Purpose of extra umpires? (5&6)

[bjenkins]

Can someone explain the responsibilities of the two outfield umpires working a six man crew? Is it fair/foul from the base to the fence or do they also have catch/no-catch responsibility? If yes to the catch/no-catch do they have the entire outfield?

[JJ]

Hmmm....I believe they have fair/foul from where they are to the foul pole, and catch/no catch is the whole outfield IF the 2B umpire is inside and if the 2B umpire is outside then their coverage is from F7 to the line and F9 to the line. They are also a "second set of eyes" on outfield catches that are not their primary responsibility.

JJ

[rpumpire]

The fair/foul responsibilities of the outfield umpires are from behind the base umpires to the fence, not from the bases themselves.

[BigTex]

RF and LF umpires do not have any fair/foul responsibility in front of them.

[rpumpire]

Originally Posted by BigTex

RF and LF umpires do not have any fair/foul responsibility in front of them.

Yes, they do. They have any ball between the base umpires and themselves.

[bob jenkins]

Originally Posted by rpumpire

The fair/foul responsibilities of the outfield umpires are from behind the base umpires to the fence, not from the bases themselves.

Originally Posted by BigTex

RF and LF umpires do not have any fair/foul responsibility in front of them.

Depends on the mechanics being used, since the OP didn't specify.

[MD Longhorn]

U5 is named "Window"
U6 is named "Dressing".

[Rich]

Originally Posted by bob jenkins

Depends on the mechanics being used, since the OP didn't specify.

Exactly.

Some mechanics have the ULF and URF taking everything past the wing umpires. Some have the ULF and URF taking only balls past them to the fence.

Perhaps they are making it up as they go.

[BigTex]

Originally Posted by bob jenkins

Depends on the mechanics being used, since the OP didn't specify.

I guess that is my fault for jumping to the MLB conclusion. I can speak for MLBUM and NCAA mechanics that say ULF and URF have fair/foul responsibilities behind them and U1 and U3 have fair foul from the base to ULF/URF.

[Manny A]

Originally Posted by BigTex

RF and LF umpires do not have any fair/foul responsibility in front of them.

Then maybe somebody should straighten that out with them. I've seen them signal fair/foul on balls that are between them and their U1/U3 partners.

In fact, in a Rays/Red Sox game at Fenway, LFU Mike Winters got hit with a fair ball as it sliced toward him. He signalled fair when the ball hit the ground in front of him, and as he was trying to move into foul territory away from the ball, it still got him.

[Publius]

I still hope the day comes when they position them near the outfield fence, where they could add value (see, e.g., Tigers/A's game 4). With expanded replay, that probably won't happen, though.

[rbmartin]

Originally Posted by bjenkins

Can someone explain the responsibilities of the two outfield umpires working a six man crew?

They are a vain attempt to make Bud Selig look competent. Unless one of the extras is Bob Davidson, in which case he's there to detect balks.

[UMP45]

Originally Posted by rbmartin

They are a vain attempt to make Bud Selig look competent. Unless one of the extras is Bob Davidson, in which case he's there to detect balks.

Please explain. I fail to see the correlation with Selig and umpires 5 & 6. They were using six before Bud. Weren't they?

[Manny A]

Originally Posted by UMP45

Please explain. I fail to see the correlation with Selig and umpires 5 & 6. They were using six before Bud. Weren't they?

I think RB's comment was a vain attempt at humor. Yes, six-man crews in post-season play were being used for quite a while.

I don't know the accuracy of this, but I found this tidbit of history on the web:

"Did you know that prior to 1947, a 4-man (or less in the early days) crew was used for the World Series? In 1947, MLB went to a 6-man crew. However, from 1947-1963, the two outfield umpires stayed in their position for the entire series and did not rotate. Only the four infield umpires rotated for the series. In 1964, MLB went to the current system of rotating all six umpires."

[ASA/NYSSOBLUE]

Originally Posted by Manny A

I think RB's comment was a vain attempt at humor. Yes, six-man crews in post-season play were being used for quite a while.

I don't know the accuracy of this, but I found this tidbit of history on the web:

"Did you know that prior to 1947, a 4-man (or less in the early days) crew was used for the World Series? In 1947, MLB went to a 6-man crew. However, from 1947-1963, the two outfield umpires stayed in their position for the entire series and did not rotate. Only the four infield umpires rotated for the series. In 1964, MLB went to the current system of rotating all six umpires."

Not surprisingly, in 1947 they wanted to pay those outfield umps LESS that the other guys! Jocko Conlin says they almost walked out over that. Also, they tended to use that to 'break in' relatively less experienced umps into the Series atmosphere.