Questions

[BlitzkriegBob]

I have been lurking for quite a while and learning a lot from many of you. I am about to enter my third year of umpiring Fed and ASA. I still have a son and daughter in high school both playing ball, so I unfortunately have only umpired about 25-35 each of fast and slow pitch games. I plan on becoming more vocal now and asking questions this year about situations that I encounter...and some of these questions may be downright stupid so I'll apologize in advance for my ignorance. I haven't started my season yet this year...as a native Texan, I really hate that we can't start ball up here in Indiana until April!!!

My first question is about mechanics. R1 on first, stealing second. The pitch gets away from the catcher, either a WP or a PB (doesn't matter). Who takes the runner to third in this situation? Do I, as a BU, chase the runner to third? If so, do I stay outside, or do I come inside? Last year, I found myself chasing runners from the outside many times, and even though I am able to hustle enough to do that, it still didn't just feel quite right.

Second questions concerns walking the line as a BU. I gather that this used to be a mechanic for ASA, as my instructors at a recent ASA school kept referring to it as a return to a previous mechanic. It was a little uncomfortable for me, but I'm sure I just need to get used to it. Did Fed change to this mechanic also?

Time for a stupid question now. What exactly is a blocked hat? I kinda think that I know what that means, but would appreciate someone enlightening me.

I'll conclude by thanking you all in advance for your patience and help. I can't tell you how many times I've thought to myself how fortunate I am that I'm doing softball instead of baseball because those guys over on the baseball board are absolutely brutal!