MLB Umpire, UNSOLICITED, Overturns Another Umpire's Call

[Manny A]

Does anybody have insight into what MLB umpires are being told to do now? Is this really a case of an umpire having a brain fart, or are the powers-that-be instructing them to change their ways, as was apparently the case when they removed a string bracelet off a pitcher's wrist?

I find it completely unfathomable that a professional umpire at the highest level would just blatantly commit one of the most egregious of umpiring sins. Could it possibly be something that they are being instructed to do to counter the potential expansion of instant replay?

The sudden spike in umpires making Out calls on tag plays when the fielder doesn't have the ball is one thing. But to call Time and immedately overrule another umpire's call without that umpire asking for help? That's stuff a rookie volunteer umpire in a local Little League coach-pitch game might do just once before he/she is taught the error of his/her way. I would never believe it would happen in a pro...

Oh, wait. I'm seeing flashbacks of Tim McLelland and Angel Hernandez again...

[Welpe]

I'm having a flashback to a Colt game this season where my partner did this to me and I nearly hit the roof. In my situation, there was no doubt at all that the F3 held the bag on a fairly routine play and the PU came out screaming he was off. I don't think I've ever been that mad at a partner on the field before.

[UES]

Originally Posted by Manny A

I find it completely unfathomable that a professional umpire at the highest level would just blatantly commit one of the most egregious of umpiring sins. Could it possibly be something that they are being instructed to do to counter the potential expansion of instant replay?

... But to call Time and immedately overrule another umpire's call without that umpire asking for help? That's stuff a rookie volunteer umpire in a local Little League coach-pitch game might do just once before he/she is taught the error of his/her way. I would never believe it would happen in a pro

I understand your point(s), as well as others, (except for mbcrowder)

If I had to guess here, I would say that Scott Barry saw a "gross" miss and tried to keep Jordan Baker, a young AAA/MLB guy from getting into a "Tim Welke" sh!thouse (and possibly all over SportsCenter) Yes, he definitely did NOT follow the protocol, but I do think he had good intentions despite going about it in untraditional fashion.

The big question is what if that was his Crew Chief making the call @ 1B - would he have done the same? One thing I learned from Welke's misfortunes is that if a call is BLATANTLY missed because of information he/she did not see, somebody else on the crew MUST step up, solicited or not, and make it right. I don't care if its a crew chief, rookie or whoever - in rare circumstances like these, we must put our egos aside and fix the situation because, at the end of the day, these mishaps will make Umpiring as a whole look bad.

One last point... while Baker may not have liked HOW Barry went about the whole thing, he probably did buy him a beverage after the game and said thanks for saving my a$$ in the end. If you've done any type of televised games with multiple replay angles... you know exactly what I mean. Most here have not so I'm sure I'll get piled on...

[Manny A]

Originally Posted by UES

I don't care if its a crew chief, rookie or whoever - in rare circumstances like these, we must put our egos aside and fix the situation because, at the end of the day, these mishaps will make Umpiring as a whole look bad.

To me, this has zero to do with egos. If I make this call and I have the BR, the 1B Coach, all the players in the dugout, and eventually the team manager all telling me I missed it and I should get help, then By Golly that's what I'm going to do.

That's what should have happened here, but the PU jumped the gun and told everyone in the stadium and watching on TV, "It's now perfectly acceptable for one umpire to immediately overrule another without the benefit of a crew conference." For all we know, Baker might've done exactly what was expected--go for help when asked--and Barry could have then told him what he saw.