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ggk
Sorry for the long version answer to your question but here goes:
The second call in the infield has been changed several times since 1974.
There are two separate mechanics that hae been used over the years.
Mechanic #1:
R1 and the batter runner is retired before reaching first base safely and R1 continues to advance from 1st base, past 2nd base and heads for 3rd base.
Until 1974 the official standard mechanic was that the base umpire would make the call at first base and then using the same basic mechanic that is used to cover a steal of second base by R1 would move across the diamond and make the second call at third base.
Until 1974 the official advanced mechanic was that the base umpire would make the call at first base and the Plate umpire would rotate down and take the second call at third base. The Base Umpire would then rotate towards the plate and would have any call that could happen at the plate if R1 was not put out at third and tried to advance.
Starting in 1975 the titles of these two mechanics were reversed.
In 1982 the titles of the mechanics reverted to their original positions.
By 1984 the base umpire no longer rotated home. The plate umpire was responsible for the runner at third and was directed to take any additional play at the plate.
The NAPL recognized in 1995 that the mechanic that took the plate umpire to third was causing problems. Plate umpires were leaving the plate area to beat the runner to third and were not completing their responsibilities concerning the batter runner with views of swipe tags, a defensive players not keeping their feet on the base and running lane violations.
There is now only one accepted mechanic in the NAPL and NCAA books (Oregon, with the NFHS approval, does not use Federation mechanics so I do not know how the NFHS handles this call). The base umpire covers both calls that occur in the R1 advancing plays. If an umpire believes in angle over distance then this is the obvious acceptable mechanic.
When the Plate Umpire assists on R1 advancing on a base hit the fact that there is a trailing runner allows the base umpire to not have to over commit to third and have a secondary play occur at second base.
We know that two man umpiring is base on compromise. The people that have developed the mechanics have studied plays and positioning for thousands of games. They have attempt to help cover plays with the best of compromises.
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