Asking for help???

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by Cub42

1) When you are in C, if you are not 100% sure if he held the bag, or on a swipe tag, go to your partner BEFORE you make a call and ask him exactly what you want to know. " Did he hold the bag ". Your partner should answer either yes or no, then you make the call. This should be discussed in your pregame conference.

Absolutely. And under no circumstances should you ever ask your partner, "Whaddya got?" Like Cub42 said, ask him exactly what you want to know. I had a partner ask me whaddya got, I told him "the plate."

[LMan]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

I had a partner ask me whaddya got, I told him "the plate."

HA! .........

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by Steven Tyler

Is that the approved Little League mechanic? I can't imagine anyone working a Freshman or higher game saying anything this foolish on the field.

You mean what my partner said, as in "whaddya got?," I presume.

This was a Varsity game 3 years ago with a veteran partner who knows the right questions to ask on an appeal, but chose to be lazy and put the call on my shoulders. And this guy was in "A position" when he asked. No excuse. I had no idea what he wanted as far as information from me. He could have chosen "Did he tag him?" or "Did he pull his foot?" or any specific question.

My assignor (who has more experience umpiring than you, me, and Garth put together) told me he would have told him that he had "heartburn" if asked "whaddya got?"

[bisonpitcher]

In hindsight, yes I agree that I shouldnt have even granted the appeal. And I understand what everyone is saying about positioning, but I also find it hard to believe that it seem no one here has ever got obscured on this type of play from C position. People are saying adjust to the throw and I completely understand that, however what was so weird about this play was the fact that the first baseman lunged at the last instant to his left which obscured my view. At the time of the call, I was on the edge of the mound dirt ( I had moved about 30-40 feet toward the 45 foot line from my C position, just about 2 steps from the grass cut.) Like I said, I have never had this issue before. And for the record, I did go to my partner and ask him if he had a foot on the bag, and while standing close to me (within conversational speaking distance), thats when he yelled that he couldnt see that. I definitely agree that I shouldnt have granted the appeal to the asst., and the only reason i didnt ask for help on the play before the call was that i could see no seperation; and then after the call nothing was said by the coaches or fans until i trotted back to A when the Asst. coach asked for the appeal.

[GarthB]

Originally Posted by bisonpitcher

At the time of the call, I was on the edge of the mound dirt ( I had moved about 30-40 feet toward the 45 foot line from my C position, just about 2 steps from the grass cut.)

With a throw coming from F6, you moved into a "straightline" position. Move somewhat perpenicular to the throw, not parallel. That will give you a view of any space between F3's foot and the bag.