Fishing in Someone Else's Pond

[Velho]

Interested in y'all's thoughts on how to best handle this situation.

4 man, R2 gets too far off post pitch, F2 back picks to F6, F6 OBS, U2 calls Out*. U1 gives two beats and comes up big to grab it and award R2 3B. I saw it as well and was going to go with waiting for OHC to come out and U2 to get us together.

Thoughts on either method or an unmentioned other approach?

 

* Not looking to debate if it was OBS or the reasons U2 didn't grab it immediately. Assume unequivocal OBS however you envision it.

[JSam21]

There is ZERO possible chance that U1 can see obstruction on a play coming back into 2nd base. The optics of it are AWFUL at best. U3 would have a better look at it than U1. Either way, I'm not coming up from the wings to make an OBS call at 2nd base.

 

[noumpere]

Give the "I have information for you" signal (whatever you decide to use) and / or look, or walk toward U2 with a purpose..

 

Edit:  I should add that it depends on how much of this is entirely rule based  and how much is judgment. OBS can be both, so I'd like to know more about what happened.

[grayhawk]

9 minutes ago, JSam21 said:

There is ZERO possible chance that U1 can see obstruction on a play coming back into 2nd base. The optics of it are AWFUL at best. U3 would have a better look at it than U1. Either way, I'm not coming up from the wings to make an OBS call at 2nd base.

 

 

[The Man in Blue]

3 hours ago, JSam21 said:

There is ZERO possible chance that U1 can see obstruction on a play coming back into 2nd base. The optics of it are AWFUL at best. U3 would have a better look at it than U1. Either way, I'm not coming up from the wings to make an OBS call at 2nd base.

 

 

But we just want you to get the calls right!!!!!

 

[Velho]

Thanks all. The optics are, and were, awful. Appreciate the input.

 

I should probably stop there, but...

I can more than appreciate the doubt that U1 was in position to call it. On this particular play F6 planted his feet to box out R2 before F2 threw the ball, F6 never moved from that initial position, and there was F6-R2 contact before F6 caught the ball. Even had it been an "in the act of fielding the throw" provision ruleset (which it wasn't) it would have been OBS. U1, U3, PU, and an off field evaluator all had it the same with no doubts. There are some extenuating reason U1 called it in real time vs PU/U3 but they aren't relevant to my original question.

Again, thanks.

 

[SeeingEyeDog]

I would like to thread the following needle...

I agree with @JSam21...I think U1 has a hard time seeing that. However...

I firmly believe, if you see (insert violation here)...you call it.

For example...foul in the box? Plate misses it/doesn't call it and I definitively have it? I am coming up with both hands for a beat or two and if he doesn't pick me up visually, I am then calling that.

I was on the plate in a 3-man game, they ran the hidden ball trick, my partner missed it...didn't even see the tag. I had the runner CLEARLY off the base, the tag applied and the fielder held up the ball. I grabbed that out.

I'm sure someone will be along to crush me with a million different plays that are "not our responsibility that only certain umpires can call"...fine. There are always exceptions. Absent an exception, if you definitively have it (whatever that means to you....), you're an umpire, call it.

~Dawg