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New Mechanic?
Watching a game (2-umpire, FP, but irrelevant) yesterday and saw BU do something that, to me, is a strange.
On a ball to the OF, BU came inside, looked down to see where he was standing and then took a couple steps over to be on the baseline. I was told by tournament UIC this is what is being taught at national schools. IMO, it isn't a smart mechanic. I don't know if this is mechanic which oversimplifies the umpire's readiness to be in position of a possible play on a throwback to 1st or someone more anal than myself mandating unnecessary movement for the sake of appearance.
Unless there is a throw coming from the area of 2B, planting oneself on the 1BL is counterproductive.
My initial thought was that if the ball is overthrown, mishandled or just missed when coming back to the infield, this umpire is not going to get to 2B in time to get a good position to make a possible call.
The positive of coming inside on balls to the outfield is not only to keep the elements in front of you, but to set up the umpire to move into position for subsequent plays.
Thoughts?
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