[IRISHMAFIA]

I'm sort of curious that if you had one runner scoring, and a partner, why you just didn't follow your runner to the plate? I know you want to be available to help your partner, but the most important "touch" is at home base and that should be the priority for a plate umpire.

Of course, the catcher needs to be at least a stride in front of the plate and the pitcher has a multitude of places he should be depending on the direction from which the ball is coming, but none of those positions is anywhere near home plate.

A quick one from my playing days. Early in the game a player rounded 3B and was dead out at the plate. As I waited with the ball, he approached me and at the last second, leaped into the air leading with his feet at chest level. I stepped aside and placed the tag on him as he passed. I turned to the blue and asked if he was going to do anything more than call him out. He said, "No, he didn't mean any harm." I couldn't believe it.

Second game, same umpire, same runner, same situation. Apparantly, someone thinks this guy can run. I've got the ball waiting for him. He does the same he did the previous game. This time I reached out with hand and ball in my glove and swept his legs. He landed on his shoulder and was done for the day. The blue ejected me. My statement was, "But blue, I didn't mean any harm." We won the game, so a protest wasn't necessary. However, my ejection was reversed and the automatic two-game suspension was lifted. The umpire was pissed because I made him look bad. I told him if he took care of business in the first game when I asked him, the second situation probably would never have occured.

If possible, even if not in the form of a "warning", let the player know you saw something you didn't care for and may not be so generous in the future.