Who Does the Plate?

[Tim C]

We are assigned either stick or bases. We do not have a choice and the decision is never left "up to us."

[Rich]

Originally Posted by Tim C

We are assigned either stick or bases. We do not have a choice and the decision is never left "up to us."

I wouldn't assume this is normal. You know how many places I've lived and the plate/base assignment has never been assigned in games I've worked.

[Toadman15241]

I've never been assigned one or the other. Normally if both want/don't want the dish for a game then the senior man gets to make the call the first time. After that it is customary for it to rotate back and forth.

IMO an association should never assign the dish unless it is a playoff game. If the two umpires can't decide in the dressing room then there are much bigger issues in the association than who is working the dish.

[MD Longhorn]

Originally Posted by Toadman15241

I've never been assigned one or the other. Normally if both want/don't want the dish for a game then the senior man gets to make the call the first time. After that it is customary for it to rotate back and forth.

IMO an association should never assign the dish unless it is a playoff game. If the two umpires can't decide in the dressing room then there are much bigger issues in the association than who is working the dish.

Really? So the assignor should have no say in this? There may be reasons for the assignor wanting a specific PU/BU - I can think of LOTS of reasons.

I can't remember the last time I was assigned a game where I didn't know where I was going beforehand.

[Toadman15241]

Originally Posted by mbcrowder

Really? So the assignor should have no say in this? There may be reasons for the assignor wanting a specific PU/BU - I can think of LOTS of reasons.

I can't remember the last time I was assigned a game where I didn't know where I was going beforehand.

There are only a couple reasons I can think of, the most common being evaluation or playoff games (as I mentioned in my first post). Want to assign for those? Fine.

With every other case one of the following two rules applies. 1) If the crew can't recognize that one should be on plate, the other on bases then you have a bigger issue than which one is working which. (I've mentioned the game where I was the BU for my own high school numerous times. If my partner and I couldn't figure out I should be on the bases then both of us should have been kicked out of the association.) 2) If you can't trust both your guys to do the dish as an assignor then you shouldn't have one of them working the game. End of story.

[lawump]

Originally Posted by Tim C

We are assigned either stick or bases. We do not have a choice and the decision is never left "up to us."

That's the way it is done in central SC in high school and American Legion. We even assign a crew chief for each game. That crew chief may or may not be the plate umpire. The crew chief is almost always the more/most experienced umpire.

[yawetag]

Here, we decide when we talk to each other the night before. Every time, I say "Do you want the plate or bases?" If he makes a decision, he gets what he chooses; if he says "It doesn't matter to me," I'll usually take the opposite of what I had the last game.

The only exception is if we've worked together. Before asking, I'll say "We worked together last year at ... and I (1) had the bases, I'll take the plate. (2) had the plate, so what would you like this time?"

Personally, I don't care what I do. I find, though, that most umpires will find excuses to not take the plate. It makes no sense to me.

[collint1993]

I normally want to do the plate and I am normally assigned to it. But every now and then we aren't assigned and there have been days when I just didn't feel it and me and the other guy flipped a coin. Normally you'll work with the same guy more than once.

[scarolinablue]

Originally Posted by lawump

That's the way it is done in central SC in high school and American Legion. We even assign a crew chief for each game. That crew chief may or may not be the plate umpire. The crew chief is almost always the more/most experienced umpire.

Same way in the Upstate of SC...