"New" 2-man A position mechanic?

[JSam21]

3 hours ago, NVUmp said:

Taking two steps off the line is typical for three-man mechanics, where you have another umpire in front of you to take the BR into 2B or 3B. 

That said, other than looking for a pulled foot, another reason to get ninety degrees to the throw is to get those few extra steps towards the grass in case of an overthrow to 1B.  Throws from 3B and the SS are more likely to result in an overthrow and those extra steps will help you get that much ahead of the runner if he/she decides to take an extra base.

BTW - I'm pretty sure we're part of the same Association and we teach all new umpires to get in position from A at ninety degrees to the throw.  Whoever your evaluator was isn't teaching the approved MAC mechanics.

The philosophy is to get the best look at the play you have, not sacrificing that look for a play that may or may not happen. 
 

90* makes it so much more likely that F3 steps right at you. Going two steps fair allows you to officiate the space you need (the foot and base connection) so much more efficiently while allowing you the ability to adjust to bad throws to get your own pulled foot and swipe tags. 
 

Umpiring isn’t a one sized fits all endeavor. Some people like to take plays at 90*, some like to take them two steps off the line. The end goal is to get the calls right. As long as we are doing that, what’s the big deal?

[Richvee]

@JSam21 Your posts and explanations of the 2sF mechanic is spot on. This is exactly how it is being taught and rationalized here on the east coast. 
As for initial positioning.. the farther off the line F3 is, the more “in line” with him  you can get because he won’t be able to get to that line drive on the line if he’s playing towards the hole. The closer he gets to the line, the farther behind him we need to be. Never in front, and never closer than 10-12 feet from the bag. Rule of thumb.. try to be in a spot where you can see F3’s shoe laces. This should let you get a decent look at a line drive trap situation. Of course, if he’s hugging the foul line, you’re not going to able to get in a spot to see shoelaces. 
Bottom line, our starting position is directly related to F3’s  starting position. 

[JSam21]

And like I've said previously, this isn't a one sized fits all endeavor. Somethings work for some people, somethings don't. We have to be willing to try new things. The biggest thing that I've heard at camps/clinics is an instructor say, "My biggest fear is that someone knows something that I don't." The umpiring world at the college level has never been more competitive than it is right now. You have to do everything that you can in order to advance and then work harder to keep your spot. If you aren't willing to try new things, change things, and evolve with the game, you will be left behind. 

The other thing that more people need to realize is the days of "spot umpiring" are long gone. 

As with any mechanics, understand your physical limitations. This may not work for you because of that. 

[834k3r]

2 hours ago, JSam21 said:

The other thing that more people need to realize is the days of "spot umpiring" are long gone. 

I'm new enough to the craft I've never heard that term. What's meant by "spot umpiring"?

[Velho]

3 hours ago, JSam21 said:

As with any mechanics, understand your physical limitations. This may not work for you because of that. 

"Know who's body you're in" Said often at LL West week long camp

[JSam21]

16 minutes ago, 834k3r said:

I'm new enough to the craft I've never heard that term. What's meant by "spot umpiring"?

So "spot umpiring" is a term that is used to describe a method of taking plays were you go to one spot and stay there, regardless of what goes on in the play. 

We've all heard for plays at the plate we go 3rd base line extended. So people would go to 3rd base line extended and plant their feet and officiate the entire play from that spot, no matter how the play developed. If the key points of the action didn't occur where we were, we were just SOL.

For play A you go to B. For play C you go to D. Etc... Does that make sense? 

What is being taught now is a more dynamic style of officiating, where we will take read steps and move with the play to get our eyes to the key points of the play. This is a direct result of replay coming into the game and various rule changes about collisions changing how the players take plays.

 

[MadMax]

4 hours ago, JSam21 said:

The umpiring world at the college level has never been more competitive than it is right now. You have to do everything that you can in order to advance and then work harder to keep your spot. If you aren't willing to try new things, change things, and evolve with the game, you will be left behind. 

Paycheck Justification. 

The pay – I can’t say “game fees”, because there’s more to it – has increased dramatically in the last 10 years, and doubly more in the past 5 years. The preeminent conferences are performing full-blown personnel management, creating & deploying crews per series that will not only execute each game of the series satisfactorily, but will function well together as a crew in all 3 aspects (and yes, there are 3) – inside the fence, in the “umpire room”, and outside the fence. That crew’s performance and behavior, in all 3 aspects, is what directly reflects on that conference-association and their leadership staff – assigner, evaluators, and instructors. 

Accordingly, the pay is per series… and all that encompasses. Sure, a “series” could just be a single mid-week game, but the same expectations apply. So, within the fence, the two most critical aspects – even more than outright Rules knowledge, and far more than mechanics details – are pre-action preparedness, and situational management. 

Rules knowledge, mechanics details, etc., those are all supposed to be taken care of in at least the umpire room, if not outside the fence. In amateur baseball, we’ve all had that partner who has remarked, either in the game or just after, “Wow, that’s the first time I’ve heard of that rule (interpretation)!” That does. Not. Fly. In. College. Baseball. The immediate inquiry follows – “Why is that? Have you not been briefed by your crew chief / assigner / mentor? Were you not in the Zoom call? Have you not read your email(s)???” 

The same goes for mechanics / rotational details. A college baseball game is not a place to be “testing out a read-step versus going-to-a-spot” (for example); you should have already assimilated it and put it into practice, if it’s that important. And for the men-of-few-words instructors out there, everything they tell you is important. They ain’t gonna tell you twice. 

College baseball umpiring has gone notably younger, too. Many of the conference staffs are stocked with ex-MiLB guys who are there and available for any number of reasons. There are 3 things that they bring with them that assigners / evaluators favor: 

1. They function well within the more intense speed-of-the-game, more (readily) than a “homegrown” college umpire who has (likely) climbed the ladder from HS → JuCo → NAIA → D-3+. 
2. They have the physical and umpiring disciplines that permeate all 3 aforementioned aspects, or realms, of umpiring. 
3. They are compliant and/or malleable, at least. 

And much like Matthew McConaughey‘s character in Dazed and Confused – “I tell you what about these (Minor League Umpires), man. Every year, I get older, and they stay the same age.”