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Wade,
You are very wrong in at least one item - I'll get to that in a bit.
When you have a runner at 3rd, regardless of any other runners, that is your most critical runner. That is the runner that is most likely to try & score. That's where you position yourself to call. In a 2-man crew, with R1 at 3B, I am positioned about 20 ft from the LF line and am no deeper than 1-2 stepa behind F6.
Where you are absolutely wrong is in your statement that "And there aint one blue clicking this thread who can do more than swivel and take a step in the <2.4 seconds it will take for the banger thats coming at 1." I get a lot more than 1 step in that time. I am 52 yrs old and have only ever - that's EVER - had a runner outrun me, and that was due to a bad leg acting up that day. I work high school age and older - up through men's majors. And I am not the only umpire who keeps themselves able to move quickly.
I believe that a lot of what you spoke of regarding B position with R1 on 1B is accurate - let the players tell you where you need to be positioned. With a catcher who likes pick-off attempts, I am positioned 20 ft from the RF line and about 8 ft behind 1B. After the pitch, I take 1 step toward the RF line so that IF a pick-off is attempted, I have 1-2 more steps to take in order to have a great position and view. This is called "working between pitches". When the catcher is not inclined to try a pick-off or neither F3 or F4 makes any move to cover, I don't need to move and may actually move another stride or 2 toward 2B. And I am easily able to get to a 90-degree position for a call at 2B, if there is a steal.
What tricks have I learned over time?
1-Stay in shape
2-Know the game situation and know what you need to do IF...
3-Don't anticipate your calls, but be ready
My first item, above, is for all levels. The other items are a whole lot easier as the quality of play and skill levels advances. I doubt that this approach would work with younger players.
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Steve M
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