Help me understand the BU positioning on this play

[MD Longhorn]

Originally Posted by youngump

By toward third I meant nearer to third than second, she was actually tagged from behind after trying to turn back to second and this one was obvious. But to be honest, responsibilities on a pickle are not something I'm great at and if she got tagged 5 feet from third from behind, I would have anticipated my partner making the call as well. Is that wrong?

Well, let me ask this ... if you are working toward third but anticipate partner will have the call ... what are you there for?

If partner has that end, you don't need to also. Move to the other side (between SS and 2nd base) if you can and get your end... and as Andy said, you can then pay attention to the other runner.

You say you're not great at it. When you've got both ends, it's tough, and NO ONE can be great at it. Once partner is there, though, think bracket - one of you has each end, and being inside/outside lets you see obstruction and the like. If you're at a point in the rundown where partner is most likely to have a tag, you should be watching fielders. Too many umpires get caught watching the ball, including good ones - it's easy to do that.