|
Hustle is good, but Dakota said it best, "Getting the angle is more important than getting the distance."
If the batter is the only baserunner, I'll usually get out to the circle, and shade toward whichever base is likely to get the throw. This also lets me see her touch all bases.
If there are multiple runners, however, I will ALWAYS stay in foul ground. Also - while I've seen a lot of solo-umpires hustle down the line toward first (in foul ground) with runners on, I believe that often gives you a horrible angle on the play as it's very hard to see the runner touch from behind her. You get a better view (albeit a long one) from down the 3B line (and you're in better position for potential other plays.
One thing to keep in the back of your head is to try to see as many runners actually touch their bases as possible, without giving up positioning. Savvy coaches will appeal more often on solo-umpires, thinking that maybe if we didn't see it, we might call an out. (Wrong thinking for most of us, but possible).
And the hardest call - when there are 2 outs, try to be in position to see both a play at 2nd or 3rd, and the runner touching home to know whether the run scores. This, to me, is the absolute hardest thing to get right 100% of the time when working alone. Sometimes you have to be in a weird position to see both.
|