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Thu Feb 17, 2005, 04:52pm
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Mine's balks. If I could magically be completely competent in one area of baseball officiating, that would be it.
Not that I see a lot of balks, but when they do occur, I always seem to think, "What the heck was that?" I watch the tapes over and over, but the pitcher never seems to do something I'm prepared for.
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greymule More whiskey—and fresh horses for my men! Roll Tide! 
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Thu Feb 17, 2005, 07:20pm
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Im getting better on the balk stuff. At our meeting the other night, they went into great detail on balks, and I learned some more.
My area is the footwork on a steal of 2nd. Im getting a good look at the play, I think, but I feel my footwork could be a little more Fred Astaire. Im trying to make it sharp, but it just doesnt feel right. Turning with the ball and everything, Im just wondering what it looks like from the dugouts, stands etc. Any suggestions?
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Fri Feb 18, 2005, 12:07am
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I would have to say it is dealing with that pitch up in my face and not flinching some. That and better conflict resolution with the coaches/game management. The game management part is my biggest goal to improve on this year.
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Jim Need an out, get an out. Need a run, balk it in.
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Fri Feb 18, 2005, 12:35am
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Quote:
I call balks almost on reflex. I'll see "something wrong", and bellow out, "That's a balk!" And then ... my mind starts racing as I try to categorize what I just saw within the framework of the balk rules. I'm 100% certain what I just saw was a balk - but the REASON is not always on the tip of my tongue. As we all know - somebody's going to want a reason. Of course, this isn't true for all balks. Some are easy to call and obvious to everybody. My most embarrassing moment with a balk was when I wasn't paying very close attention. A right-hander, quickly spun to attempt a pickoff at 1st ... and didn't throw. I called it a balk. The pitcher looked at me with this incredulous look, "But I stepped off!" See? I told you I wasn't paying attention. The kid must have been right because there was a chorus of others making the same claim. I looked at my partner who gave me that weird nod. I screwed up. So, I just gave it my best Emily Latilla ... "Never mind, then." Everybody chuckled and the game proceeded without the balk. Everybody thought justice was done but I felt 2-inches tall. I pay closer attention now. MY PROBLEM AREA: I have trouble with force plays where the initial throw would normally retire the runner easily, but the fielder drops the ball and then picks it up quickly, turning what was going to be routine into a banger. This usually happens to the pivot man on a double play. The throw arrives in plenty of time, but the pivot man bobbles it, drops it, and then quickly picks it up to try to salvage the play and get ONE out. I have a hard time getting my timing down for that. There are lot of similar plays. Basically, it comes down to the fact that I am sometimes surprised when a routine play goes south. I think I relax my mind a bit and then I have difficult time getting it back in gear a split second later for a difficult call. I know that you should never expect a play to be routine ... but, unfortunately, I do. David Emerling Memphis, TN [Edited by David Emerling on Feb 18th, 2005 at 01:23 AM]
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Fri Feb 18, 2005, 10:53am
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The pickoff at first in a two man crew if I'm the base umpire. There are so many angles and ways a runner can dive back ito first - inside the bag, outside the bag, hand first, feet first (seldom seen, but still possible). Then there's that quick swipe tag. And don't forget the cloud of dust. We've all seen the one where the runner easily dives back ahead of the throw, and we call him "safe", and later our plate guy says "He never made it back to the bag". And the one where the throw beats the runner easily, but the first baseman is sloppy with the tag. Yep, the pickoff at first.
"What game are YOU watching?"
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Fri Feb 18, 2005, 01:45pm
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I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I pitched in college and I have been the pitching coach for several teams.
I call balks almost on reflex. I'll see "something wrong", and bellow out, "That's a balk!" And then ... my mind starts racing as I try to categorize what I just saw within the framework of the balk rules. I'm 100% certain what I just saw was a balk - but the REASON is not always on the tip of my tongue. As we all know - somebody's going to want a reason. That's what happens to me. I've been seeing something wrong but not calling it until I figure out what it was. I like your advice: call it first, then figure out what happened. I pitched in college, too. (In those days you could "stop" by merely changing direction, so I made sure I pushed that rule to its limit.) But in all those games, I actually balked only once (moved my left leg a little after the stop). The defense screamed, but the umps didn't call it. I trained myself to step off backward the instant something started to happen, so that helped. Actually, I cannot remember a single balk call on any pitcher over my college career.
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greymule More whiskey—and fresh horses for my men! Roll Tide!
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Fri Feb 18, 2005, 04:31pm
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Timing, on a hard slide at 2B. I see the fielder catch the throw, I see the tag in time, and for some unknown reason my mind wants to bang him before I am positive that the fielder held onto the ball.
I had one last summer where the tag was made, the SS jumped into the air with ball in glove, did a 360 degree spin in the air, landed, and dropped the ball. Of course i had already banged the runner. I had one last week where the tag was made by the SS who then fell to the ground and rolled over about 3 times. Fortunately, he held onto the ball, because I had already banged the runner. It is interesting, because I never call one at the plate before I know the catcher still has the ball, it happens at 2B for me.
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