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Originally Posted by RPatrino
You have to protect your partner(s). Sometimes from themselves.
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You should if you can but sometimes they just can't be helped. Recent war stories:
Adult League game a season or two ago. My partner, a pretty good varsity HS ump, on the plate. Struggling with the pitches being thrown by the big boys, his zone was all over the place. One of the coaches complained that he never called the same position twice in a row. After my partner exchanged a few words (from the plate) with the coach in the dugout he set to watch the next pitch. Clearly up (way up). "STRIKE, how'd you like that one coach?" He yelled out. He called a couple of other bad pitches strikes too, with comments. Not much you can do there......
Last season, HS varsity playoff game. I'm the 3B ump. My PU kicks a call at home, we all saw it but he wouldn't go for help. Coach was all over him. They spent several minutes yelling at each other. I looked up at the sky, no clouds...no rain. I looked at the lights around the field, no ending this game due to darkness. I remembered that there was no time limit on the game. I looked at one of the asst. coaches and waived him toward where his head coach & my PU were still screaming at each other, the direction I was now walking too. It was like we read each others minds. He grabbed his guy and I got my guy. A few moments later we were back playing ball. Right or wrong I did it.