A Good Plate Arbiter is Mobile - UPDATE - November/December 2006

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With no runners on base, the base umpire is on the first base foul line ("A" position). Fair/foul coverage on the first base line is divided. As the plate umpire, you will take any ball which stops short of first base or is touched before reaching the base. Any ball which passes the base (front edge) untouched is the base umpire’s responsibility. The plate umpire has to cover the entire third base line. With runners on base, the base umpire is positioned inside (both 60-foot and 90-foot diamonds) and the plate umpire has both foul lines in their entirety.

This is the paragraph from that newsletter that is confusing some umpires. When I said “With runners on base, the base umpire is positioned inside (both 60-foot and 90-foot diamond)” I meant inside behind the 2nd baseman (Position B) and behind the shortstop (Position C) for the 60 foot diamond. There have been no changes to the mechanics of working the 60 foot diamond. My apologies for any confusion.