pointing at home?
 

I just saw a play in the Yanks and Tigers game.

The Tigers runner came around and slid in and touched home as the Yankees catcher had the ball skip off of his glove.

The Home plate umpire pointed emphatically toward home(at least I think that is where he pointed).

I have never seen this. What was he doing? Any ideas?

Sounds like he was saying "score the run!".

The player's slide was late, and he almost missed touching the plate with his hand. I'm sure the point was to simply say that he had a touch of the plate and the play there was over.

I see that often - he's saying the runner touched the plate.

I have never been taught that one.

Is that a pro mechanic?

Why isn't that tipping the hand in a situation where the runner misses home and there is no pointing?

That mechanic could also be used if a fielder blocked the runner from touching the base/plate, and the umpire subsequently awarded the runner the base/plate.

Not at home plate in the majors

By the way, this plate umpire does something else that I cannot recall ever seeing in the bigs...He stares at his "clicker" after a batter.

Really?

Meant to say if the fielder blocks the plate/bag without possession of the baseball.

By the way, no one points at home plate more than Jim Joyce.

Are saying it was a timing play? That's the only time I recall seeing it.

Remember -- ML umpires are basically like Supreme Court justices: appointed for life. Many MLUs develop individual quirks which I would never teach or recommend to young umpires.

If you want to see really sharp, correct mechanics, go to a Double-A or high A minor league game and watch those guys work.

He's calling "got the plate" just like he'd call an out if there was a good tag. No call means nothing happened. In this case something did and he called it.

And on a swipe tag at a base you'll see them point at the tag and give the out call.

They point often. No big deal.

Pointing is a faux pas when a runner scores with no play at the plate, because when the umpire fails to point, it screams, "He never touched it!"

But you're describing a different situation in which there is a play, and the umpire sees that the runner scored. The by-the-book mechanic would simply be a Safe signal; it sounds like this PU just used the point instead, which is a little unorthodox.

Remember, on a banger play at the plate where the runner touches home, and the catcher either tags him late or misses the tag completely, the umpire signals Safe. If the runner misses home and the catcher misses the tag, the umpire gives no signal. There is no "tipping" here, so I don't see where a "point" or "no point" under this particular circumstance is any different.

Not always true, and in fact this is possibly the answer here. You're right that in MLB, the obstruction rule at home plate is completely different than what we're used to. However, if the ball gets away as in this case, you CAN have obstruction on the catcher.

There was no play. The throw barely touched the catcher's glove and the runner touched almost all of the plate. Folks across the street could see he touched it.

I agree, I think this point on this type of play for this umpire(if it is his typical move) does indeed set up a scenario when the next guy misses the plate with no point.

I guess you're right. However, I have never seen or heard of that call happening in MLB

Observed a fantastic play/call at home by the plate umpire on Monday evening during the 1st game of a Triple A DH between Syracuse Chiefs and Buffalo Bisons.

Throw coming to F2, runner coming in goes for the back side of the plate, F2's swipe tag misses, R3 misses the plate on the slide - PU from 3XL makes NO CALL. R3 gets partially up on his feet and dives for the plate, F2 (who had fallen off balance, too) does the same and dives toward the runner; PU repositioned himself now toward the 1st base line, then points to the plate as R3 touches home before F2 touches him, and concludes with an emphatic SAFE signal.

Beautiful play I thought. Great positioning, great mechanic, right call...

I can see the point on an out call, but not on a safe call.

Sounds like good positioning and movement... but I completely don't understand the pointing here either. Is he saying, "There's the plate everyone!"? A sell safe or sell out is all that's necessary. Pointing usually means something else, like a ball on the ground.

+1

I like to point, just for a reference, before I make a call of safe or out on some plays. Point at the contact for a tag play, for instance. Or a stretched foot on the base. Type b OBS gets a point. There are good points, if used in the proper places. It's a great way to sell a call.

Point with the left hand, then go to your call, is what I've been taught.

"Point" well taken!

On this play, I wouldn't downgrade an umpire who gave a "safe" signal, pointed to the plate, then gave a second "safe" signal to sell his call.

Pointing, in this instance, I think, indicates the umpire had a "touch" of HP. That tells the catcher that he does not need to try and tag the runner because the runner "touched" HP.

And as far as "tipping" a play goes, when you make NO call, aren't you tipping the defense? The no call mechanic is the correct mechanic and does what it is supposed to do, namely, tell the offense and defense there has been no tag and no touch of the base.