[Jim Porter]

My focus was not on whether the old school umpire would be willing to give help. Of course he would give help if asked. Just about any umpire would. Many old school umpires would indeed give help, and then rip his partner to shreds about it afterwards. Some would do it to his face, and others behind his back. But I digress.

The new attitude I'm talking about that is pervading baseball officiating is the willingness on the part of umpires to ask for that help. It's mostly about the perception of participants and spectators.

I've seen it too many times - an old schooler on the bases, a play at first, a pulled foot that I can see clearly from my position as plate umpire, and the old schooler calling the batter-runner out. The first base coach going ape-poop pointing at the spot of the pulled foot, the batter-runner jumping up and down in disbelief, the bench in protest, and the old schooler insisting that he saw the play clearly.

The geometry is hard to deny. The further one is away from first base, the more he needs to move in order to gain a proper angle. It is entirely possible and completely likely that even the fleetest of foot might not have enough time to cover the distance required in order to gain that proper angle. Especially in the case of a close play with an on-target throw and a first baseman who over-stretches, there are situations that can arise where even the best of umpires could be caught not knowing if the foot came off the base or not.