Gentlemen,
Being kind of new to this, I thought I'd share an experience I had while umpiring a High School age Fall Ball game last year.
I was BU in A and the batter hit a "routine grounder" to the left side of the infield. The F5 cleanly fielded it and threw to 1st. I had moved into fair territory at a roughly 45 degree angle to the 1B line. As the throw left F5's hand it quickly became apparent that it was not a "quality" throw. I focused on the base and listened for the catch. Sure enough, the F3's foot came off the bag as he reached for the throw and it was clear to me that he was off the bag before he caught the throw, which was 2-3 steps ahead of the BR.
As the BR crossed the bag, I made an emphatic "SAFE!" call, & followed with a two-hand sweeping motion while verbalizing "Off the bag".
All of a sudden, there's some lamentation from the defense, and my partner, who is roughly 1/2 way up the 1B line discretely signals me that he's got something I may not have seen.
I then called Time and my partner and I had a private conversation with my partner, during which my partner informed me that he had clearly seen the F3 make a "good" swipe tag of the BR before he had reached 1B.
I then announced that the BR was "Out, on the tag!". There was no objection from the offense when I reversed my call, and the game proceeded to completion without further incident, despite some bangers on the bases.
From my perspective, I FUBAR'd that call at 1B. I could make the lame excuse that I was screened from seeing the tag by F3's body (which I was), but that was just because I didn't know enough to make the minor adjustment necessary to get a clear view. Even more mortifying to me, is that I didn't even know that the F3 had
attempted a swipe tag, let alone whether or not the tag was good. I had not employed "proper use of the eyes", because once I saw the F3's foot come off the bag, I had neglected to closely observe what he did once he caught the ball.
When I attended the Desert Classic the following month, I was instructed on both of these points and, hopefully, I will avoid making these particualr mistakes in the future. I'm sure there will be others. While attending class, I related this situation to one of the instructors over adult beverages one evening. While he was too polite to call me an incompetent boob, his distaste for the fact that I had reversed my original call was evident.
At the time, I was glad that my partner let me know he had seen something and felt it was "the right thing to do" to reverse my call. Now I'm not so sure. The MiLB umpire/instructor seemed to suggest that, even after receiving the additional info., I should have just "eaten" the call.
I would also appreciate some clarification on the rationale behind Tim C.'s statement that:
Quote:
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If the BU asks before the call OR the call is safe a PU can give help (if asked). If the call is "OUT!" then there is no help to be given.
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The part about asking before making a call I get, but I'm not clear on why it might be occasionally OK to reverse a Safe call, but not an Out call.
Not being argumentative, just trying to understand.
Thanks.
JM