Slowpitch Plate Umpire - Stance with a mat

[Linknblue]

Ok! What I'm getting is set up in slot behind catcher even if he's 7 to 10 feet back from plate. Why would you switch for a lefty? You're only interested in whether it hits the plate. Staying on 3rd side makes more sense to me.

Also, just a note..........I've "never" done an ASA game where I called a zone but I don't do SP tourneys, just wreck ball. I don't know of any league that calls the zone, it's all the "mat". Even though I'd like to call the zone, no one else seems to think it's important. Oh well.

Tourneys with SP guys seem to bring out the worst of the "wreck" ballers around here. NorCal.

Thanks again

[Umpteenth]

Originally Posted by Linknblue

Why would you switch for a lefty?

Because the slot is different for a lefty.

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by Linknblue

Ok! What I'm getting is set up in slot behind catcher even if he's 7 to 10 feet back from plate. Why would you switch for a lefty? You're only interested in whether it hits the plate. Staying on 3rd side makes more sense to me.

Also, just a note..........I've "never" done an ASA game where I called a zone but I don't do SP tourneys, just wreck ball. I don't know of any league that calls the zone, it's all the "mat". Even though I'd like to call the zone, no one else seems to think it's important. Oh well.

Tourneys with SP guys seem to bring out the worst of the "wreck" ballers around here. NorCal.

Thanks again

Of course, not. You are in CA, a territory in which common sense is not so common

[AtlUmpSteve]

Originally Posted by Linknblue

Ok! What I'm getting is set up in slot behind catcher even if he's 7 to 10 feet back from plate. Why would you switch for a lefty? You're only interested in whether it hits the plate. Staying on 3rd side makes more sense to me.

Actually you aren't "switching" for a lefty; the slot is the space between the batter and the plate. So moving to the first base side for a lefty isn't switching, it is staying in the slot.

You want to stay in the slot because batters typically foul outside pitches up and away when back, or inside pitches down and in. Up and away when you are away is a bad combination for your safety. Staying in the slot is the safest place to be.