on the ball.

[noumpere]

 

I suppose I could have waited longer, and looked to my partner to make the call, but it looked to me that he had only glanced at the play as it unfolded, while he was coming in on a pivot.  We discussed it after the game, and he said he mistakenly thought the fly ball was not a trouble ball.  But, the question is, what do you do in such a situation if you or your partner make such a coverage mistake? Make no call, then call time and get together? Make a call, and correct it if necessary (as we did)?  What?

 

These things happen.  What would you do?

 

I find it hard to believe that this is the first time you or your partner mis-read a fly ball.  It's one of the hardest things to learn -- primarly because we don't really get to practice it.

 

If he comes in, it's your call.  Make it.  Don't look to him to make it.

 

Similarly, if he goes out on a routine ball, watch (glance at) the runner.  Don't take the ball just because it's routine.

 

After that, though, you did the right thing by getting together and making it right.

[lawump]

The OP is a simple misread by the base umpire on what turned out to be a trouble ball.  Whether this was caused by bad mechanics (failure to use pause-read-react) or just a plain old misread (misreads still happen occasionally even when proper pause-read-react mechanics are utilized) it doesn't matter.

 

Your job as the PU is to come out from behind the plate and start moving into the infield (on the first base side of the mound when the ball is hit anywhere from F8 straight in/straight back all the way to the right field line).  When doing so, you need to take your eye off the ball/fielder/runner and glance at your partner.  It is your job as PU to read the BU and adjust your mechanics (i.e. physical location) accordingly.  In the OP, the BU came in and pivoted.  Once he did, he does not have catch/no catch responsibility, period.  At that point, it is your job to adjust your location to get the best possible angle to see the catch/no catch.  Sometimes, you have time to adjust...sometimes you do not.  In the OP, you did a good job of realizing you may have blown the call, you got with your partner and got it right.

 

I think the one thing you need to change in reading your OP, is that you should not pause to wait and see if the BU makes a catch/no catch call once he has pivoted.  Under no set of mechanics does BU have responsibility for the catch/no catch on a ball hit to an outfielder once he has come in and pivoted.

[MidAmUmp]

There's been some good advice already given, so I can't contribute too much more than has already been said.

 

I will say that with no runners on base the plate umpire is responsible for all fly balls - fence to fence - UNTIL the base umpire changes that by deciding to go out.  Therefore, you need to assume all fly balls are yours and work to get an angle on every ball hit.  In this instance I would work towards the area between the mound and 1st base and be stopped/standing set BEFORE the catch attempt occurs.

 

The next piece of advice I would give is slow down.  It's okay to be unsure as long as you make a convincing, loud and emphatic call when you make the call.  See everything happen, read what the fielders do before making a call.  Who knows, if you slow down and wait, the outfielder might come up throwing or he might pick the ball up off the ground.  Slow down and take in all evidence before making a decision.

 

Finally, If you are unsure and can't get any solid evidence from the players...let it play out.  Call it a no catch and leave the ball live.  Let everything happen, then you can get together.  It's a whole lot easier to take runner(s) off the bases than to put runners on the bases and try to guess where they would have ended up.  Same with fair/foul, if you're just not sure, call it fair and let it play out.  Much easier to bring a kid back to bat than decide where he would have ended up.

[JHSump]

Lots of good advice!

 

Thanks all.

[cyclonehokiece]

Made the best of a "bad" situation. Sometimes we all can misread a ball.

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[bam]

Even though you pre-gamed this - if this is a short fly to F8, you should still be on the move toward 2nd.  If he doesn't make the call, it's all yours.

[Majordave]

As others have said. You got it right. MidAmUmp says it best IMHO that all fly balls belong to PU when BU is in A unless and until he goes out.

As for the ball to straight Centerfield, or any fly ball for that matter, I was taught, and I have to remind myself continuously, to get an angle. Do NOT run straight at the fielder. Try to get an offset. As Jason said, go to 1B side of mound and try to be perpendicular to the catch like you do on a play at a base.

And, sometimes you just gotta umpire.

Sounds like you got it right. Thanks for sharing your situation and giving us all a chance to reflect and learn.