Wakefield, Hernandez, Francona and West

[johnnyg08]

Originally Posted by MrUmpire

Great call...not even close.

Was it a great call then, or was he just doing his job?

[UmpTTS43]

The correct way to draw the diagram is to have a line coming from the rubber to the base and a line from the pivot foot to the plate. Split that angle and you can determine where the step is. From the photos, to me it clearly looks like he stepped towards home

[Adam]

Originally Posted by UmpTTS43

The correct way to draw the diagram is to have a line coming from the rubber to the base and a line from the pivot foot to the plate. Split that angle and you can determine where the step is. From the photos, to me it clearly looks like he stepped towards home

And to be definitive, the camera angle would need to be from along that split angle. Any other angle would be distorted.

[MrUmpire]

Originally Posted by johnnyg08

Was it a great call then, or was he just doing his job?

Both. He did his job by making a great call...one that so many of his brethern ignore.

[Rich]

A picture tells a thousand words, but not all of them are true.

Watch the video. Clearly the weight and step go towards home. An easy call for the plate umpire and I can't believe so much effort is going to show that Hernandez is "wrong."

[mbyron]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

A picture tells a thousand words, but not all of them are true.

Watch the video. Clearly the weight and step go towards home. An easy call for the plate umpire and I can't believe so much effort is going to show that Hernandez is "wrong."

I won't say that it's blatant or obvious, but I think it is the right call based on the video.

[zm1283]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

A picture tells a thousand words, but not all of them are true.

Watch the video. Clearly the weight and step go towards home. An easy call for the plate umpire and I can't believe so much effort is going to show that Hernandez is "wrong."

Yep. I've got a balk on this one too. It's not blatant, but I can see why he called it.

[DG]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

A picture tells a thousand words, but not all of them are true.

Watch the video. Clearly the weight and step go towards home. An easy call for the plate umpire and I can't believe so much effort is going to show that Hernandez is "wrong."

No RHP steps in this manner to throw home, and there is no 45 degree rule.

I could care less about Hernandez, and it is easier call for 3b ump. Joe West was at 3b, and he did not call it, so clearly, it was not clearly a balk.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by DG

No RHP steps in this manner to throw home, and there is no 45 degree rule.

I could care less about Hernandez, and it is easier call for 3b ump. Joe West was at 3b, and he did not call it, so clearly, it was not clearly a balk.

Whether 45 degrees is written or not, it's certainly the easiest way to describe what makes a step more towards one base as opposed to another.

You couldn't be more wrong. Who better to see a step to the plate than the plate umpire?

[DG]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

Whether 45 degrees is written or not, it's certainly the easiest way to describe what makes a step more towards one base as opposed to another.

You couldn't be more wrong. Who better to see a step to the plate than the plate umpire?

Show me a video of a RHP who has ever stepped in this manner to throw home and I might agree with you. As it stands I do not on either of your points.

[dash_riprock]

Originally Posted by DG

Show me a video of a RHP who has ever stepped in this manner to throw home...

Irrelevant.

[cookie]

"...but I think it is the right call based on the video. "

How many of us really get the opportunity to review a balk in video before making a call? No one. We get a one-shot deal...

I probably would have seen nothing here in real time and let it go, but upon video review, Yes, it sure appears to be a Balk. Kudos to Hernandez for catching it in real time...