I got yelled at yesterday… and I thoroughly deserved it. As the base umpire on a ground ball, I came into the infield prepared to make the call at first base. The throw sailed overhead, all the way to the fence. I broke toward the fence to cover the overthrow. But, after two steps, I realized that I was supposed to run into the infield to cover the runner, allowing my partner to take the ball.
The problem began when I stopped running, and told the instructor, “Oh, I’m supposed to go into the infield, right?” He quite properly screamed back at me, and I paraphrase: “SO GET IN THE INFIELD, THEN!”
The instructor was right! He wasn’t angry that I had gone the wrong way – he was mad that I had stopped to talk about it. If I’m supposed to go to the infield, I had better just get my butt there. Standing around thinking won’t make a call on a play at second.
I’ve gotten intense with physics students for similar transgressions… it is better to say something wrong and loud than to say nothing at all. Now I’ve earned my own comeuppance for timidity here at Umpire School.
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