Old Stance may be back?

[Old Time Ump]

The reference to "Old Stance" probably should have read "One of the Older Stances". The favored position in the Olde Days was to stand directly in line with the parallel sides of the plate with no relation to the catcher's position. Sometimes we looked over his head, sometimes a shoulder and sometimes at his back. The later positions which became popular followed the National League's discarding the baloon protector. It was argued that the body protector would give the Plate more 'mobility' and also permit positioning which might give a better view of pitches on the inside. The actual stances adopted (including the 'Dascoli Knee) were either idiosnyncratic or forced by the umpire's stature or physical condition. Vinnie Smith, the old catcher, had such bad knees that he simply couldn't bend in his last years as an umpire. He and Burkhart stood straight as a bean pole. Smith later got relief when his crew agreed for him to skip the Plate in their rotation.