Quote:
Originally posted by Little Jimmy
Rec game today. Low level pitcher/catcher combination. Many, many balls are off target and missed by the catcher. I set up in the slot each time and it often seemed like my feet/shins were the only thing keeping the ball from rolling to the backstop and allowing the runners to advance. My question is should I move my leg when it became obvious that the slow moving pitch was rolling to my leg and the catcher was making no attempt to get it? At least 8-10 times in the game my body prevented the ball from getting away. This wasn't a case of me getting beat up: the pitch was way too slow for that. Was I giving the defense an advantage?
|
We set up in the slot for the best look at the strike zone; we stay still for the sole purpose of maintaining the best look at the strike zone. IMO, there is no reason to stay there and get hit by a pitch when it is 100% clear the pitch cannot be a strike. To me, it is the same concept as tracking; when do we stop tracking the ball? Once it is clear the pitch cannot be a strike. From that point, with regards to standing still and tracking, I believe our sole responsibility is to keep the ball (and all play) in sight.
Several years ago, the ASA NUS started telling us to STOP tracking pitches that were no longer possible strikes. We had umpires keeping their head on pitches that were 5 feet over their head, had bounced twice, and 5 feet behind the batter. As a result of that tunnel vision tracking, the umpires DIDN'T see batters swinging, runners leaving bases. To me, the concept is the same. Why do we think that we are required to stand there "and take it like a man"? Our job is to call the pitch, and once we have done that, it is the catcher's responsibility to stop and retrieve the ball, not the umpire's. If, in doing our job, the ball hits off us, that is part of the game. If it doesn't hit off us, that is part of the game. If we pick up our foot, or move after the pitch bounces for the third time, that doesn't give either offense or defense an advantage, because we have no responsibility to either, to be hit or not. The result of the pitch is a result of what the pitcher and catcher do.