Angle at the plate

[David B]

Originally Posted by yo...blue...

When in doubt, stay at the point of the plate. 3BLX will not give you proper angle if the plate is being blocked.

That is good advice, but in this type of play, at point of plate you are blocked and cannot see the tag since the runner has slide around the plate.

So you either have to move a step or so one way or the other. I usually choose to move to 1BLX but that is simply preference.

Thanks
David

[dash_riprock]

From that camera angle, it's tough to tell how far away from the play PU is, but he may be a tad too close. Being right on top of it usually does not help.

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by dash_riprock

From that camera angle, it's tough to tell how far away from the play PU is, but he may be a tad too close. Being right on top of it usually does not help.

Who told you this? He's not to close. Tag plays are not like force plays. Unless you are actually interfering with the play itself, there is no such thing as too close to a tag.

[dash_riprock]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

Unless you are actually interfering with the play itself, there is no such thing as too close to a tag.

Who told you this?

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by dash_riprock

Who told you this?

Jon Bible, Carl Childress, Paul Runge, Mike DiMuro, Eddie Lopez, Mark Hetland....many others. You are supposed to get much closer to a tag than to a force play. Many times, you cannot see a tag from far away. That is why you see umpires right on top of tag plays (8 to 10 feet) and far away on force plays (15 to 18 feet). This is why you run to the cutout to make the call on steals, but stay closer to B or C for force plays.

[dash_riprock]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

Jon Bible, Carl Childress, Paul Runge, Mike DiMuro, Eddie Lopez, Mark Hetland....many others. You are supposed to get much closer to a tag than to a force play. Many times, you cannot see a tag from far away. That is why you see umpires right on top of tag plays (8 to 10 feet) and far away on force plays (15 to 18 feet). This is why you run to the cutout to make the call on steals, but stay closer to B or C for force plays.

8-10 feet on a tag play? Then we're on the same page. To me, the ump in the picture looks closer than that (although parallax can distort things). And yes, you can be too close, and I know you know that. So do your esteemed teachers.

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by dash_riprock

8-10 feet on a tag play? Then we're on the same page. To me, the ump in the picture looks closer than that (although parallax can distort things). And yes, you can be too close, and I know you know that. So do your esteemed teachers.

Yes, if you are interfering with the play, you're way too close. It was Carl Childress who said you should get your nose in there on tag plays, but I'm sure he didn't mean between the fielder and the runner!

The guy in the photo is on the grass outside of the cut. That is plenty enough far from the play. He's just fine.

[mbyron]

Originally Posted by dash_riprock

8-10 feet on a tag play? Then we're on the same page. To me, the ump in the picture looks closer than that (although parallax can distort things). And yes, you can be too close, and I know you know that. So do your esteemed teachers.

Agree. Getting too close causes the play to "blow up" on you.

The flattening effect of photographs is not an instance of parallax, which involves shifting viewpoints. Still, you're right to observe that "parallax can distort things."