To Call Safe or Out?

[tankmjg24]

My thought process is that I am not there to assist in coaching or to make anyone happy or mad. I am there to call safes and outs and balls and strikes etc. The majority of the time someone does not like what you call anyhow.

He was basically saying do not over analyze a play. Yea the guy might have tagged him on the backside of the plate, but the runner was 45ft from home when the fielder received the ball so everyone is thinking he is going to be called out. When you call safe, team 1 goes "wow ill take that" while team 2 gets all riled up.

To me, the runner did as he was supposed to while the fielder did not. My same thought goes for calling safe just because it looks right. If the runner slides in way before the throw but is nowhere near the base and gets tagged, I am going to rule out.

I was just kind of surprised by what this guy said and that was how it was taught to professional umpires.

[Eastshire]

My feeling is you just found out why he's recently retired.

[nopachunts]

Originally Posted by Eastshire

My feeling is you just found out why he's recently retired.

+1, This may have been taught in the past but neighborhood plays are going away because of instant replays being shown more frequently.

[APG]

Originally Posted by nopachunts

+1, This may have been taught in the past but neighborhood plays are going away because of instant replays being shown more frequently.

Exactly...I'm a basketball official...not an umpire, but this is true in all sports. Before the age of having everything on tape, officials could get away with that kind of mindset. Now with everything on tape, we have to call what we see and try as much as possible to have the tape agree with us.

[piaa_ump]

think this was the mindset from a while ago...and even Papa C mentions it in his book about how to ruin a ballgame......by making the unexpected call.......the ball is down and waiting on the runner and the umpire calls safe...

Today with HD and slo mo, MLB is no longer following this.... they know they will be called out in the press if they do it....now, this technology wont ever get filtered down to most of us, but I go with what I have/what I see.........

[Matt]

Originally Posted by piaa_ump

now, this technology wont ever get filtered down to most of us, but I go with what I have/what I see.........

While my games are not in HD, they already have replay for the viewers. First televised game this year, I had a play at the plate where, while it wasn't in the realm of the "expected" call, I could have called the runner safe with no debate. However, even though the runner made a nice slide on an errant throw that the catcher had to corral, the catcher made a great play to get the runner on the shoulder just before he reached the plate. The initial reaction of the runner and the commentators (runner's team's TV crew) was that I blew it, but on replay, they dejectedly agreed with the call.

Another point here is if you ever do televised games, try to get a copy of it. A lot of umpires don't get video of themselves outside of clinics, and getting real-life games allows you to see exactly what you do in the real world, for better or for worse. During the game above, I thought I was setting up too wide on my plate stance, but watching it, I saw that that I wasn't. That video saved me from making an unnecessary adjustment and potentially making my umpiring worse the next game.

[jdmara]

Originally Posted by Matt

While my games are not in HD, they already have replay for the viewers. First televised game this year, I had a play at the plate where, while it wasn't in the realm of the "expected" call, I could have called the runner safe with no debate. However, even though the runner made a nice slide on an errant throw that the catcher had to corral, the catcher made a great play to get the runner on the shoulder just before he reached the plate. The initial reaction of the runner and the commentators (runner's team's TV crew) was that I blew it, but on replay, they dejectedly agreed with the call.

Another point here is if you ever do televised games, try to get a copy of it. A lot of umpires don't get video of themselves outside of clinics, and getting real-life games allows you to see exactly what you do in the real world, for better or for worse. During the game above, I thought I was setting up too wide on my plate stance, but watching it, I saw that that I wasn't. That video saved me from making an unnecessary adjustment and potentially making my umpiring worse the next game.

That's the best advice for any sport. I try to get the majority of my basketball game-tapes and review them. It's interesting to look at my bad habits that I'm not even aware of and then fix them.

-Josh