McClelland; right for the wrong reason.

[Warren Willson]

Originally posted by Bainer
I'm not waiting for him to formally ask me in private whether or not I feel that the ball was over the fence- rulebook-be-damned!

The problem with that attitude, Bainer, is that it is contrary to the attitude required of professional umpires - see the PBUC Umpire Manual Section 7.23 entitled Attitude.

The point that is being made is that there is both time AND a process to follow in getting the call "ultimately correct" in such cases. You are right that a manifestly wrong call MUST be corrected, wherever possible, and that it is up to the crew to correct it. What you need to embrace is the proper process for achieving that result.

In the case you outlined, the proper process would be to simply to tell your partner what you saw. If he agrees he may change his call. If he doesn't agree then the crew chief may decide - see OBR 9.04(c). Either way you just DON'T OVERRULE a fellow official. That is the process and it is way more important than anything except the Game itself.

Officials require due process to function. Without that you have anarchy, and therefore no real role for impartial arbiters to play.

Hope this helps

Cheers