officially not a virgin :)

[NCASAUmp]

Originally Posted by IRISHMAFIA

You are not going to hear that from me, nor will you find it in the umpire manual. It is a ludicrous restriction since all infields are not cut the same and we cannot control where the defense plays.

What would you do if all the IF were on the grass? Check out the Border Battle III. You may notice, the only umpire on dirt is the PU.

I WOULD agree to such a direction if there was no reason to be on the grass. There are umpires who like to stay deep, way too deep and end up running twice as far as needed and occasionally don't get to where they really need to be. The answer I get when I mention it is, "that's okay, I like to run". Well, guess what, Bubba, you ain't as fast as you think you are.

When I called my National 2 years ago, we were given a similar instruction: stay off the grass.

The message I got from it was: find a spot where you're still on the dirt and not so far out of position, and don't be complacent by just following the book's instructions to plant behind F4. It got me thinking about where I should be when the "by-the-book" spot is so far out of position that you're completely removed from the play.

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by NCASAUmp

The message I got from it was: find a spot where you're still on the dirt and not so far out of position, and don't be complacent by just following the book's instructions to plant behind F4. It got me thinking about where I should be when the "by-the-book" spot is so far out of position that you're completely removed from the play.

I have little doubt that this evolved from an old umpire adage somewhere along the lines of, "the umpire is treated like dirt, so stand on the dirt". And that is fine, as an adage, not as a standard mechanic. In the FP game, it is almost always available. To say the same in the SP game of TODAY, is unrealistic. And guess how much smaller that cut-out becomes when they move the bases to 70'?

I agree an umpire needs to go where s/he needs to be to do the job. And when it is necessary to deviate, you go where you need to go and make every effort to stay out of the area of the play.

BTW, it is a good possibility the folks who told you to stay on the dirt are the same that gigged umpires from my area for not mirroring the plate umpire's "time" call and for going out on a sinking line drives to the OF in a two-umpire system even though the crew pre-gamed it and it was necessary for those plays.

[Dutch Alex]

Originally Posted by NCASAUmp

When I called my National 2 years ago, we were given a similar instruction: stay off the grass.

The message I got from it was: find a spot where you're still on the dirt and not so far out of position, and don't be complacent by just following the book's instructions to plant behind F4. It got me thinking about where I should be when the "by-the-book" spot is so far out of position that you're completely removed from the play.

Don't you know, or want to know, what the real reason is to stay off the grass?