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Originally Posted by CoachJM
Gentlemen,
I found the first one of these I posted to be quite helpful to me, so I thought I'd try another one. These pictures are from the same game (14U Travel, 90' diamond, working solo.)
There are two plays, with a sequence of five photos each. The first play was a basehit to RCF with an R1 and 2 outs. The R1 attempted to advance to 3B on the play, and the defense played on him at 3B. In the first shot, the tag has not yet been applied and the runner is about 6' shy of 3B. The second shot is after the tag was applied.
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In the first play IMO, you were too close to third base.
Granted when working SOLO you cannot be everywhere, but suppose the throw was cut-off or the runner was clearly safe at 3rd and F5 threw to F4/F6 to get the BR who was trying to advance. From the pictures you would have been way out of position to make a possible call at second base.
When working SOLO and dealing with multiple runners, IMO it's best to simply get to the "working area" which is right around the pitchers mound. From there you can simply turn in either direction (depending upon where the play is) and make the call without committing yourself one way or another.
The ONE exception is R3. In that case, you have to be at the plate area.
Also, when working SOLO, for the most part you cannot possibly see the ACTUAL TAG/NO TAG of the runner. Therefore, IMO use "givens" meaning Fielder where they are supposed to be, the throw is good and the tag where it should be = OUT. No need to look for a tag. Same is true on the flip-side. It's the same for both teams so one team is not gaining an advantage over another.
From the picture it appears that F5 was not in the proper fielding position. He was behind the runner so the tag attempt became more difficult than it should have been if F5 were playing the position properly.
In Summary: when working SOLO I would stay more towards the middle of the diamond (working area) when there are multiple runners. Also, it's a seven inning game and you want to conserve as much energy as you can, so know need to get close to every play.
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