baseballrules

It is obvious that the traditional four-man crew that oversees Major League Baseball games needs further assistance. Since MLB adds two umpires on the outfield foul lines during postseason, they should also employ the same six-man rotation during every regular season game.

Having umpires down the line will provide several benefits:

1. It is a good way to break in rookie umpires.

2. It can help with continued education for young umpires who have just one or two years in the majors. They will have the opportunity to learn from five other umpires who have considerable experience.

3. The umps on the lines have different angles of the game. They can help with calls on various infield and outfield plays, including those near the outfield stands. They can see behind infielders and base runners, possibly providing a clearer view of plays around one of the bases. (This could have helped Tim McClelland at third base during the New York Yankees-Los Angeles Angels series. But, that would have meant that the left field umpire needed to watch the play unfold and McClelland would have had to call a crew conference.) They are nearer to the corner outfielders and they can take a closer look than the infield umps to determine if fly balls are catches or traps. (They also could help with similar calls in center field with the support of the second base umpire.) They will have better angles on determining right field and left field home runs that might not require replay delay of the game.

The problem with these two extra umpire positions as MLB currently employs them during the post season is that they are positioned too close to the first base and third base umpires. They are right behind them, at most 20 or 25 feet. They need to be positioned farther down the lines to be effective. They are umpires for the left field and right field lines, not extensions of the first and third base umpires.

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