catcher OBS?

[The Man In Blue]

View attachment 15266

Just a visual on how much plate the runner gets with this position (6 inches). Not making any judgment on obstruction, just helps to see what you’re giving/getting.

Great illustration on how angles change perception!

 

[The Man In Blue]

Also, for the umps...are you taught to be in the "wedge" (vs this guy's positioning - 1BX)? Seems he isn't in position to see the tag, and the wedge guys would be all over him for that, not to mention not in great position to see obstructing the plate or not.

I’m going to get flak ... I’m not a fan of the wedge. I don’t like being behind the catcher and giving him/her an opportunity to screen me out.

I’m not too critical of PU’s positioning as that is view I prefer to have. I think he has a good look at the tag and the plate. If anything is going to block him out, it is the runner. The runner sliding is less of a potential screen than the upright catcher moving around. The criticism of that positioning is that he is in the line of fire if he throw goes astray. That said, I will be very critical of what he does up to that point. Leave the bat alone, quit wandering around, and get your butt into position.

 

[djcarter1966]

I think that was my post you were referring to. I was asking if sliding directly into the catchers shin guard like that was something anyone teaches. I know sliding is far from an exact science, and she may very well have been trying to hit the back corner and get behind the catchers foot.

It just looked so direct, that I was wondering if she aimed for the shin guard on purpose to draw OBS. (I'm thinking no, but maybe a coach out there does teach that for the .05% of plays that end with a catch-n-tag at home plate?)

This is what I was saying I don't teach, trying to find the open piece of the plate you can slide to. I don't even want them to have any thought process of where is everyone positioned, where is the throw coming from....once you as the runner decide it's time to slide, hard,fast and directly to the base/plate. Might I get more in depth if I had a real speedster who was stealing all the time at 16U/18U maybe, but that is the 5% or less exception not the rule.

 

[djcarter1966]

I’m going to get flak ... I’m not a fan of the wedge. I don’t like being behind the catcher and giving him/her an opportunity to screen me out.

I’m not too critical of PU’s positioning as that is view I prefer to have. I think he has a good look at the tag and the plate. If anything is going to block him out, it is the runner. The runner sliding is less of a potential screen than the upright catcher moving around. The criticism of that positioning is that he is in the line of fire if he throw goes astray. That said, I will be very critical of what he does up to that point. Leave the bat alone, quit wandering around, and get your butt into position.

Just as a general safety thing i always moved the bat if I felt it had the potential to be in the way, maybe bad habit but I did, he still has plenty of time to get in position....my two cents

 

[The Man In Blue]

[Puts on his grumpy old ump hat]

Two true stories for you ... one I witnessed, the other I worked with the guy it happened to ...

First, the most recent ... I was at my nephew’s baseball game (12u) and watched the plate umpire grab the bat to move it out of the way. He gives it a quick toss behind him without looking ... and just about drilled the on deck batter who was not paying attention. Thankfully he missed, but he didn’t even know what he did.

Second, the second hand story. Men’s slow pitch. PU grabs the bat to move it out of the way, mishandles it and ends up tossing it up the baseline. Runner coming home gets entangled with it and ends up breaking his leg. Guy I worked with said he was never so afraid of being sued while umpiring as that moment. (Fortunately, they guy didn’t sue.)

My personal rule ... after the equipment check, I do not touch any equipment. I don’t move bats. I don’t pick up the catcher’s helmet (I know that seems rude and I have explained it to players and coaches before). I don’t pick up bats at the end of an inning even. I’m not a maid and it isn’t my stuff to touch. I’m certainly not tossing around some kids’ $500 bat.

Safer (literally and legally) to leave it lay on the field, where it is covered in the rules.

 

[The Man In Blue]

This is what I was saying I don't teach, trying to find the open piece of the plate you can slide to. I don't even want them to have any thought process of where is everyone positioned, where is the throw coming from....once you as the runner decide it's time to slide, hard,fast and directly to the base/plate. Might I get more in depth if I had a real speedster who was stealing all the time at 16U/18U maybe, but that is the 5% or less exception not the rule.

Maybe it’s old school, but I was always taught to slide away from the most likely place a tag is going.

 

[MTR]

View attachment 15266

Just a visual on how much plate the runner gets with this position (6 inches). Not making any judgment on obstruction, just helps to see what you’re giving/getting.

And completely irrelevant

 

[MTR]

I’m going to get flak ... I’m not a fan of the wedge. I don’t like being behind the catcher and giving him/her an opportunity to screen me out.

Couldn't agree more. You lose more than you gain on coverage

 

[djcarter1966]

Maybe it’s old school, but I was always taught to slide away from the most likely place a tag is going.

Yeah I'm not a big fan of sliding away from the base...cause that's where the tag is going...I'd rather get to the base as fast as I can. Again if I had a speedster or two that where stealing all the time I could get very intricate with all sorts of different sliding technique but again 95% of the time getting to the base, fastest is the bestest...again just my opinion and no problem with simply agreeing to disagree.

 

[The Man In Blue]

If there was one right way, this forum would be pretty boring!