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Originally posted by Andy
Sit A: No outs, no one on. Sinking liner to right field. U1 goes out and rules no catch. F9 fires the ball to 1B, who has the call at 1B?
Steve: PU call all the way, trailing the BR.
Mike R: U3. PU is to "assist" in watching the BR touch the base and return to the plate.
U3 comes inside and takes the BR/R all the way to 3B
According to Emily, this call belongs to the PU. He can get closer to the play and be more "believable". The PU does not take a trailing path, but must move out into the infield to get an angle on the potential play at first. This often turns into a bang-bang play at first. The U3 would have to sprint all of the way across the diamond and still probably only be able to get to about the circle by the time the call needs to be made. By letting the PU take the call at first, U3 is able to come in and get plays at second and third, PU can move back to the plate once the BR has cleared second base.
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On a large field, I could agree with no problems, but a 60' field, I don't think it is that hard for U3 to get to the circle. Also, if the PU is moving toward the circle for the angle, you've lost that extra set of eyes at a different angle if anything goofy happens. Granted, that should be an exception on this particular play, but you've never had to deal with "Rowe's Law".
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Also - one of the nice things about the 3-umpire system is the opportunity to send an umpire to the outfield on fly balls and still have decent coverage with 2 umpires in the infield. We are taught to have an umpire go out on every fly ball....Since we don't work 3-umpire on a regular basis, it just eliminates one decision from our thought process.
SC asked about other "tricky' situations in 3-umpire. The one that we covered yesterday is the "shoot" play.
R1 on first, U3 goes out on a sinking line drive to center. U1 now has responsibility for the play at second. The runner could be holding close to first, not knowing if the ball would be caught. This may be the only time that an umpire does not come inside on a ball in the outfield. U1 needs to parallel the runner to second base on the outfield side to get an angle on the possible force play at second. PU would have third and home and after R1 clears second, 1U has the B/R.
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You cannot get a good angle for a force at 2B from the outside unless you stay back toward 1B. Been there, done that. BTW, if I remember correctly from OKC, ASA is standing by the inside-outside theory and will not support this mechanic as a standard. An exception to avoid interferring with a play, yes, but not as a standard mechanic which is what some umpires have done over the past few years. BTW, I have used it and it can work on routine plays, but an umpire can really get burnt if not careful.