Position at home

[Carl Childress]

Originally posted by Ax
Good thread alot of good points made... here is my addition to help answer this.

There is a book that is sold various locations and sites... its the UDC for Minor League Pro Umps, 2 man mechanics that answers this question perfectly. Gives all examples and offers plenty of plays to show positioning at plate.

Good Luck

Ax

Based on the level of expertise of those who post here, I suspect the average umpire reading this thread is familiar with or owns the manual producted by the PBUC. I agree generally with your comment; by and large, those mechanics serve amateurs well.

Some caveats need to be made clear.

First, those mechanics were primarily created (and are required) for evaluation purposes. That is, a minor league evaluator in rating candidate umpires will expect the umpires to follow the guideliness, regardless of any exigent circumstances. He's looking for willingness to comply with directives and understanding of the "approved" system.

Second, many local associations, run by trained, competent clinicians, adopt their own set of guidelines. Umpires should not necessarily adopt PBUC mechanics until so instructed by their association.

Finally, in the absence of rigid requirements by a local group, umpires who are free to chose their own positions should gather as much data as they can. That has been the focus, anyway, of this thread.