Hung Out to Dry

[WIUMP]

My partner, who I have never worked with before, and I had a morning-afternoon DH. We talked and agreed that I'd have plate in the AM and he'd take it for game 2. We arrived, changed, went though our pregame discussion. Among the other particulars, we specifically discuss outfield catch/no-catch in B & C. We agree that U1 would take anything going towards the line.

Game 1 goes off without a hitch. Pitchers worked fast. Batters swung a lot. Fast forward to game 2. I'm on bases. R1. 0 outs. VT at the bat. FED (HS, yes a handful of HSs play summer ball in WI because, well, WI) if it matters. Batter hits line drive/fly ball down the LF line. F7 breaks to his right. Remembering our pregame discussion, I know my partner will have catch/no-catch so I can worry about base touches (and possible retouches in this situation) and make sure BR does not pass R1 if R1 begins to retreat thinking ball will be caught. I see the touch at 1B and BR bearing down on R1. As I turn toward 2B, I see the LF dive and maybe make a catch. It looked like a catch to me but I wasn't set and wasn't about to signal or verbalize since I was confident my partner would call it. F7 hops up, still no call from my partner, and fires a laser one-hopper to 1B. R1, not hearing a call, apparently continued to run and had touched 2B. He made no attempt to return to 1B. Still no call from partner. I glance over he is not giving any sort of signal. I flip the proverbial coin and bang R1 out at 1B.  I credit VTHC for calmly asking for time and going to my partner to ask WTF just happened. My partner, after a few calm exchanges with VTHC walked toward me to discuss what I saw. He asked if I had a catch. I said that from my compromised vantage point it looked like a catch but I didn't verbalize an out because of our pregame discussion. He says that he didn't see it. After our discussion, he explains that both BR and R1 are out on the catch and no-tag respectively. VTHC asks for clarification and proceeds to bench without theatrics.

Of course, since our game started 35 min late due to an athletic director F up, my partner and I both have to run at the end of the game and we don't get a chance to discuss what happened. As a new umpire, I was hoping for at least some debriefing so I could be prepared for future situations of this nature, especially if I work with this guy again. Ironically, two years ago, I was coaching a JV game and had a game end on a double play which happened the exact same way, except R1 was the tying run. I was HTHC. I did not handle it as calmly as the VTHC did today.

[maven]

 

... Remembering our pregame discussion, I know my partner will have catch/no-catch so I can worry about base touches (and possible retouches in this situation) and make sure BR does not pass R1 if R1 begins to retreat thinking ball will be caught. I see the touch at 1B and BR bearing down on R1. As I turn toward 2B, I see the LF dive and maybe make a catch. It looked like a catch to me but I wasn't set and wasn't about to signal or verbalize since I was confident my partner would call it. 

​Given your thread title, you're obviously aware of your partner's mechanical breakdown. That's PU's call all the way, and he HAS to make a call, no matter what kind of look he gets. R1 needs to know whether he has to retouch, or whether the force at 2B is still on. Given the average HS field, which can have swales and dropoffs, we sometimes don't get good looks at these diving catches. PU cannot have a no-call here. We use all our info, wait for the fielder to come up and pull the ball out of his glove, and then signal out and verbalize "That's a catch!" OR signal safe and verbalize "No catch!" Don't rush it. Do sell it, with both a signal and verbal.

So that's it for PU, but what about yourself? You're right that BU has the responsibilities you list, but you should also have eyes on the catch. Watch the ball, glance at runners. Confusion about the catch/no catch created every problem in your post: had you been set and seen it, you could have fixed it after. This play does not turn on the BR's touch at 1B. The BR passing R1 could happen here, but it's made less likely with a timely and clear call on the catch (also, you can't call the BR out for passing if he's out on the catch), and we don't call that out unless it's totally obvious — so obvious you'd pick it up after turning back from seeing the catch/no catch. Prioritize the catch, not the touches etc.

The PU's no-call pretty much screwed the offense (more than it screwed you). Had he made a mistaken call, which he decided to reverse after getting info from you, the crew would have rules backing to fix it (and nullify outs or advances made because one team was put at a disadvantage by a judgment call that was later reversed, 10-2-3l). That's another reason it's absolutely crucial for PU to call something here.

[WIUMP]

I hear you @maven. So, are we more screwed or less screwed if I make a call (out in this case) and split second later, PU makes the opposite call? I imagine it is easier to fix conflicting calls than to try to make sense of a non-call. 

