officially not a virgin :)

[NCASAUmp]

Originally Posted by Dutch Alex

How come you and F4 collided twice? Let the fielder lead you towards to your movements. This will be even more important behind the plate; let F2 with passed balls and foul pop-ups lead you.

These collisions usually occur when the BU is too close to F4, who is usually already halfway to the fence. SP infielders play MUCH farther back than they do in FP.

If you're finding that you're getting in F4's way, set up about 6 feet behind F4 and off their left shoulder. If there's ever a runner on 2nd base, change it to their right shoulder.

As Alex said, let F4 dictate your movements on the bases. Staying off to one side instead of being directly behind F4 reduces your chances of a collision.

[MD Longhorn]

Originally Posted by NCASAUmp

If there's ever a runner on 2nd base, change it to their right shoulder.

Um .... what?

[MNBlue]

Originally Posted by mbcrowder

Um .... what?

He's talking slow pitch mechanics.

[NCASAUmp]

Originally Posted by mbcrowder

Um .... what?

Originally Posted by MNBlue

He's talking slow pitch mechanics.

Yep, the OP specified men's SP.

You should always be behind the second baseman, to the left or right if:

To the right: anytime there's a runner on 2B

To the left: all other times

Personally, if there are no runners on 1B and 2B, I split the difference between F3 and F4. It lets me buttonhook faster.

[MD Longhorn]

Ugh. My bad. Would delete it ... but I'll leave my ugly laundry out there for all to see. Sorry bout that!!!

[NCASAUmp]

Originally Posted by mbcrowder

Ugh. My bad. Would delete it ... but I'll leave my ugly laundry out there for all to see. Sorry bout that!!!

C'mon... How many times have I read through a posting too fast and gotten it completely fouled up? Answer: plenty!

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by NCASAUmp

Yep, the OP specified men's SP.

You should always be behind the second baseman, to the left or right if:

To the right: anytime there's a runner on 2B

To the left: all other times

Personally, if there are no runners on 1B and 2B, I split the difference between F3 and F4. It lets me buttonhook faster.

Then I would consider you are out of position and a target for the batter.

[NCASAUmp]

Originally Posted by IRISHMAFIA

Then I would consider you are out of position and a target for the batter.

That's not what I was instructed at two National Schools.

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by NCASAUmp

That's not what I was instructed at two National Schools.

What happens when someone is running in your general direction and you need to get out of the way? 50% of the time you will choose the same spot on the field to go as the fielder. If you are 4-6 feet away, it is a simple pivot and the fielder is by you and you have a clear path inside the diamond.

And why in the world would you want to stand right where the batter wants to hit the ball?

Of course, you could be referring to the "imaginary line" (here we go, again) which has been emphasized the last few years as absolution for INT while standing in front of a fielder. I've seen people cite this when standing in front of a fielder. I disagree with teaching this as a standard mechanic, but agree is may be available in an extreme situation. While it does absolve the umpire from calling INT on oneself, IMO being in front of an infielder is never a good position.

If F4 is that deep, I'd rather see the umpire move up the middle. Yes, it takes you farther away from the play at 1B and take a little more hustle to get into position, but, at least, you are not in the middle of the play to the right side.

In the ASA umpire manual, the SP base umpire is directed to position him/herself on the 1st side off F4. I don't read that the same as halfway between the two fielders.