Quote:
Originally posted by Ranger
To Jim Porter about distance.
I make it my job to be an expert on what is taught at the professional umpire schools. I am also very aware that (as Carl indicated) they don't always have the best solutions. This is a case that I might say to you: Okay, but I will stay away from that play unless you can convince me that I am wrong. I must warn you that although I am not as old as Carl, I have a lot of years of bad positioning habit to break.
Consider this. Most of the college players are tall. Many are well over 6 feet. They will be running at the rate of better than 15 feet per second as they approach the plate. The ball is moving and the catcher (usually a 6 footer) will also be moving. Sometimes the throw will be very high or very wide. The area that you need to be focusing on is quite large. The tag will be happening in a small part of that area. But where?
If you don't need to see clearly this whole play as it develops then you might be good enough to put your nose down in the area that you predict the tag will occur. If you do and the play develops as you predict - BRAVO.
But what about the high throw? What about the runner who may decide to illegally or maliciously hit the catcher? How far will the tag be made from home plate? Suppose the runner will be tagged on his head one foot from the plate that he is about to touch with his right foot 7 feet away? How will you be able to catch a rolling slide with contact that happens over a 10 foot path as a tag may be applied in that mess? What if a punch or elbow is thrown at the runner? What if the runner actully slides into the umpire that is too close?
My umpire group has a few aliens with extraordinary visual skills. The Martians have antenna and a huge field of vision. They get real close. I happen to be a human being with 20-20 vision. I am not that good. I feel that the area that needs to be seen well on this kind of play is at least 15 feet. I know that I have to be far enough away from the play to have the entire play in my field of vision. To satisfy our human limitations I need to be about 20 feet away. Unfortunatly, if I stand that far away I may not be close enough to get the detail I may need. I also know that after I make a few calls from 20 feet away I may not be credible to the coaches and players. So I compromise.
Check yourself out. How wide is your field of vision? I am convinced that some plays can explode on you when you are too close. You may want to get this close but I hope you are not teaching others the same. If you have this wonderful gift you need to realize most of the rest of us do not. Speed, distance, detail, angle, and field of vision are all critical on any tag play. I simply want to see it all. I know my human limitations.
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Ranger,
Again, I don't disagree with you. In fact, you seem to have a better grasp on this area, which is, admittedly, one of my weakest.
I did not explain myself very well in this thread, which is quite unlike me, as you'll find out. I'm usually quite thorough.
When I say, "Get your nose down in there," I'm talking about our post-read reactions. Of course we need to start further away and read the play. That's a given on every play.
Amateur umpires have a tendency to be too far away from a tag play, and they tend to be flat footed. I've seen far more tag plays missed because an umpire stood still, far away from the play, than missed because the umpire was too close. In my opinion, a play "exploding on you" at close range is far less likely at the amateur level. Perhaps at professional umpire schools, and NCAA 1, where much finer points can be dissected, being too close is more of an issue. But in the trenches of youth ball, where the majority of umpires in this world are, that's hardly a problem.
After reading a tag play, if you're not ten to twelve feet from it, you risk missing it. If you don't adjust and, at the time of the tag, get your nose down in there, you risk missing it. Now I may not be an NCAA DI umpire, but I do work a lotta adult ball. I find these principles to be just as true there.
You say that you hope I am not teaching others the same. Let's not delve into insulting one another's training methods or beliefs. There's no need for that. The umpires under my training have done a superior job. I have watched umpires that I have trained go on to work HS, NCAA, and even semi-pro. They didn't seem to be too damaged by the experience.