What Would YOU Do?

[greymule]

The best thing that can happen is that you immediately scream, "Foul!" and yell, "Off the rubber, didn't pass a base, no contact with a fielder." That would show everyone in the park that you saw the play clearly, that your mind processed everything instantly, and that you are on top of everything going on.

However, while those instant calls are great, they can be trouble, especially if you're not correct and the remedy is hard to apply.

I made an immediate call of "out" recently when the pitcher appeared to tag a runner going to first on a bunt to move a runner to third. I figured a fast call was needed in that situation, but in the next instant I saw that the pitcher's hands had come apart on the tag, so the "tag" wasn't a tag at all, just a slap with an empty glove. So I screamed, "No!" and made the safe sign immediately. The pitcher quickly threw to first for the out, so the erroneous quick call made no difference. However, it left an opening for the offense to claim that my call made the runner slow down, etc. In retrospect, I would have been better off waiting to make the call.