catcher obstructing your view

Question
Mark,

I just had a meeting with a league i am about to umpire in.  One of the complaints that came up in a form of a statement was that UMPIRES SHOULD ADJUST TO THE CATCHER NOT THE CATCHER ADJUSTING TO THE UMPIRE.  Is there an ASA rule on this?

My thought is, the catcher needs to adjust to the umpire because if we can see the pitch we cant call a strike.

What are your thoughts?

John

Answer
Hi John,

This is a lot more common in SP and I assume that's what you're umpiring.

As long as the catcher is in the catcher's box they can be anywhere they choose and the umpire mechanic is we adjust to them somewhat.  It's not our job to tell the catcher where to play and we need to get in the best position we can w/out sacrificing all our umpire mechanics.  Normally I don't want to vary from the slot too much and I might adjust my stance and set a little but if I get blocked out by the catcher it's a ball, I can't call a strike I can't see.  I then might mention quietly to the catcher that they're blocking me out on that pitch.

Mark