Quote:
Originally posted by ecurebel
its not that we need or really want help on some calls, it just looks better if as a team the partner and i get together sometimes on something that is being questioned.
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Your statement is the perfect introduction to a reposting of a soapbox speech I made just a day or two ago on a private list. Here's the cut 'n paste:
Getting it right, run amock!
Witnessed at a senior league tournament game recently:
R1, R3. Pitcher comes set, then twirls and feints to 2B. PU comes out hollering "that's a balk!" and advances R3 and R1. Not a peep of protest or questioning from the defensive coach.
PU is getting set for the next pitch, then all of a sudden he calls time, and walks out to confer with his partner in C position. They stand out there and talk for 2 or 3 minutes, then PU turns around and waves the runners back to their original bases. He has, apparently, been persuaded by his partner that the balk call he just made was incorrect.
NOW here comes the offensive coach, wanting an explanation for the reversal. It doesn't help that he (the rat) is pretty rules-savvy, and he knows the original balk call was the right call. He's getting exercised, PU is getting frazzled, and all of a sudden, PU turns to yours truly, who is just sitting in the stands minding his own business flirting with some REALLY knockout little teeny-boppers, and he motions me over to the fence. What can I say, my real-world reputation is just as stellar as my Internet umpire expertise, and people ask me rules questions all the time. Not usually in the middle of a playoff game like this, but what the hell. I approach the fence, PU tells me what he had and why, and I ask one question - did you judge that R1 was NOT attempting to steal 2B - and he answers affirmatively, and I tell him "I agree with your call."
So he now puts the runners back to their awarded bases, has a short conversation with the defensive coach, and life goes on.
After the game, I visited with the crew, because I wanted to know, why the HECK did PU call a conference with his partner, AFTER he had made the balk call and when NOBODY was questioning or arguing the call? His response - "well, I just wanted to get it right."
We have created a monster with this "getting it right" mantra. It hadn't dawned on him that what it looked like to most of the spectators and participants was he made a call, was unsure of it, dragged his partner into the mess, decided to reverse the call, got argued with, and then pulled a DAD OUT OF THE STANDS to discuss it with, and then changed the call back. His desire to get the call right - in a complete absence of questioning or disagreement by any coach - ended up throwing himself and his partner WAY under the bus.
All things in moderation, folks. The "get it right" mantra must be observed with reason and balance, and without abandoning our primary responsibilities as umpires - to maintain order and discipline on the field and administer the rules in the spirit and intent (and not always the letter) in which they were written. Questionable calls are a part of the game and both teams have to live with the risk of umpire error and the finite limits of our knowledge and training. When coaches plead with you to "get help" on a call, they are NOT asking you to "get it right;" they are asking you to find a way to rule in their favor. If you were the calling ump and you were in position to make the call, then the proper response to an "appeal" request is "No, Coach, that's my call, I saw the play and made the call. Let's play ball." That's not putting umpire's ego ahead of getting it right - it's knowing what your job is as an umpire and doing it.