Overturning your partner (again)

[WindyCityBlue]

rmstone -
This comes up all the time...don't use secret or discreet signals if you can help it. The coaches will catch on.

I had a partner in my first season of Rookie ball. His mechanic was to casually (and discreetly) point at a base when a guy touched it rounding the bases. No big deal, right? Sure enough, a guy missed third and the bench coach noticed that he started to point and stopped himself. It was subtle, only took a second and no one was supposed to know except us umpires. You know what happened next. The defense appealed the touch at third and he called him out. The coach admitted that he would never have seen it, except for the umpire's mechanic. EVERYBODY watched him for the rest of the season. He found it a very difficult habit to break.

Your best bet is to call "Time": get together away from the play if you are going to change it after a disputed call and decide how you'll handle it. Sometimes the best laid plans get us in trouble.