Carl's list of five

[Ump20]

Originally posted by Carl Childress
It is apparent that a small group wishes to nit-pick a perfectly reasonable guideline for umpires of games at all levels.

First, they always refer to it as "Carl's list of 5" as if that automatically makes it worthless or wrong. In this country most umpires who have heard of me would believe that gives the list status....

Let me go over the list one more time, individually. If anyone disagrees, please let us know. On the other hand, if you believe these five instances do represent calls that may be changed legally, stop denigrating the list!

2. The plate umpire calls "Ball, no he didn't go!" and the catcher asks him to get help. The appropriate base umpire may legally say, "Yes, he did." (9.02c CMT) Does anyone disagree?...

If you believe there are other instances that can be legally changed, please post them and the authoritative opinion supporting that ruling...

Finally: Someone is all agog that some AAA umpires in Arizona discussed whether they should learn how to change an erroneous call even during continuous action. The tone of the quote was such that a careless reader might think the discussion provided an answer different from current practice, which is "No, it cannot be changed."

George Bush was governor of Texas while my state executed over 250 people. No doubt each time he discussed recommending to the Pardon Board they commute the death sentence. But he did it only once, and that time for a serial killer.

Discussing an issue> means nothing. My wife and I discussed going to Hawaii this summer. She said: "I don't want to go if it costs more than $100." I said: "Me neither."

As far as #2 not to nitpick (golly we've seen enough of that before) but is it not true that in FED an umpire is not "required" to go for help on a checked swing. FED Umpires are encouraged to treat it the same as OBR and check.

Although 70% of Americans favor capital punishment I would remind others that the Governor of Texas has no pardon capability himself. Carla Faye Tucker was in my mind just such a convicted killer who it would have been more than deserving of a pardon.

Finally, while looking for additional support to convince nay Sayers (as insurmountable task that would be) I came across the following situation in Baseball By The Rules Pine Tar, Spitballs, and Midgets "..The score was 1-0 Boston in the bottom of the fourth. Oil Can Boyd was doing the pitching honors for the Red Sox, and the Angels had two out and two men on: outfielder Brian Downing on first and first baseman Wally Joyner on second. Third baseman Doug DeCinces came to the plate and hit what Jim Palmer called a ‘pool cue shot’ – the ball meandered down the first baseline and bounded off the bag into fair territory. By the time Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner caught up with the bouncing ball, his play was at the plate, where Wally Joyner was preparing to score. Buckner fired the ball to catcher Rich Gedman. It was a close call, but plate umpire Terry Cooney made it: safe.

Red Sox Manager John McNamara argued the call, and Oil Can was predictably perturbed, but it’s unlikely that even they could have predicted what happened next: Terry Cooney had second thoughts, conferred with third base ump Richie Garcia, and changed his call. Joyner was out.

This time Angel’s manager Gene Mauch argued the call and then some, but he didn’t get a new call for his trouble. He got thrown out of the game. (However, he did get some satisfaction later, when the Angels won the game, 5-3.)

Interviewed after the eventful game, umpires Cooney and Garcia explained what happened. Cooney said that because he’d gone to cover the play at first, he was able to see that Gedman had the ball in time, but he wasn’t sure Gedman had actually tagged Joyner. He called the runner safe. When McNamara and virtually the entire Red Sox bench came at him, Cooney decided to check with Garcia.

Garcia said that Cooney didn’t ask him to make a call or to decide whether Joyner had beaten the tag; Cooney simply wanted to know whether or not there had been [EMPHASIS] a tag. Garcia answered in no uncertain terms-there had definitely been a tag. The umpiring teamwork resulted in a reversed call….” (pg 204-205 book by Glen Waggoner, Kathleen Moloney, and Hugh Howard).

I do not recall the play that well. I was not yet an umpire. I do remember many thought Oil Can should have been ejected albeit it was a league playoff game. Heaven forbid but this seems to support the EWS crew in that the call was made after a “final judgment” and based upon a manager’s complaint. I also know that a year or two ago a MLB ump went on his own to a video replay on I think was a homerun call so MLB umps are not infallible or without mistake. Jim Simms/NY