Calling "ties" at the bases

arnest study of the various rule provisions will establish no less than four separate circumstances where the different decisions on an apparent tie should be go either to the runner or the fielder under the rules. For the sake of consistency, ease of application, and for professional considerations (read gate receipts), it is generally accepted that when a runner is advancing or returning on the base paths, ties between the defense and the offense go to the fielder. Conversely, when applied to pick-off plays, ties go to the runner. If that is NOT what the rule says to you in some particular case, take heart that everyone else is doing it that way and rest easy.

Calling "safe" on a missed base

According to the rules, umpires should strictly reserve the term "Safe" for those instances where a runner is legally entitled to the base for which he was trying. [OBR 2.00 Safe] The ethical dilemma arises when a call of "Safe," or the absence of such a call, might of itself affect the subsequent game action. The game has become so finely tuned that at some levels a single audible call from the umpire can turn the action right around, or color all later play.

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