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Old Fri Oct 08, 2004, 09:28am
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Rich Rich is offline
Get away from me, Steve.
 
Join Date: Aug 2000
Posts: 15,785
Quote:
Originally posted by GarthB
Gordon:

The senior umpire will be held responsible for a blown call or ruling, especially one the is obvious to the guy across the street or one that may decide the game, whether he made it or his partner made it. He is expected to avoid these problems and help his partner correct his mistakes.

I agree with Peter up to a point, and at this time it is a theoretical point. I would do everything in my power to convince my partner to change his call, privately, of course. If, after all my efforts, he still refused, I would follow the rules and back off. Peter, it seems, would at that point unilaterally change the call.

I don't know what he would do if his partner, just as unilaterally, changed it back. I can foresee an ugly public spectacle that could be worse than letting the call go.

This difference is what caused me to post in this thread. In the article at officiating.com that I referenced, the author also suggests unilaterall action when a partner doesn't come around.

We will not let things go that far. My association would forgive the senior ump if his partner refused all opportunities to do what was right.

[Edited by GarthB on Oct 7th, 2004 at 05:53 PM]
I was working an NCAA D-III game one time with a "big dog" who works a lot of college ball, including some NCAA D-I. In other words, he's available during the day

I called a balk for a non-stop by the pitcher and the batter put the ball in play and got a single, moving all the other runners up. Naturally, the single was because the fielder didn't bother fielding the ball, thinking the ball was dead. Looked really ugly.

The visiting coach tried to argue this point with me (that the batter has to come back because the ball is dead on a balk), and I started wondering where D-III schools find their coaches. By this point, the "big dog" sauntered in, I figured, to offer support, if needed. Instead, he told the coach that the offense always has the choice of the balk or the play.

Oh. My. God. And this guy works D-I nonconference games. Since I got the result I wanted (players staying on the bases and the coach disappearing) I left it go. I had a brief word with my partner at the car, but he really wasn't all that concerned with the fact he might have blown one.

You control what you can control, I guess. But would I have been willing to fight to the death had my partner said that it WAS an immediate dead ball? Of course not, but i may have subliminally encouraged the other coach to file a protest

--Rich