[Cubbies87]

In many situations, one umpire will THINK they have seen something better than the other ump. Having only umped alone (and every once in a while I get another ump), I have never had the privelege of many eyes and angles on plays. However, it makes me familiar with the situation.

As we all know, in any efficient multiple-umpire crew, all the members need to have signals to communicate a multitude of things. A few that come into play in this situation involve getting help from another ump.

Even though the BU starts with his back to the play, the play develops on top of him, and it is his call to make initially. If the PU sees something, but the BU does not ask for help, either verbally or with signals, stay out of it. Going over the head of another umpire, or appearing to do so, opens the whole crew up to a world of nightmares from the coaches, players, and fans that need to be avoided for the game to run smoothly.

But, this play had to do with safety, and malicious intent. As DownTownTonyBrown hit home on (excuse the pun), intentional collisions have no place in any non-proffesional ball. In this instance, a signal for an umpire conference needs to be made by the PU. When play has seized, and the BU sees the signal, a conference can be had. The play will be discussed, with both points of views. The BU is in charge of this conference, and the decision, along with post-conference actions are his job. If the umpires agree to change the call, the runners are awarded the bases that the umpires feel they would have reached, and F6 is ejected. But, this is a controversial call, and a fuming coach needs to be dealt with some leeway.

That is just my opinion on how a play of THAT nature could be ruled. Those actions are not appropriate for a non-pro game, and call for some non-conventional methods of ruling the play. It's unfortunate that so many of us hold a game high enough to warrant such behavior.