[maven]

I hear you @maven. So, are we more screwed or less screwed if I make a call (out in this case) and split second later, PU makes the opposite call? I imagine it is easier to fix conflicting calls than to try to make sense of a non-call. 

​I've been thinking about this, and what I'd do if PU made no call on the catch/no catch. I'm torn: as a vigorous advocate of good mechanics, I'm leery about supporting stepping on our partner's calls. OTOH, it could be a crew saver.

When the ball is flying out to LF, R1 should go halfway. Then F7 makes his catch (or not), and R1 needs to go, either to 2B or back to retouch. I'm very slow making catch/no catch calls, so if I didn't hear partner make a call and I knew what it should be, I might get it, so R1 would know what to do.

I might hate myself afterward though.

[Jimurray]

Did anyone brief communicating? "I've got the ball" or "I've got the line". If you don't hear that, after a glance at your PU (I dont like FEDs U1) it's your call. This doesn't sound like "tweener" land but it happens and communicating and briefing is a must.

[Majordave]

Been in this exact same situation. Most of my Missouri HS geriatric partners cannot move from plate so they won't make it. My mechanic for these guys is to yell "hey Dick!  You've got the ball!"  But I try to get a look anyway. It's a terrible situation. Especially if you pre-game it and they still don't cover it. 

[Mick]

Been in this exact same situation. Most of my Missouri HS geriatric partners cannot move from plate so they won't make it. My mechanic for these guys is to yell "hey Dick!  You've got the ball!"  But I try to get a look anyway. It's a terrible situation. Especially if you pre-game it and they still don't cover it. 

​I'll have to start calling the PU 'Dick' from now on.  Maybe it really helps..... 

 

[Majordave]

Hahaha. @Mick. Some of us are.

Ive posted this before but I introduced myself as Dick at a D2 conference weekend this year. Both coaches made an interesting face. I said "My real name is Dave. But after my first couple of calls one or both of you are gonna be calling me Dick anyway so I'll just cut to the chase." Laughs all around. Worked and we had a relatively calm 4 game weekend series with playoff spot on the line. Not sure it will work any other time but this time it did.

As for calling my partner Dick it has to be "earned". Doesn't take much.  

[Hawkman]

It can be a tough situation when working with unknown partners. I usually work with the same partner, but still pick up games with other guys on occasion. My rule of thumb with them is that if I don't know them I don't trust them, which can make for an uncomfortable day but better safe than sorry. I just try to take a glance at my partner in certain situations to see if they are going to be where they are supposed to be. Worked many HS games with guys that watch every fly ball to the outfield and never watch a baseruner. They never come inside and pivot from the A position on base hits or fly balls, they just watch it go into the outfield then chase the runner, so I just go ahead and bust out to the mound area to take a potential play at 2nd or 3rd because I know he isn't going to make it. Guys who absolutely will not budge from behind the plate even if I go out on a trouble ball from A. Training is non existent in my area if I guy doesn't voluntarily seek it out and there are plenty of guys who you can tell have never been to a clinic or read an umpiring manual who work a ton of JV level HS ball. Most of the guys I work varsity games with are competent and can be trusted, however I feel fortunate to have a regular partner who I work 85% of my games with; I always know he'll be where he's supposed to be and vice versa. Plus we call each other out on our mistakes and weaknesses which helps to make us better umpires.

On a side note we often talk here on appearances and the impression it makes on coaches and fans but particularly fellow umpires. I worked a sophomore doubleheader with a guy recently who was unshaven, had the light blue shirt with the red trim, and pulled out his pants (wrinkled and dirty) with the belt and ball bags still attached from a previous game. Suffice it to say I wasn't optimistic about how the night would go. Was he a good umpire? No, he was not. Nice guy, understood the game but his mechanics and rotations were terrible as was his strike zone. Oh well, the check should arrive next week

[RichMSN]

Frankly, nothing surprises me with a significant percentage of WI umpires.  There are some that are top notch -- I tend to work almost all my games with them if I can help it.

[JaxRolo]

When you have a partner that you never worked with before you never know what you gonna get.

[HuskerUmp22]

This may be PU call, but I always (as BU) look at the catch/no catch. You can always glance at runners. The runners are waiting to see what the result is with the fielder with less than two outs. You will have time to look at catch/no catch and then watch the runners.