Screened on the line

[His High Holiness]

Originally posted by Kaliix
R1 and BR hits a check swing hump back liner down the right field line. The ball is not up in the air very long, so I get out from behind the plate, clear the catcher and only get maybe three steps before I set up straddling the line for the call. At that point, the fielders cross in front of me and effectively screen me off from seeing the ball hit.

1st base bench (defense) and coach go nuts shouting that the ball was foul by two feet. I tell the coach I was screened and called it where I thought it was going to land.

This reminds me of an NCAA game that I had a couple of years ago. A fly ball was hit down the left field line. As the PU, I moved 50 feet up the line to make the call. At the last minute, the third baseman, who was no where near the play, straddled the line to see for himself where it would land. I was completely blocked out.

Using the theory that I should not punish the offense for what the defense did wrong, I pointed the ball fair. The third baseman turned around and said. "It was at least 6 inches foul."

The BR ended up at second base.

At any level below college, the defensive coach would have gone crazy at this point. In my game, the defensive coach yelled at the third baseman "The ump would have seen it foul if you had been doing your job instead of trying to do his."

The third baseman sheepishly dropped the subject and no one said another word about it.

It helps to have coaches who understand your job. This is why NCAA baseball is easier in some respects that lower level ball.

Peter