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Originally Posted by Tim C.
Taking your mask off with your right hand has NOTHING to do with your quality as an umpire.
As long as the mask is quickly moved to your left hand (so during an out call you aren't jabbing the mask around) there is NO DIFFERENCE of which hand was used.
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I humbly disagree with this opinion.
If it doesn't matter, then why do we teach the left handed mechanic at EVERY recognized school in the country? Which hand do you make your out call with? Try doing that with a mask in it.
If it only matters that the call is made correctly, why wear uniforms - apperance has no place on a ball feld, right?
Why not invent personalized hand signals for calls, I mean if the call is accurate, who cares what it looks like?
Evaluations require adherence to an accepted standard, whether at work or on the ball field. Otherwise, we would see white socks, yellow shirts and blue jeans at the next championship game. Take a look at an NCAA evaluation form sometime and see how points are attributed to many criteria. While this may create robots, it also prevents free thinking and left handed out calls! (Again, who cares as long as the call is correct, right?)
This had to have been a lapse in judgement or an attempt to bait for a future column. I have grown to repsect your opinions, even when we disagree. This one deviates from your normal tone though T.