The play at home plate late in the NCSU/VT game

I give Stretchy a hard time, but he is one of the best in the business. He takes pride in knowing the rules as well as anyone and better than most.

If one has him on your field you can be sure he will do his best

 

Here's the thing you want to consider in all aspects of officiating. Ultimately you want to let the participants decide the outcome. After all, you are simply an impartial arbiter of the game. Unfortunately, sometimes you have to call stuff that will directly impact the outcome of a game such as a balk, interference, obstruction, etc. Safes and outs, strikes and balls are pretty easy once you get halfway decent at what you do. Interupting ambiguous rules, which baseball is filled with, is the tough part.

Basketball and football involve more opportunities to take a "pass" on a call. An example in basketball is the bump on the drive to the basket. As an official you can call that early but you take the chance away from the player for a lay-up or a lay-up and a foul as the play progresses. Let the player and his talent determine the outcome of the play. The other critical aspect of officiating is good timing with your judgement. Despite all the parents, coaches, players yelling...the play doesn't have to be called immediately.

To echo Braves point, baseball is pretty cut and dried outside of individual interuptation of the strike zone.

 

Tell that to Armondo and the Tigers this am.

I hear what you're saying. In a perfect world what you say is how it should be.

 

Touche One Putt

 

The guy is a good ump. He just made a mistake. But it was sure a bad mistake.

This may be a silly question but could MLB rule the game a perfect game since the next batter grounded out? By facing another batter nothing was gained. Could MLB recognize it in the record books? I realize this would be unusual and goes against the quirks of the game. No game has more rules that baseball and golf.

 

I don't know if they could or couldn't One Putt. They can probably do anything they want but the problem than becomes when does MLB step in and "change" things. This is a little off what you were saying but in my opinion, these guys earn the right to make those calls. Is it OK to kick them? NO, NO, NO. Don't get me wrong. Those are the calls, however, that you get paid to make. Anybody can call the runner out who is out by 10 feet on the comebacker to the pitcher. Anybody can call the balls and strikes that are obvious. I earn my money when I have a nutcutter that I have to get. The same goes for the pro guys. If you noticed, Jim Leyland was upset about it at the time, but in the post game interview he acknowledged that it's part of baseball and that Jim Joyce is one of the better umpires in the game. My other point is that the fact that it was the last out of a perfect game only magnifies what would otherwise be another kicked call that Leyland probably gets ejected over. I am admittedly biased slightly toward the umpires because I am one and I empathize with what they deal with but I also understand it from a fans point of view as well.

 

I understand your point. I don't disagree they have earned the right to call the game, not earned the right to make a bad call.

I thought it was interesting that everyone commented that it wasn't that close and was a pretty easy call to make. It wouldn't be easy for me. In replay it's easy to see but they don't have replay. Frankly I'm amazed at the closer calls that umps do get right. Sometimes I don't even see it clearly in slow motion.

I like the fact that the guy came forward and said he screwed up. He admitted it and moved on. All he can do. BTW, I did see Leyland's comments. I feel for the ump as well. What is odd is that by umpiring standards, it wasn't that tough of a call. And making that call with the last out in a perfect game; I couldn't have called the guy safe. Anything remortely close i would give it to the defense. Kinda that perception thing. Even if he had been safe on a close play I don't think I could have called him safe on anything close.

 

for

I am all for instant replay in MLB.

get the call right.

 

ONLY if they have a review ump up in the press box that can quickly make a decision to overturn a call. Otherwise, unless it's to determine a disrupted HR...forget it. The games are already too long.

 

In slow-motion, viewing from a distance, it looked like an easy call. In regular-motion, you have 3 different objects: the runners foot, the pitchers foot, & the ball hitting the glove in a seconds time. Wouldn't have been easy for me either standing where he was standing.