From where I sat it appeared the runner arrived at the bag before the throw. However, he slid to the rear edge of the bag, and from where I sat I could not tell if he held the bag as the tag came to him. It is quite possible there was air space between him and the bag at the time of the tag.
quote:and later with a Cox batter who said very little on a called third strike. Now, if the Cox kid dropped an "F-bomb", I can see a warning, but the guy whipped off his mask with definite anger, which was not called for even if it was an "F-bomb".
I don't know if the hitter said anything to the umpire but the hitter drew a line where he thought the ball came past him. I thought the umpire showed restraint not tossing the player. It is usually cause for automatic ejection. Or if the ump wants to use it as a "teaching moment", the next time said hitter comes up, the line becomes part of the strike-zone. Showing up the umpire is a sure fire way to make life miserable for any player.
He wasn't tossed because the Cox manager took matters in his own hands and said he would take the player out of the game.
quote:I don't know if the hitter said anything to the umpire but the hitter drew a line where he thought the ball came past him.
Yes he did and he was benched by the coach. TOOOOO many bad calls in a state playoff game. I rest my case. One more time the play at 3rd as something I will never forget.
quote:The guy working third base at the Cox Vs Hanover game should be fired what a terrible call. Were you there to see how out of position he was?
Solid,
I talked with our assigner who was at the game – I wasn’t do to a previous commitment as stated in an earlier post. While I will side with umpires on judgment calls (safes, outs, balls, strikes, etc) and how they handle situations, there are a few things that I will not back an umpire. One of those is being lazy and not making an attempt to get to the best position possible for a call. Are there compromises based on how a play develops, yes. However, a steal (or passed ball) of 3rd and a decent throw with a 4-man crew is not one of them. On a steal of 3rd, the 3rd base umpire should step up toward 3rd and read the throw from the catcher. Then move either fair or foul so as not to be blocked out by the players. In this case he did neither. He was out of position and unable to make a good judgment of the play. When I am evaluating other umpires, I don’t care if they get the play right or wrong when they are out of position like this play. In my mind they are wrong. If they get the call right, it was a lucky guess.
In the case of AAA state semis and finals, the VHSL uses split crews. That is 2 umpires are from one association and 2 are from another. This other umpire was from a different association, so our association has no jurisdiction over the umpire, and I don’t know how they evaluate their umpires. Our assigner did discuss this with the 3rd base umpire after the game.