How to make this call?

[DTQ_Blue]

Sitch from last night. Team at bat was behind 1-0 at the time,

R1 attempts to steal 2B. I'm in B and move into position. The catcher's throw is to the 1B side slightly and as F4 (inside the runner's path) takes the throw R1 goes into her slide a little early. This causes her extended leg to come up about 2" short of touching second base (not hard to see when you are on top of the play, but I'm not sure if anyone else could see it). The tag is applied high on the chest and to the offensive coach in the 3B dugout, it looks like the runner got under the tag. I simply give an out call with no other mechanic or verbal.

Coach comes out to discuss and I tell her that the runner never reached second base. Between innings, my partner tells me that the tag was late and that he could have helped me out. I tell him that the runner never touched the bag and he said, Oh, OK.

So my question being that the offensive coach and my partner thought that I blew the call, is there a mechanic that I could have used to immediately communicate why I called the runner out? I think that would have prevented the ensuing dialog with the coach and my partner.

BTW, the coach's team put up 5 in the B6th and won the game 5-1. I will be working their game next Wednesday.

Thanks,
Mike

[wadeintothem]

S E L L

I T


Loudly. If you want say "Shes not on the bag, out!" and point and ring her up.

Other than that, thats the way it goes.

[Al]

Originally Posted by wadeintothem

S E L L

I T


Loudly. If you want say "Shes not on the bag, out!" and point and ring her up.

Other than that, thats the way it goes.

Excellent!... I've done that a time or two and I'm sure it made all the difference. There's just too many times that a coach cannot see if the foot got there before the tag, or got there at all, even on a high tag. They see a high tag and the first thing they think is you blew the call thinking his runners foot went under the tag. I had a partner question one of my calls in between innings once when a tag was high on a close call at the plate. I told her if she was the PU and standing where I was she would have seen that the runner started her slide too soon and even that high tag beat her to the plate. Since then I give everyone more information when you know many will see the high tag and assume the girls foot got their first. ...Al

[SRW]

This very type of play is what lead to me ejecting a head coach of a very good team last week. (The same team that, if you recall 1 year ago, beat another team 64-0.) He had R1 on 1B, steal on the pitch, she hook-slides to the outfield side of 2B. SS comes down with a tag on R1's shoulder, but R1 slid wide and never made contact with 2B.

My mechanic: Point with my left hand at the tag, yell "tag", then like Wade said, sell the 'out' big and loud.


The following discussion is not related to the mechanic, but rather what led to him being ejected.

In the resulting discussion with the HC, he politely explained to me that from his view in the 3B box, his R1 got to the bag before the tag. I explained to him that his runner never touched 2B.

He was still not over the fact that in the previous inning, another of his runners left 1B early and was called out. That, combined with this play, caused the HC to tell me that I needed to get in the game and make the right calls, and to pull my head out.

He proceeded to watch the game from the parking lot about 300 feet away.

[NCASAUmp]

There's one team whose games I've called many times where "if it could go wrong, it would."

One of their players, while at catcher, received a throw from F6 to tag out the lead runner. As he was about to tag the runner, he noticed the trailing runner breaking from 1B to 2B. He tagged his runner, or so he thought, then threw to 2B. What he didn't realize was that just before he tagged the runner, he pulled the ball out of the glove and tagged the runner with the empty glove.

Later that game, the same catcher, now on offense, rounded 3B and came running home. Throw came in to the catcher, so the runner slid straight into home. However, the runner's leading leg was about a foot off the ground. His foot crossed above the plate, but he didn't make contact with the plate until his other leg hit it. In between that time, the defense tagged him. Everyone watching the game thought he beat the throw, and all I could do was sell the he!! out of that call.

[CajunNewBlue]

is it just me or what the heck is the deal with umpires worrying about the "coach" not seeing every detail during a play. the mechanics of gameplay by default prevent the coach from seeing most of the details. like i asked a coach this weekend "are you going to believe me or your lying eyes?" of course this was done in a jokingly manner after he saw the slide marks that ended 2 feet before home plate.

[wadeintothem]

Originally Posted by CajunNewBlue

is it just me or what the heck is the deal with umpires worrying about the "coach" not seeing every detail during a play. the mechanics of gameplay by default prevent the coach from seeing most of the details. like i asked a coach this weekend "are you going to believe me or your lying eyes?" of course this was done in a jokingly manner after he saw the slide marks that ended 2 feet before home plate.

Selling it is part of the job. Trap, Pulled foot, called 3, sell/safe out etc. Its not about the coach, its about making your job easier overall and doing a good job on the field.

[NCASAUmp]

Originally Posted by CajunNewBlue

is it just me or what the heck is the deal with umpires worrying about the "coach" not seeing every detail during a play. the mechanics of gameplay by default prevent the coach from seeing most of the details. like i asked a coach this weekend "are you going to believe me or your lying eyes?" of course this was done in a jokingly manner after he saw the slide marks that ended 2 feet before home plate.

I think the umpires who worry too much about the coaches and the fans are simply insecure about their position as umpire. No one likes catching he11 from anyone, especially from a coach when you just made a great call.

Though at the same time, no umpire likes getting that phone call the next day from their assignor, asking them, "so what's the deal with this team, and why am I being asked not to assign you to them again?"

Fortunately, my assignor and I have a good relationship, and he's good at separating the BS from the facts.

[CajunNewBlue]

Originally Posted by NCASAUmp

I think the umpires who worry too much about the coaches and the fans are simply insecure about their position as umpire. No one likes catching he11 from anyone, especially from a coach when you just made a great call.

Though at the same time, no umpire likes getting that phone call the next day from their assignor, asking them, "so what's the deal with this team, and why am I being asked not to assign you to them again?"

Fortunately, my assignor and I have a good relationship, and he's good at separating the BS from the facts.

I am lucky, as you are ... my assignor is a great guy and does the same.