Mike, I'll respect your opinion. The way I looked at it was like this. The play at second involved a high tag with a runners feet in close proximity to the base. I think a majority of us would have "safed" this play when looking at it at regular speed. We all know how difficult this call can be when you have to judge a high tag against a foot that's 3 feet away from where the tag was.
Balls and strikes are judgemental, and yes all umpires do have a different zone. We all know that pitches are missed and you are correct in stating that consistency is probably considered the most important thing when calling balls and strikes. I'll agree with your assessment of HW.
I'll admit that Young did a great job of snapping his bat back through the zone after offering at the pitch. I just have a hard time seeing how the first base umpire didn't see this call. IMO, a lack of concentration.
__________________
I'm due to make a great call. After all, I've been officiating a long time !!!
|