[SanDiegoSteve]

Garth,

So you are saying that you should be absolutely no closer on a tag play than on a force?

That goes against everything I was ever taught. I have never seen any umpire take a tag play from 15' or more away. Ever. At any level. You always see in close up photos of MLB plays at the plate, the catcher, the runner and the umpire in the same frame. If the umpire wasn't fairly close to the play he wouldn't be in the picture.

I didn't mean to LITERALLY put your face between the glove and the runner and make an umpire sandwich. Just get in closer than on a force! 6 to 10 feet, depending on the type of play, is just fine. As long as you can see the whole play develop. It's like using a zoom lens...you don't want to cut out part of the picture, so you can't get TOO close. But you don't need a wide-angle lens like you need on a force play.

The quote didn't come from the makers of Referee Magazine itself. It came from either A)Carl Childress or B)Jon Bible, the major contributors of the day.

The article said that you should get closer to a tag play, and back away from a force force play. That is what the general idea was behind the "stick your nose into it" reference.

If I am able to get in closer for a tag play, I do. If not, then I take what I can get. But if you have the time to get a better look, by all means you should do it.

If you think I am going to sit back and reflect about someone telling me I've been taught wrong, and have been doing it wrong (and getting good ratings, making request lists, etc.) all these years, you need to think again. It gets real old to always be "corrected," as if I need the approval of certain people here. I've never had any evaluator come up to me and say, "Steve, you get too close on those tag plays, you might want to back up some!"

I know what I have read, who I learned from, and what I have made a study of over the last 20 years, not to mention the many games I have worked. I have always been a real stickler for proper mechanics. I have worked hard on developing and honing my skills, and I am open to learning new things. But I don't like getting dismissed as "wrong" out of hand. I learned differently perhaps, but I wouldn't go so far as to say that I'm wrong. I have never had any trouble getting my calls right, and I get in excellent position to see them.

Now, Garth, this was a calm, well thought out response, and not a "knee-jerk" reaction.