USA vs. Japan game ends on LBR violation

[latraveler]

As a high school and rec umpire I have to say this call simply was a bad call. I've watched it over and over and over. The baserunner WAS stepping back to the bag and was only two steps away when Cat was in the circle. I see this SAME thing happen every week of the various seasons I umpire. Never would I have called it unless the player was failing to move. I had players farther off the base and be stepping back to the bag and not called it.

Plus we always been told "Don't become part of the game", don't end the game on a "Controversial call", and don't become the "focus of the game".

This Ump sure became the "center of attention"! What a way to end and ruin a great series for the USA team.

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by latraveler

As a high school and rec umpire I have to say this call simply was a bad call. I've watched it over and over and over. The baserunner WAS stepping back to the bag and was only two steps away when Cat was in the circle. I see this SAME thing happen every week of the various seasons I umpire. Never would I have called it unless the player was failing to move. I had players farther off the base and be stepping back to the bag and not called it.

While I don't necessarily disagree with your opinion, what does the distance have to do with anything? I doesn't make any difference whether the runner is one step or 30 feet off the base, the LBR is an appropriate call if the runner does not return in a timely fashion.

Plus we always been told "Don't become part of the game", don't end the game on a "Controversial call", and don't become the "focus of the game".

Say what? If that means you don't make a call because it may become controversial or bring attention to the umpire, then I cannot disagree more. You see it, you call it regardless of where you are in the game.

This Ump sure became the "center of attention"! What a way to end and ruin a great series for the USA team.

I'm sure she wasn't looking for the attention. I have no doubt that Dora believe she made the appropriate call at the time. If you continued to watch after the call was made, she did confer with the crew and then made a second "out" signal reinforcing her original call. Don't know what was said at that point, but apparently none of her crew had anything to cause the call to be changed.

[3afan]

i saw it for the first time today - i thought it was way too quick for a LBR violation

[Dakota]

I don't have benefit of a recording to go frame-by-frame; the only video I've seen is the low-resolution long distance shot on the ESPN site, so it is hard to tell what the runner is doing between the time the ball is back in the circle and the runner makes her first obvious move (obvious on the video). But, the time between those two is 1+ seconds by my estimate. That is a quick LBR call, but not out of line.

Maybe the real perception problem is the PU waited another second or two to actually make the call, and by then the runner was moving.

[mcrowder]

Originally Posted by latraveler

Plus we always been told "...don't end the game on a "Controversial call."

Please ask whoever is always telling you this to send back their trainers card. It's been revoked.