Neither is having a visable Schutt emblem on your face mask. But the WCWS crew in '08 sure were sporting them. Some things in the manual are more important than others. Standing statue still while waiting on you BUs to get into position then robotically turning and sprinting back to the plate is not one of them.

I know what you're talking about- the ole stroll through the park...:)

So when I've got 3B as PU I have been walking smartly, think military walk, back to the plate. :cool:

Yer suggesting I should jog back ?

That's what I do and that's what I'm training people to do. :)

However, some people have been know to call me anal. :eek: :mad: :p

I'm SP-only, but I've always been told that if you, as the BU, aren't jogging back to B, you'll get dinged on your evals.

Same with the PU.

The difference is that the ball is dead, and runners stay where they are, so the need to watch the runners during this time isn't very high.

The priority is different, but the result is the same. Most, if not all, SP games have a 60 minute time limit, give or take a few minutes. If you are lollygagging during dead ball periods, you're wasting their playing time.

Some people take the opinion of great!, let's do that. Less work, less whining, same pay. I don't roll that way. They're paying to play. I'm getting paid to work. I shouldn't limit what their paying to do because I don't want to do what I'm getting paid to do. Maybe that's why they are calling me anal. :D

And maybe that's why you get invited to call tourneys and don't get stuck year in, year out, doing only league games. :D

I'll admit I don't haul butt at the end of every play when calling league games. When doing 3 games in a row, I HAVE to pace myself. However, I'm always in position well before the pitcher is ready to pitch, and I make sure I'm not the one holding up the game. If there's any holdup, it ain't due to any laziness on my part.

Calling in a tourney, on the other hand, is different. I'm jogging back to the plate or back to B at the end of every play. You will never see otherwise from me.

Hey, get off my corner!!!

Though taught it years ago, I do not agree with the jogging/running into position as the be all to end all.

Your time between plays may be the only time you get to take a relaxing breath. Too many people confuse running with hustle. They are not the same. I have sprinted back to my position and still had the PU waiting on me because everyone else did not have to wait for a play at 3B to finish before turning away from the play.:D

As long as the umpire is where they belong as soon as they can get there is fine by me. I want that umpire to be ready and able to cover the next play as well as s/he did the last one. I DO NOT want to call 911 because an umpire went down due to heat, exhaustion or any other reason.

If that means taking a couple relaxing steps on the way to their next position, that's okay. However, do not let me see the game stop because you did not make an effort to get into position in time.

If I'm on the plate and we're rotated out of position, I usually call time and then brush the plate off when I get "back home". I thought I was doing it only because I was uncoordinated with that little you-gottem-now-I've-gottem dance. Who knew I was following someone's recommended technique.

By the way, what was the source of this?

The ASA National Staff. It was posted two years ago on the umpire page of the ASA web site. It isn't anything new and pretty much takes a step closer to my advocation of the elimination of the LBR.

Should be mandatory reading. If you have not read em, you are slacking...:p:)

Somebody at ASA ought to get a clue and cross-reference their posted material (rules clarifications, etc.) by subject. Listing them only chronologically is pretty much useless.

Maybe you would like them to stop by at night and tuck you in? :D

You know, it is amazing what some of these search engines can do nowadays. I entered "look back rule" ASA clarification time and had the thing in front of me in less than 2 seconds.

Thanks, I've been looking for an emoticon like this one. ;)

Glad to help! http://www.clicksmilies.com/s1106/gr...smiley-018.gif