Calling strikes from a knee

[GarthB]

Originally Posted by ToGreySt

couple of things, what do you guys think about calling strikes from a knee. it is something that I would love to try, I really like the idea of being sure that I will always see the zone exactly the same way every time. being a new guy, I know I have a problem getting a consistant lock-in mechanism and I watched the CLE-BOS game last night with Wally bell behind the plate and i got to thinking if that was something I could do. obviously I am aware of the main problem that in a 2-man system I do have a lot of ground to cover.

also, as an aside, do any of you call games wearing sunglasses behind the plate, any pro-cons you guys have observed?

thanks,

Joe

Unless effort is made to get up off the knee when appropriate, including after each pitch, the perceptioncan be one of laziness. Added to that is the additional time it takes to clear the catcher and get some of the looks you need to get on bunts, steals of home and other plays. Many evaluators, including those who evaluate MiLB umpires have gotten somehat negative on the the knee stance, and, as has been noted previously, most of the MLB umpires who used it have stopped doing so.

I have never worked LL, so I can't speak to the appropriateness of the stance for those games.