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Umpires don't need math equations or the color-spectrum comparisons to make the call on tag plays. Just call what you see.
In the quiz II I presented earlier:
F8's throw beats the head-first sliding runner by a narrow margin, and F5 lays down a tag on R1, then throws to 2nd in an attempt to get B/R advancing there. Everyone in the park "saw" F5 tag R1--everyone but you, the PU, who had a perfect angle and who saw him tag the dirt inches in front of R1's hand, then throw to 2nd before R1 could slide into the tag.
what happened afterward made my violently argued "safe" call look even better--F5 nailed the B/R on a bang-bang play.
Now, if he had completed his tag of R1, he would not have been able to retire the B/R. The defense had enough time to get one runner, but not both, and that's how it got called by the crew. However, when you're making the call at third, you don't have a crystal ball to tell what's about to happen at 2nd. Call what you see.
Mueller, the R3 in Porter's post is out my field. Likewise, if F3 lifts his heel when he leans into a throw that beats B/R by a step or more, "he's out." Among players who drive, everyone wants and expects that call. The coaches of ten-year-olds argue that call.
I'm nowhere near as lenient on the neighborhood play as I used to be. The FPSR has removed the justification for that.
Tag plays are different than force plays or plays at 1st. If I KNOW your tag was missed or late (that is, I SAW it, not THOUGHT I saw it), safe is the right call, as well as the correct call. I don't care what Susue saw from the front row.
Call what you see.
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