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Ok........the consensus seems to be a bit undecided.....meaning of course there is no consensus.
I still think if you read 10-6-A:
"There will be no appeal on any decision of any umpire on the grounds that the umpire was not correct in the conclusion as to whether a batted ball was fair of foul, a runner safe or out, a pitched ball is a ball or a strike, or on any play involving accuracy of judgement. No decision rendered by any umpire will be reversed except when the umpire is convinced it is in violation of one of these rules."
I take this to mean that judgement calls are indeed final and no call by an umpire may be changed unless the call is in conflict with one of the playing rules.
I do not think that it is an ego problem to stick by a call once it has been made.......we all know that any umpire (no matter how inexperienced/experienced they are) can get into a play that they maybe did not have the best look.
Mike made mention of the touchdown in the latest Superbowl.....and how the play looked different from the many angles given by the cameras......but guess who was in the best position to make the call......the Line Judge (it could be a BJ or R who made it, I just used LJ for an example) who signaled touchdown.......if they did not have instant replay......that LJ could have asked everyone else on that crew (for THAT particular play).....and not a one of them could have given him any sort of opinion on what they saw based on angle the LJ had. He had the best angle......
As to the comment of gaining respect from coaches by trying to get the call right......I have always admired the good umpire who I know hustles to get the best position to make the call....and sticks by it.
One thought that also crossed my mind while typing this is that many of you do a higher level of ball than I typically call.
About 80% of the FP I call is in the youth leagues......I typically get assigned 14U and up but still have about 10-15% of my youth games be in the 12U and below.
I called 23 womens FP (good quality players and coaches) games this summer.......and of those games, I think I only had 1 coach that asked what I saw (close tag play at the plate)........he did not question it after the play but between innings......very nice and a good conversation. These coaches and players have been around enough to know that not every close call goes their way. Most accept that for the way it is and know that it usually evens out in the end.
Just an example here but in 25 youth games.......(lets say 10U).......you (both umpires) might get asked up to 50 times by a coach to go for help (if you don't call kid ball, that might be enough to scare you away...lol)........the younger the players and the less experienced the coaches are.......the more you see them coming out questioning calls. If you have 8U or even 6U coach pitch.....that number goes up. As you progress up the age groups.......that number continues to fall.
This is where I think it is a mistake to go for help when asked......if you did, they would expect it all the time and would really get bent when you don't......in kid FP I have had coaches tell me that I had to honor their appeal to go to my partner........
I know that those that disagree are not advocating going for help every time a coach questions you.....but I think that we can do a disservice by sometimes going for help and sometimes not.......
Steve mentioned that it NCAA it is expected you petition your partner when asked......to that, I ask this?
I bet at that level of play (NCAA), it does NOT happen with great frequency, even though the coach knows you have to get help. They know that you had the best look at the play and probably do not question your calls very often.
JMHO
Joel
[Edited by Gulf Coast Blue on Feb 20th, 2001 at 06:14 PM]
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