Whose Call Is It?

[CoachJD]

Wondering whose call this is in various situations (number of umpires, which position they're in, etc.).

Ground ball down the first base line. It hits in fair territory before the base, lands in foul territory after the base. It crosses the base in mid-bounce (so maybe it crossed the base fair, maybe foul).

Same thing with third base line. We have that tricky judgment call where the umpire has to decide if the ball passed the base fair or foul.

Whose call with two umpires? With three? Is it ever the HP umpire's call if there's a base umpire?

 

[marriard]

Wondering whose call this is in various situations (number of umpires, which position they're in, etc.).

Ground ball down the first base line. It hits in fair territory before the base, lands in foul territory after the base. It crosses the base in mid-bounce (so maybe it crossed the base fair, maybe foul).

Same thing with third base line. We have that tricky judgment call where the umpire has to decide if the ball passed the base fair or foul.

Whose call with two umpires? With three? Is it ever the HP umpire's call if there's a base umpire?

These are ALL plate umpires calls in all mechanics. It is not the base umpires call

Plate always has foul/fair decisions on all ground balls from home plate to over first and third bases. (Various umpiring mechanic manuals i have)

The obvious justification is that the HP is always in position to see down the lines on every pitch no matter what else is going on.

 

[marriard]

Just to add to this, fair/foul is ALWAYS the plate umpires call unless a Base Umpire specifically goes out for an outfield fly ball/line drive(which happens more in 3-man)

 

[CoachJD]

These are ALL plate umpires calls in all mechanics. It is not the base umpires call

Plate always has foul/fair decisions on all ground balls from home plate to over first and third bases. (Various umpiring mechanic manuals i have)

The obvious justification is that the HP is always in position to see down the lines on every pitch no matter what else is going on.

Yes! OK, I knew it. I freaking knew it.

There was a ball down the line in a college game today, and from what I saw, the umpires blew it (and the announcer didn't know the rules on fair/foul). Bouncer hit down the line, bounced fair in front of the bag, looked to me (obviously not great camera angles) like it crossed over the bag fair, and landed about 2 inches foul maybe 10 feet behind the base. The umpire at third base called it foul, which seemed...not correct to me.

And, of course, the announcer didn't have any clue that it wasn't foul because it landed just barely in foul territory, but because the umpire (in this case, the wrong one) deemed it to cross the bag in foul territory.

I think it was the Duke game, but I watched a few today and they all kind of run together after a while.

 

[EdLovrich]

I remember seeing that game and yes it SHOULD have been PU call. PU did in fact call the ball fair, but since there is no verbal part to the fair call (just a point) AND everyone's eyes are on the ball and U3 is the closest to that action it got overlooked.

Unfortunately, because they had conflicting calls, when they got together they HAD to rule it foul ball even though the PU made the (seemingly correct) call. The reason they had to go with the foul call is that once it was made it could have altered how any of the players continued on the play. The BEST, if incorrect, way to proceed is stay with the foul call and go from there.

 

[CoachJD]

I remember seeing that game and yes it SHOULD have been PU call. PU did in fact call the ball fair, but since there is no verbal part to the fair call (just a point) AND everyone's eyes are on the ball and U3 is the closest to that action it got overlooked.

Unfortunately, because they had conflicting calls, when they got together they HAD to rule it foul ball even though the PU made the (seemingly correct) call. The reason they had to go with the foul call is that once it was made it could have altered how any of the players continued on the play. The BEST, if incorrect, way to proceed is stay with the foul call and go from there.

Did you also notice how the announcers were completely clueless? No mention of the umpires making the call. No mention of how it doesn't matter where the ball lands on that play. Just a quick "Yep, you can see it landed just foul." Ugh.

 

[EdLovrich]

Typical of announcers at any level/any sport. They are more clueless than the athletes/coaches when it comes to the rules of the game and believing in the "wives' tales" like 'a tie goes to the runner' or 'the hands are part of the bat'