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I look at it this way, we are a team and for us winning is getting the job done right. That said if a partner makes a protestable call we'll be having a quiet chat at the end of which he'll be announcing the final ruling. Never have I heard a team complain because of excessive umpire conferances but I have heard them complain about not enough. I'm not going out to show up my partner, heck I might go out even if I agree to begin with just to make the teams see that we really do care about getting it right. If it's a judgement call I will almost always wait for my partner to come to me for help.
I say almost because in the 3000+ games that I've called I have only once gone out on a judgement call before being asked. I was PU for a mens A/AA league game. On a double play ball the throw to 1st was a little off line and the 1st baseman juggled the ball away from my partner where he couldn't possibly see the juggle and banged out the BR. Now I've come up the line to watch for pulled foot and saw the obvious juggle along with the BR and everyone in his, the 1st base, dugout. My partner was very experienced but has a short fuse and the BR also had a rep for a short fuse. I tried to let everyone know that I had seen the juggle but I was too late to save the BR, he was gone before I got there but our discussion with the coach was a short one. "Coach, you know he's gotta go when he says what he did, he's gone but not out. Put in a sub and maybe next time he'll wait until the dust settles before he tosses himself out again." Jim
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