Whatcha got - discussion of umpire mechanics

[EsqUmp]

Another clinician and I spent a 1/2 hour last night at a nearby clinic demonstrating calling positions for plays at the plate. We explained when should we use 1BLE and when should we use 3BLE; where we need to be in order to be able to adjust to either of these positions.

I am a big proponent of 3BLE. The number of times a catcher swipes a tag far outnumbers how many times she has the ball and the runner slides in. I have the numbers and photos to prove it.

With that said, even I wouldn't use 3BLE in this case. I would have been in the wedge and then rotated out two steps to get onto 1BLE. If there were to be a swipe tag possible, it would have to be on the runner's backside, which 3BLE is not designed to cover.