video says it all

[Mountaincoach]

Originally Posted by BlueDevilRef

A FRICKIN MEN!! I don't know how often I tell coaches no when they bellow "ask for help, ask for help" on a close play. Even worse is when you are taking care of it and your partner approaches. It simply gives the coach the chance to engage them. Unless I ask you, stay away and stay quiet.

I'm truly and honestly trying to learn here. I'm not trying to pick. But I have to ask, if there's a chance that you have badly blown a call, and a coach is saying "ask for help" while your partner has already started walking toward you, what is more important--your autonomy while following the rule OR the right call? When a coach says "ask for help", I can tell you from my own perspective, he or she is saying "Look, you blew that badly, I'm trying to save you here and give you a big hint that you need to ask for help." The game is not about the umpires. It's not about the coaches. And it's not about the fans in the stands. It's about the kids playing on the field, and their confidence in the adults to do the right thing to the best of their ability. Again, I am truly trying to understand and ask the question here as opposed to standing on a field in front of a crowd or camera and asking these question. But why can't the umpires just simply trust each other and realize that your colleague isn't going to overturn a call unless they are 100% sure it needs to be overturned? Would it be better if the other umpire looked at the coach and said "The rule does not allow me to say anything unless he asks for help?" I'd highly doubt that, but that is the honest answer. And I'm not talking about bang-bang judgement calls. I'm talking about things like a called out on a tag when the ball is literally laying on the ground beside the runner who just slid into third as a prime example. I've seen that very scenario happen, and the home plate umpire just stood there quietly while the entire universe screamed "he dropped the ball" to the 3rd base umpire who refused to even look at the home plate umpire.