3 man mechanics question
 

High School play off game - three man mechanics.

Single runner at third base. Infield hit to shortstop. Bad throw, ball gets away, runner rounds first and starts to try for second. Runner at third is still holding between third and home to see where the ball will be thrown.

My question - whose call is the possible play at second?

As it played out, I was 1st base umpire, and I took the play at second because my third base umpire was holding at third with the runner at third. My UIC says this is correct,, and I've never known him to be wrong before. I just thought that possibly the third base umpire should have been coming in to cover the possible play at second, with plate umpire coming up to take the runner at third.

Comments....?

Until your partner is 100% sure the runner from 3rd will score, he/she cannot release her and rotate to 2nd. You must read him/her and take the BR to 2nd if necessary.

Since the ball stayed in the IF, there is no rotation. You covered the play correctly.

What the previous two said.

Thanks for your replies! Guess my UIC was right, again!

Any hope of getting rid of rotation altogether?

When they create 4-umpire mechanics and put that many umpires on the field.

It's hard enough to get people to stop using the inept term of "counter- rotated" let alone getting rid of a rotation. :D

It's amazing to me that no one has "created" 4-umpire mechanics. I have a set of 3-umpire and 4-umpire coverage handouts given to me by Henry Pollard at the 2002 ASA National Umpire School in Killeen, Texas.

What is more accurate to say is that ASA 4-umpire mechanics were never officially included in the Umpire Manual; and that, when the new regime took over, the broom swept out everything not published to the general public via the Umpire Manual. There are many specific recommended mechanics no longer approved because they weren't ever in the Manual.

That version of 4-umpire still has rotations; any time a base umpire chases, another umpire has to rotate (always clock-wise) to cover that opening. Same as MLB, relative to rotations.

And 4 man mechanics will always have some rotations, because of umpires chasing. Unless, of course, we get rid of the concept of chasing.

Maybe ASA could focus on bridging the mechanics gap the NCAA can created with their superior 2 and 3 man systems and mechanics.. and forget that 4 man stuff. When umps need to do 4 man, they'll probably have some skills, they can grab an MLB handout and be good to go in about 15 mins of study.

What's the matter? Did the tree you hug daily get cut down?

Yep, I probably have the same handouts from Henry. And you are correct how all that information was handled by ASA.

Of course, you are correct. My mind was more along the line of the play being discussed, a ball to the infield with runners on. My bad.

The difference though is that with a 4-umpire crew, there will always (okay, SHOULD always) be 3 umpires remaining in the IF which makes the rotation much easier.

Hey now, we've gone around and around and I've never been so low as to insinuate you are a tree hugging liberal. Have you no line you will not cross?

You..you..you hillary loving obama messiah voter.

Actually, since our gutless congress has decided to become business partners with the financial, insurance and, coming soon, the transportation world, I figure we are going to need someone familiar with running a socialist government, so Vladimir Putin comes to mind.;)

Got that right...

Wheres a good Stalin when ya really need him.

Dunno about Stalin, but I hear you can get Lenin for cheap. :eek:

Is he still fresh as a daisy?

Lenin, Muslim...why all this discussion about fabric?

Don't think the daisies would want anything to do with all the chemicals used to embalm him.

Wouldn't be surprised if someday, his glass box ended up on Russian eBay.

now thats funny :) (mostly because my wife would probably bid on it... sigh)

Have you blocked the QVC channel yet?

ack... I might have to do that. :)