Quote:
Originally posted by Bfair
I fail to see significant differences in the last allowable exception per CC's list and the last paragraph written by Patrick as, indeed, there COULD be ensuing action after CC's last exception. In fact, I could provide you ways that items 2 and 3 of Carl's list could affect ensuing action. Therefore, using Patrrick's summaary paragraph, I guess that could reduce the list. Consequently, I must even start questioning the authoritativeness of the entirety of the list itself !!
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In fact, whereby Moose said this was done with consultation of another official, I think most would applaud the efforts of the official in trying his best to get the call right. Many umpires may disagree with that action. In whole, I feel the number of umpires disagreeing would be a sigmificant minority compared to the number of people agreeing wiht his efforts.
Not all situations can fall into "reversible" catefories. In fact, by the book, no judgement calls are reversible (despite Carl's list which includes several judgement calls). Somewhere, somehow, at sometime, someone must have said we in some way may alter from that book. Is that not correct? We obviously must use great judgement in possible reversible situations in regards to how that reversal may have impacted the ensuing play. That matter is addressed in other sports. However, where it has little or no impact on ensuing play, I respect an official who will put forth his best effort to get the call right.
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Bfair:
Talk about flip-flopping! Steve, in one place you say you applaud efforts to get the call right, and in another you say that the list of reversible calls (given to assist umpires in knowing when they can legally get help in getting it right) should be reduced. Which is it?
The difference between Carl's list of five(5) reversible calls, and every other non-reversible call is only
one word - LEGALLY. The five calls in Carl's list are all
legally reversible. The rest are not. Your contention that NO judgement calls are reversible is just flat wrong. For confirmation see OBR 9.04(c), 9.02(c)Comment.
Moose's correction of his call was NOT in accordance with any of the five(5) LEGALLY reversible calls in Carl's list, despite the apparent closeness of the last item in that list. Moose SAW the ball dropped. He just didn't know WHEN it was dropped. He guessed and made a call. Having made that call, it cannot be reversed LEGALLY. The "number of umpires disagreeing" with his actions was not a "significant minority" in that thread. It was a landslide majority, and almost unanimous if you read Peter Osborne's post carefully.
Pete Booth AND Bfair:
In your advocating change for baseball, Pete/Steve, you are ignoring one of its greatest assets, and the significance of that asset for many of your countrymen. TRADITION. What makes baseball so great is that it is an anchor in the ever moving, ever changing sea of Life. That 3 strikes will always be an OUT is something many people have come to depend on for solid stability, when everything else in their lives appears at best as jellow.
In his book
Future Shock, Alvin Toffler speculates that the greatest single danger to modern society is the pace of change. When too many things in people's lives change too quickly, some people are "shocked" by the instability of their environment and "crack" under the pressure. That theory, however pessimistic, can be used to explain much of modern society's problems; drug and alcohol abuse, family breakdown, gambling addiction, youth suicide etc. These are all efforts to either keep up with the pace of change or find a way out of the pain of failure to do so. Life is a never-ending process of adjustment to change.
To a degree, baseball has helped to insulate middle America from much of the "shock" that rapid change can bring. The soliloquy by James Earl Jones in the movie
Field of Dreams articulates that very clearly. "Throughout the ages the only constant has been baseball", he says, and I tend to believe he was right. If you mess with that "constant" there will be nothing left that speaks of stability and tradition in many people's lives. That is why baseball, more than any other sport, has resisted change if it is purely for change's sake. Although parts of the game certainly have changed over time, the underlying principles have remained solid and constant; rewarding self-sacrifice, encouraging respect for authority, prizing team spirit - these are the values that make baseball great. Hard, but great.
Cheers,
[Edited by Warren Willson on Feb 8th, 2001 at 12:32 AM]