Quote:
Originally posted by Ump20
Here on Long Island I have often had coaches say to players about the BU "He's not going to see anything from THERE".
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Jim, we have those same coaches here in Texas.
They only believe that while on offense, though.
When they're on defense they are in total agreement that the strike can be seen and called from the infield.
And I've also seen those same coaches from 100 ft. away argue tag plays where the official is right on top of the call and in perfect position to make the call. It comes down to whatever excuse they want to seek to argue a call that they don't like or that they want to go there way. I've also had many coaches later admit they argued calls knowing the official got it right, but they either wanted to merely stand up for their player or attempt to intimidate the official in hopes it would pay off for them later. When you start listening to coaches during a game, your game will generally not benefit from it.
Bottom line, while being in the inner infield is not the best position possible, it's still a position where the judgment can be easily made and called. While a 4 man crew would assure a better angle on this call, it would assure a better angle on most calls. But we don't get many 4 man crews in amateur baseball.
IMO, any umpire that feels he can't call a check swing appeal from the inner infield needs to be an umpire in football, not baseball.
Freix