Drop 3rd strike mechanic

[IowaBlue]

Originally Posted by youngump

This simply isn't the case because there are all sorts of anchoring factors. The direction of the throw for example. Now I'm not commenting on the specific play as I don't really have much there. But suppose it were a steal. Do you really think 45 inside is as good a position as 45 outside?

The correct answer is neither. You don't want a 45 degree angle on a steal play, you want 90 degrees with the runner's path to the bag, at the point that the runner and the bag intersect, or to the runner's path at the time a fielder is attempting a tag. And in that case, yes, either inside or outside position will suffice.

Let me give you an example that incorporates many of the ideas involved with this thread, and it is particularly appropriate as I believe it is a "difficult" mechanic that ASA actually endorses:

You are the base umpire in a 2 man system. No runners on base. The batter hits a sharp, sinking liner to RF that takes one hop and is then fielded. In nearly all levels of FP you are likely to have a potential 9-3 put-out attempt.

Now you have basically two options here. You can either attempt to get your normal 45 degree angle with 1B from fair territory, but the downside is obviously that the throw will be coming from behind you and you will lose sight of the ball.

The preferred position in this scenario would be to move to foul ground and obtain the VERY SAME 45 degree angle with 1B. This is an excellent position to see the play, and I can't recall ever missing a call from this spot.

Obviously, the major concern here is that your partner must be alert enough to diagnose the developing situation and bust out to at least the pitching rubber in order to seen a potential play at 2B.

This is an example of how what your partner can/is likely to do will impact the position that you choose on the field. Both angles involved here are IDENTICAL. Each position will have accompanying positive and negative attributes, but the ANGLE is the same, and indeed, as long as you are not hit with the throw or alter it's path, your ability to call THAT INITIAL PLAY will be exactly the same from either position.

What is different from each spot on the field is your ability to adjust and then cover another impending play. Again, if you have a reliable partner, the decision becomes obvious.

Have you ever worked 1-umpire slowpitch? With nobody on and an infield ground ball with a potential play at first, what are you going to do? You should move into fair territory and attempt to gain a 45 degree angle with first. This is EXACTLY THE SAME ANGLE as in the above two situations, only from yet ANOTHER potential position on the field. Three different positions around the same base resulting in three IDENTICAL angles.

As you can see, the only way softball can work with 1 or 2 umpires is precisely BECAUSE the angles are always there, only our position on the field, relative to our next possible responsibility, changes.

Obviously, you always need to be cognizant of how the impending play develops, how the angles change as the runner/field positions change, and how you must move accordingly in order to see all the pieces of the puzzle, so that you are never "blocked out" or screened.

Umpiring actually involves 3 dimensional space, so that sometimes you can actually use an "over the top" view to help you out in certain situations.

Hopefully all of that was clear enough.