As They See 'Em by Bruce Weber

Author:Bruce Weber
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Scribner
Published: 2009-03-17T04:30:00+00:00

Not only hitters come in different shapes and sizes; umpires do, too. Often, a guy like Tim McClelland, who is six feet six, is going to get a different perspective on a pitch from, say, Ed Montague, who is maybe five feet ten. Their height affects their stances, for one thing. To get down to the optimal height for viewing a pitch—with your chin at the level of the top of the catcher’s head, as they teach you in umpire school, or with your eyes at the precise level of the upper limit of the strike zone, as I’ve heard some umpires say—McClelland needs a deeper crouch. However, he has the advantage of being able to stand back farther from the catcher and raise up higher without losing a full view of the plate. Many umpires will do this anyway, from time to time, as a kind of last-moment improvisation when the catcher rises up or shifts from side to side and blocks their view of the plate.

Then there are the variations in stances. Wally Bell, among the few who still use the scissors, is distinct in that he gets down on one knee to call a pitch. Most umpires are square to the plate, but if you watch closely, you see wide differences in depth of crouch, height of head, and angle to the plate. Some umpires habitually set up directly behind the catcher, looking at the plate over the catcher’s head, the theory being that you get the best view of the plate straight on; the downside of this is that you have to set up a little higher and get a less advantageous view of the low pitch. Other umpires prefer the slot; your view from there is unimpeded, but you’re looking at the pitch from a slightly off-center perspective, which skews, minutely but perceptibly, your view of the outside corner.

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