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Originally Posted by Always Wright
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Let me say for the third time - I am not advocating working outside. When I work 4-man games I work inside when there are runners on 1st and/or 2nd. I am simply saying that the look from the outside is a good look, in fact the same look we get when taking plays at the plate.
As to your point of major league umpires abandoning working outside in the 1930's: as I type this I am holding 2 books in my lap. The first is Yankee Stadium: 75 years of Drama, Glamor, and Glory, by Ray Robinson and Christopher Jennison. On pp92-93 it shows a photo from the 1951 season. In the photo, the Yanks have the bases loaded and the 2nd base umpire is positioned behind the bag. The second book is The Men In Blue: Conversations With Umpires, by Larry R. Gerlach. I quote from the chapter on Joe Paparella who umpired in the American League from 1946-65; "I strongly disagree with the National League about putting the second base umpire on the infield with a runner on first base. He should be in the outfield like in the American League for one reason and one reason only: if he gets hit with the ball, that kills the play. It doesn't happen often, but it happens. And you can get the same shot at a tag at second base from the outfield position if you hustle, maybe better because you watch the flight of the ball all the way instead of losing it when you turn." That quote is from Joe Paparella himself. So AL umps were working outside well beyond the 1930's. The first games I remember watching are from the 1960's and they were still working outside then.
Chris Wright
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And his reasoning is as dumb as can be. How many times does a ML umpire get hit with a ball while inside the diamond? Fine, maybe they did umpire that way back in the 50's....I'll give you that.
The reason the plate umpire can't take a throw that way is the unpredictable nature of the throw. A throw from the outfield can be way offline or cut by a defender and thrown to the plate. There's no way a PU could start behind the plate, come to a fixed point in front of the plate, and let a throw turn him to a play at the plate. Also, since the runner doesn't have to remain in contact with the plate, slides can be more unpredictable as well. And what if F2 wants to make a throw himself?
I've worked softball. Calling steals at second are more difficult because there's a body between the umpire and the tag.
Finally, what would you do on a 6-4-3 DP, for example? It seems like that type of play would put the umpire right in the path of the throw -- if the throw gets by F4, it doesn't seem like a very safe place to be.
Using "it was done before" allows us to bring in any other practice that was done before. It's the logic, in a sense, that you're using.