base mechanics

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by bigwally

The plate umpire needs to clear the catcher and keep his eye on the ball in case it gets mishandled or accidently kicked into dead ball territory. Moving to third base would have the plate umpire taking his eye off the ball, running with his back to the ball and having no idea when or where the throw is coming from. That puts him in a precarious situation.

Not necessarily true. I can move and turn my head at the same time. BTW, IMO, it is the catcher who clears the umpire. Barring the ball ricocheting off the catcher or umpire to the 1B side of the 3BLE, I have no issue stepping inside the diamond and open up to see everything necessary.

The base umpire needs to hustle around second and on to third to make that call. He would have all the elements of the play in front of him. He can see the ball, he can see when its thrown and he has the runner and the base in front of him. He may not acquire the angle the home plate umpire would have by coming up the line but thats a small concession considering the other advantages the base umpire has. That being said, in certain situations when the ball and catcher cooperate and plate umpire can safely, without interfering with the play get to third base, I see no problem with him calling for the play at 3rd otherwise this is the base umpires call

S/he will never be in a decent position to see a play at 3B unless the runner falls down or gives him/herself up. The BU isn't going to realize s/he needs to cover 3B until the runner has two steps in that direction and will never outrun the player. BU cannot cheat toward 3B in a preemptive manner. Not to mention, depending on the play, the BU may also need to get around a defender moving to cover the base.

Personally, I'll take the closer distance, flexibility of options and the open field the PU enjoys on such coverage. JMHO