Umpire overrules judgment call

[SanDiegoSteve]

I originally posted this on the "other forum," but I decided to give you guys a shot to sink your teeth into this:

I have finally quit seething over this enough to talk about it here:

Saturday, I worked 2 adult games with a former (long time ago) minor league umpire, who is also a former (not long ago) college umpire.

I had the plate the first game and did my usual awesome job.

In the second game, I'm on the bases, I'm in C with R3, and F2 snapped a throw to 3rd to pick off R3. After a head-first slide in which R3 was clearly safe (fairly close play), there was a cloud of dust and R3 possibly lost contact with 3rd base briefly and MAY have been tagged, but I ruled him safe on the play.

Immediately, the defensive players were trying to pressure me into asking my partner, who is at home plate, for help on the play. Here is how it went from there (or words to this effect):

F5: Can you get help?

Me: No, that's my call. He's safe.

F1: We're just asking you to check with your partner. He had a good angle.

Me: Absolutely not. That's my call.

F1: No, really he wants to help.

Me: No, I'm not asking for his help.

(At this time my partner is walking out to where I'm standing pointing covertly at his chest as to tell me he has a differing opinion.)

Me to partner privately: I am not coming to you for help on this play.

Partner: I understand, but I saw him come off the base and get tagged and we just want to get the call right.

Me: But that's my call, and I'm willing to live with it if I blew the call. I'm not asking for you to take the call.

Partner: Well, I'm going to make the out call and I'll take any crap they give about it.

(At this time, partner signals "Out" and calls out R3. Offensive team comes unglued. They start ragging from the dugout. They wouldn't shut up about it, and somebody on the bench said, "Wow, that's horrible umpiring, BOTH of you." I told them to shut it down and that we won't hear any more of it. To which calls of "rabbit ears" were heard (I've never understood that one when they are SCREAMING at the top of their lungs, not whispering).

So I'm really the one taking crap for it, even though he said he would take all the crap, even though his strike zone sucked all day and they were all over him for that, plus his giving the count was so lazy and infrequent that players were complaining about it (gave 3-2 with a single closed fist and no vocal). And I hadn't missed a thing all day up until this point.

I was boiling hot over it for several innings, and when the game was over, at the car I told him that I didn't subscribe to the "get it right at all costs" philosophy on a safe/out call. I told him I didn't believe in taking someone's call without being asked. He told me that for the last 5 or 6 years they have been doing this at the college level, and that he would overrule his partner anytime he saw something different than his partner. I told him you do not do this on a judgment call on the bases, and that it undermines your partner. I also told him that this isn't college ball and we don't play under NCAA rules, we play by pro rules, and that the rule says no umpire shall seek to reverse another umpire's decision unless asked by the umpire that made the call.

I then finished changing, we said goodbye less than cordially, and both drove away.

What do you guys think about this? I think I got screwed, and I'm requesting to not work with this guy ever again. I worked with him when he was in the Texas League (briefly, he was fired and never worked pro ball again) in the 1980s when he was home on a break, and he thought he was hot sh!t back then too. But now he's not "all that" anymore and can barely get around the field. I outperform this guy six ways to Sunday, and I don't think it's right to undermine your partner by poaching his calls.

And I hope he's reading this, because boy, am I ever pissed!