Calls that may end a game

[TussAgee11]

I'll make sure not to take that advice canada - thanks.

No matter how good of an official you are, there will be times when a play flops on you and you won't have a good look at it. Baseball, basketball, hockey, who knows maybe track and field. It happened to me, so I shared the story. I would have a very difficult time believing that it hasn't happened to every member on this board (a play happens where you get straightlined, even if you still make the right call).

Last year, I'm in B. R1 and R3, 1 out. R1 steals, I'm ready for the out call at second. Tag comes down, looking good, fielder rises, pivots to throw home (right handed thrower) and I get caught staring right at his back. Ball came out as he turned. Transfer? Hell if I know, I was staring at his back. Was in perfect position to umpire the play and ended up out of position for the next play. Not a damn thing any umpire could have done in that spot (except be in C, which is a different debate). But, perhaps you understand my point.

You must realize the limitations our avocation provides us with (among other things) before becoming a great official. It is something that I am working on now.

You say don't assume - well you're assuming that what you saw is actually what happened every time... our whole profession is based off assumption of all the information intake we go through.

Listen, in baseball, you can get a long ways in calling what you see. Not as much of the case in basketball. But in any sport, the official must realize that there will always be a difference between what is seen and what happened. The human eye has a specific refresh rate (I have heard somewhere between 60-120 frames per second can be processed). Now, how many frames does the action have that we are observing. Infinity. Yes, we are talking milliseconds here. But if the clouds come out, if a bird flies in the background of your vision, anything!, your vision is compromised. The human eye has many short-comings. Pretty remarkable it doesn't have more, if you ask me.

By our very nature, there is a gap between what we perceive and what really happened. It is very small, but it exists. Knowing when what we see is in that gap can be a valuable tool an official can use.

And I don't guess at calls, I use all information readily available to me in order to ASSUME what happened. Not just eye sight. You've got to be kidding if you think all umpires use are the eyes.

I think Guccione would agree

No more speeches from me to you on this topic because it is clear I'm your new Garth (not flattering myself). Gotta have at least one enemy I suppose, eh?