The Umpires: An Exposé
We all know the men in black from Tengen stadium. These six arbiters patrol the field of every RBI game with dilligence and discipline.
...But are they really doing a good job? Do some sherk their responsiblities? Do they get every call right? The answer to this is sadly, "no".
The mysterious men in black are not always positioned correctly. Some are not even facing the play when making a call. Entire umpiring crews have been known to take whole plays OFF.
With the normal compliment of 6 black, beaty-eyed umpires assigned to every game (the same as assigned to MLB playoffs and World's Series, one would think that they could get every call right. Not even bringing balls and strikes into it, the calls in the field leave some players shaking their head, even CRYING on the way back to the dugout.
Some plays of note:
1. every umpire calls a ball foul, even the second base umpire.
2. the umpires down the lines next to the foul poles don't face the ball in flight, they face toward homeplate. Even the 1st and 3rd base umpires are facing toward home/pressbox. It appears that the only umpires looking where they should are the home and 2nd base umpires.
3. after a runner reaches first, the 2nd base umpire should be in the infield between 2nd and the mound. Instead, he remains in the outfield behind the second base bag. (someone correct me if i'm wrong on that)
4. it appears the homeplate umpire makes all "out" calls on flyballs no matter where where it's hit or if another umpire is closer to make the call.
5. only the umpires down the line make a "fair" call on a ball down the line, not the first or third base umps.
6. every runner that crosses the plate safely is called "safe" by the homeplate umpire, whether there is a play at the plate or not.
7. it's impossible to tell if all the umpires rule on a homerun call, but at least the respective foul pole umpire can be seen signalling for a homerun.
8. the umpires down the lines call every hit fair or foul, even a grounder to 2nd. They keep their hand down in fair territory for the entire length of time the ball is in play.
Quirks:
-the homeplate umpire puts his right hand behind his back while making the out call with his left hand up. the base umpires have the left hand IN FRONT while the right hand is up.
-no umpire calls a ball "fair" or "safe" when dropped on the fly by a fielder. (more research needs to be done, it's possible the homeplate umpire signals this.)
-not surprisingly, after the third out in the inning is made, no other runner will be signaled as out or safe.
where do the umps put their hands during play? ever notice that? i think they're in their pockets.
How many calls do they clearly get wrong? Not sure whether the wallzie should count (I believe a ball that punctures a wall and goes out of play would be a ground rule double in real life).
I'm thinking there are occasional borderline fair/foul calls that they get wrong, on hard grounders down the line... when I think of that, I picture RBI 3, so maybe it was confined to that game.
I seem to recall someone mentioning that if you ramp up the curve ratings enough, you can pull off a strike call that doesn't actually cross the plate, but I've never witnessed that.
you're right about the strike call. it gets called where the catcher catches it, not where it crosses the plate. you can actually witness this in the regular rom with some of the high curve guys.
there are some foul balls called fair that clearly never cross first or third and roll up against the wall. i specifically remember seeing one of these the first time i met richard at his house and we played.
umps also miss calls when throws to the bag are relayed to another base and no out is called. even happens at first base, not just second.
Quote from: TβG on 08/27/09, 03:17:11 PM
umps also miss calls when throws to the bag are relayed to another base and no out is called. even happens at first base, not just second.
For a long time, I assumed that the guy covering second wasn't quite to the bag yet when I threw - he was close enough to catch the throw but not on the base.
Yeah, I always assume the guy pulled his foot or something.
Quote from: BeefMaster on 08/27/09, 03:49:55 PM
Quote from: TβG on 08/27/09, 03:17:11 PM
umps also miss calls when throws to the bag are relayed to another base and no out is called. even happens at first base, not just second.
For a long time, I assumed that the guy covering second wasn't quite to the bag yet when I threw - he was close enough to catch the throw but not on the base.
Quote from: Nacho on 08/27/09, 04:08:46 PM
Yeah, I always assume the guy pulled his foot or something.
How do you account for the same thing happening on this happenign at first base, when the guy is already standing there? i think as far as the game works, it's some sort of quick throw glitch.
why is everybody taking the umpire's side??
Umps never miss a call - 1st baseman pulled his foot, second baseman or SS does the phantom touch of 2nd base on a DP, all strikes at least touch pixels with the plate, the balls down the line catch just enough of the bag to be called fair...
WOW