Tenn v. Bama

[EsqUmp]

Originally Posted by Andy

I also don't like the idea of "shared responsibilities" as you call them. I believe it can lead to too much confusion between the crew as to who is going to take what call in what situation, and what happens if the two umpires that are "sharing" responsibilities come up with two different calls on the same play? The other issue I have is how to read that your partner is going to turn to take an outfield call, then come back in to make an infield call...

Allow me to clarify what I mean by shared responsibility. It isn't that both officials have the right to call in the same zone. It is that the field is divided so that the umpires have different areas to cover. For instance, with no runners on base in the two umpire system, the base umpire would have from the center fielder to the right field fence. The plate umpire would have from left of center field to the left field fence. In other words, the coverage is the same as if the umpire went out. The difference is, the umpire wouldn't have to go out to be responsible for the call. That isn't to say that the umpire shouldn't go out if it were necessary.

With respect to not knowing whether your partner goes out, your partner simply has to put his hand out like a traffic cop to let you know you don't have to come up the line for the call. I've heard every argument there is about this, but those who try it find that it works great and the umpire who's in a better position to make the call doesn't have to decide whether to give up on the infield just to assume responsibility for the call.