[Andy]

This is another of the situations in two-umpire mechanics where there is a tradeoff. Runner on first, non-batted ball, there are two seperate plays that you will have to cover; pickoff attempt at first and an attempted steal of second.

I have been taught that the steal attempt happens more than the pickoff attempt, therefore, I am going to position myself more toward second to make it easier to get to position to call the attempted steal play.

Cecil is absolutely correct in saying that pickoff plays at first happen much faster. You compensate for this by starting to take a few steps toward first, parallel to the baseline once the ball is not hit by the batter and the runner at first is not stealing. By the time the play happens and you make a call, you are much closer to first with a better angle. It also gives the appearance to the teams and coaches that you are hustling to position to make the call.

The worst thing you can do, IMHO, is to set up closer to second base and not make any movement at all to call the pickoff play at first.