Selling calls

[jumpmaster]

A couple of months ago I started a thread on this same subject. The general consensus was that on close plays sell the call, a loud emphatic He's out! or He's safe! will go along way towards eliminating a good chunk of the dugout whiners.

I have incorporated this into my calling and this happened last night. Bottom of the inning, no outs, no runners. Leadoff batter hits a shot in the left field gap to the fence. BR attempts for a triple. F8 fields the ball at the fence and makes a throw to F5 that should have been on ESPN. F5 lunges and makes a tag, while BR is sliding into 3rd. BR out by 12 inches. I give a "He got him, He's out!". Both sets of coaches tell me after the game, that they thought I made a heck of a call. I expected it from the defense. I expected an earful from the offense. Good sell on a close call = no headache for me.