Potential for a big mess....

[MD Longhorn]

Originally Posted by youngump

Really? And what if you're not sure? I doubt you'd really just refuse to make a call on a checked swing. In my mind some calls are best guess if you're not sure, blocked out on a pitch perhaps. And others where you need to be sure, illegal pitch. The key difference usually being that in many cases you have to make some call.

You don't have to be SURE that it was a swing... you have to be SURE that you didn't see a swing. If you saw one, it's a strike. If you are not positive you saw a swing, then you are SURE that you didn't see a swing, and rule no swing.

[youngump]

Originally Posted by mbcrowder

You don't have to be SURE that it was a swing... you have to be SURE that you didn't see a swing. If you saw one, it's a strike. If you are not positive you saw a swing, then you are SURE that you didn't see a swing, and rule no swing.

Those semantic gymnastics just don't work. You could say, I'm sure that I'm not sure I saw a swing. But you certainly can't say from that, that I'm sure I didn't see a swing.
But I don't disagree with what I think you were trying to say. If I don't see her offer, I'm not going to call it.
And to expand that a little since maybe I still don't understand. When I say in my judgment she swung, that's not the same thing as saying there is no possible doubt in my mind that she offered at that pitch. As Steve pointed out, there's a default call for many situations. If you don't see an out, safe. But that is different from I saw an out and there's still the smallest amount of doubt in my mind.