Quote:
Originally posted by SoGARef
Windy,
I have a question for you. Your partner in a game makes a call that you, and only you, see to be incorrect.
You approach your partner and inform him that you saw it another way.
What do you do if he says he saw it the way he called it and you are wrong?
In baseball, you may have a crew chief who is by rule in charge of the game
and has the authority to overrule any other official on the field.
In football, there is no official who has authority over the other officials.
The referee is informally called the crew chief because in most cases he is the most senior member of the crew.
The referee wears a white hat only for differentiation from other members for easy identification
by the pressbox, radio/TV personnel, fans and coaches because he signals the information.
Nowhere in the rules of football does it say that when there is a dispute among officials the referee shall have the final say.
The way you have come across in you posts makes it seem that you say that your call is always better than the other guys and you will make sure it is corrected to what you saw because that is the "right call". Maybe that is not what you are saying, but that is how you are being perceived as coming across. Always remember that perception is reality to those who perceive it.
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Great post - you are articulate and obviously not easily drawn into a youre not one of us, so shut up fracas.
Thank you for recognizing that my words may have been twisted. My original question was When do you think it is appropriate to overrule your partner? The can of worms was opened and a few took offense at the suggestion that their talent was being challenged by another official. My point was and remains, we may come across a situation that requires us to abandon tradition and recognize our obligation to get the call right. Your sense of self and ability to communicate with your crew dictates how you handle this. I have in no way advocated stepping in and brutalizing a fellow official. A couple of members have implied that and they are wrong. The proof is in my text - read them and see for yourself. The only thing I have advocated was not dismissing the call because someone else made it and "I don't want to step on his toes."
Here are your answers...
It is true in Baseball we have a Crew Chief who manages the umpiring crew, but he has limited authority to correct something on the field. I am on three separate D-1 baseball crews for three different conferences. I am the crew chief on just one and have been party to both making and changing bad calls. I have blown judgement calls and recognize that if my partner(s) is coming to me to sell the right call, he wasnt doing it to big league me or steal the show. At our level, we pride ourselves on giving the contestants their moneys worth. The game is not about us. That said, I have had situations where my first base partner called a ball a home run when it was clear to me (and the entire third base/defensive dugout) that the ball was foul. This was a conference game - the first of a long double header. As the batter was rounding second, I trotted out to my partner, (my third base partner watched him touch second, third and home) to ask what he saw. He saw the reaction from the dugout and stands and said he thought it was fair. I told him that I was steady and had a good look at it too - and I know it was foul. He knew that I wouldnt be telling him this if I wasnt sure. Our mechanic was to head back to our positions and I indicated that the call was Foul Ball. I took a few minutes of grief and he was teased by the fans for the rest of the game. He had the plate for the next game and the coach who had the runs taken away looked at him and said, That was a gutsy call to change. To which my partner added, Thanks, but it was the right call. That was a gutsy reply. We have had the same crew on that conference for six staright years. That call happened in his first year. I guess that they recognize the fact that we don't bury our mistakes.
Now, I blew a dropped foul call in an even bigger game. The catcher trapped the ball against the screen on a ball going away from me. He spun around when I yelled, Show me the ball. and held it in his glove for all of us to see. I signalled Out and started to walk back to my position. The first base coach and my first base partner came charging in, with the umpire saying, Easy, Coach - let me talk to him. - keeping him at bay. (We dont like assistant caoches!) I could tell that he was certain when he said the ball glanced the netting and was trapped. He was over 100 feet away and I was just ten...Ive been in the Minors and hes got only five years of college ball under his belt...the catcher wouldnt lie to me...I could have fallen back on any of these. Again, he told me what he saw and I trusted his honesty. He didnt have a bet on the game, he was trying to save my *** and do the right thing...GET THE CALL RIGHT. I was red-assed the rest of the game and my every call received a hoot or a heckle, but we did our jobs.
So, while it is true that you cannot overrule a play that you have not seen - those are words I have never written, by the way (Shame on you, Rut, for insinuating that I did). An official that can do something to correct the call, should. It is really that simple. If you are not comfortable challenging your crewmates before, during or after the game, then a little soul searching is in order. My crew mates are no more important than I and likewise. I trust them and they are excellent officials, but we all make mistakes. Recognizing that we can fix them is the difference.
Is every call reversible? Absolutely not, despite some members challenging me to over rule a ball or strike call by my partner (Again, shame on you, Rut). But, Ive asked all of my partners to make sure when we walk off the field, have some pride and be sure that we did our jobs. Youll know the difference and always remember - the bad calls haunt us forever.