The Official Forum  

Go Back   The Official Forum > Baseball
Register FAQ Community Calendar Today's Posts Search

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Rate Thread Display Modes
  #1 (permalink)  
Old Mon Aug 06, 2012, 07:48pm
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 1,118
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?
Reply With Quote
  #2 (permalink)  
Old Mon Aug 06, 2012, 08:02pm
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: CT
Posts: 2,439
Quote:
Originally Posted by jwwashburn View Post
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!".
__________________
When in doubt, bang 'em out!
Ozzy
Reply With Quote
  #3 (permalink)  
Old Mon Aug 06, 2012, 08:10pm
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Tustin, Michigan
Posts: 403
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.
__________________
"When I umpire I may not always be right, but I am always final!"
Reply With Quote
  #4 (permalink)  
Old Mon Aug 06, 2012, 08:10pm
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2000
Posts: 3,236
Quote:
Originally Posted by jwwashburn View Post
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?
I see that often - he's saying the runner touched the plate.
__________________
Rich Ives
Different does not equate to wrong
Reply With Quote
  #5 (permalink)  
Old Mon Aug 06, 2012, 08:13pm
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 1,118
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?
Reply With Quote
  #6 (permalink)  
Old Mon Aug 06, 2012, 08:25pm
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 158
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.
Reply With Quote
  #7 (permalink)  
Old Mon Aug 06, 2012, 08:29pm
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 1,118
Not at home plate in the majors
Reply With Quote
  #8 (permalink)  
Old Mon Aug 06, 2012, 08:33pm
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 1,118
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.
Reply With Quote
  #9 (permalink)  
Old Mon Aug 06, 2012, 08:56pm
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2001
Posts: 2,716
Quote:
Originally Posted by tmagan View Post
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.
Really?
Reply With Quote
  #10 (permalink)  
Old Mon Aug 06, 2012, 09:03pm
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 158
Quote:
Originally Posted by jwwashburn View Post
Not at home plate in the majors
Quote:
Originally Posted by jicecone View Post
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.
Reply With Quote
  #11 (permalink)  
Old Mon Aug 06, 2012, 11:53pm
In Time Out
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 25
Quote:
Originally Posted by ozzy6900 View Post
Sounds like he was saying "score the run!".
Are saying it was a timing play? That's the only time I recall seeing it.
Reply With Quote
  #12 (permalink)  
Old Tue Aug 07, 2012, 06:05am
CT1 CT1 is offline
Official & ***** Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 1,049
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.
Reply With Quote
  #13 (permalink)  
Old Tue Aug 07, 2012, 07:23am
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2000
Posts: 3,236
Quote:
Originally Posted by jwwashburn View Post
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?
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.
__________________
Rich Ives
Different does not equate to wrong
Reply With Quote
  #14 (permalink)  
Old Tue Aug 07, 2012, 08:30am
Stirrer of the Pot
 
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Lowcountry, SC
Posts: 2,380
Quote:
Originally Posted by jwwashburn View Post
Why isn't that tipping the hand in a situation where the runner misses home and there is no pointing?
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.
__________________
"Let's face it. Umpiring is not an easy or happy way to make a living. In the abuse they suffer, and the pay they get for it, you see an imbalance that can only be explained by their need to stay close to a game they can't resist." -- Bob Uecker
Reply With Quote
  #15 (permalink)  
Old Tue Aug 07, 2012, 08:31am
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Katy, Texas
Posts: 8,033
Quote:
Originally Posted by jwwashburn View Post
Not at home plate in the majors
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.
__________________
I was thinking of the immortal words of Socrates, who said, 'I drank what?'”

West Houston Mike
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Pointing toward Heaven flagged? JugglingReferee Football 10 Sat Sep 03, 2011 08:34pm
Offensive Linemen Pointing Spence Football 8 Mon Oct 04, 2010 01:19pm
pointing on strikes? bniu Softball 22 Thu Apr 30, 2009 11:08pm
Article pointing finger at Racist Referees All_Heart Basketball 104 Fri Mar 27, 2009 01:49pm
NCAA pointing -NFHS? footlocker Basketball 6 Mon Feb 16, 2004 01:03pm


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 02:12am.



Search Engine Friendly URLs by vBSEO 3.3.0 RC1