Another new mechanic?
 

Watching PGF 18 championship this weekend, 3 man crew and when counter rotated it appeared much of the time U1 was positioned in C position off the left shoulder of the SS. Is this something PGF has started using?

U1?


Assuming that U3 was on the third base line, there were two umpires between second and third? That doesn't make sense to me.....

Yep, thought I was missing something the first couple of times but kept seeing an umpire in C when there shouldn't have been one.

My theory? U1 was unfamiliar with 3 umpire mechanics and was wingin' it.

If that is the case, got to wonder about PGF/whoever did the assigning of officials unfamiliar with 3 man mechanics on a nationally televised championship game.

Yeah, but mere speculation on my part, since U1 is the usual position a 3-umpire rookie gets put it, and he was positioned where he was supposed to be if it was 2-umpire.

Pgf??

Premier girls fastpitch. Gary Hannings split off organization he started about 7-8 years ago.

Never mind - looked it up :p

Isn't the usual rookie position U3?

Were the other 2 asleep?

What I've seen is rookies put at U1 with the explanation that much will be familiar wrt starting positions, making the most common BU call (at 1B) etc.

Although, in my first ever 3 umpire game I was at U3. I think, though, that was because my partners wanted to make me run! :)

PGF 18u is assigned by Smokey supposedly only using NCAA D1 umpires

We always stuck the rookie at the rabbit. Mainly bc we don't want them to forget to cover home on the rotation. But I can see Dakotas point about U1 being the more familiar spot

There is a basic disconnect/mistake with the opening post. Unless something has changed, PGF championship games use 4 umpires; something you cannot generally see clearly in typical TV coverage.

What you were seeing was U2 in position, not U3 rotated. Standard 4 man as taught by ISF (and what Smokey uses) has U2 in the typical 3 person rotated (line between 2nd and 3rd extended) only when there is a force at 2nd, or with bases empty and a righthanded batter up (opposite field of batter). With no force at 2nd and a lefthanded batter up, it is the mirror image on the shortstop side with the line between 1st and 2nd extended.