Umpire Mechanics Spotlighted During Mariners Game

During a fly ball to center field Friday night, Mariners broadcasters Dave Sims and Mike Blowers zeroed in on the umpiring crew, tracing 2B Umpire Adam Hamari, 3B Umpire Adrian Johnson, and HP Umpire John Tumpane as they moved to make a call on Rangers batter Adolis Garcia's attempted double in Seattle.

With none out and none on, Garcia hit a batted ball to Mariners center fielder Taylor Trammel, who attempted to dive to catch the fly. 2B Umpire Hamari, having gone out to rule on the trouble ball, properly ruled "no catch" using a standard arms-spread safe mechanic. With Hamari out of the infield, 3B Umpire Johnson ran to cover Hamari's vacated base at second, where Johnson would ultimately call Garcia out as he unsuccessfully attempted to turn a single into a hustle double.

Rounding out the umpiring movements, HP Umpire Tumpane jogged into third base to cover for Johnson, preparing for the potential play if, say, Trammel had overthrown shortstop JP Crawford, leading batter-runner Garcia to try for third base.

With Garcia out at second base, 1B Umpire Sean Barber remained at first base in case Garcia had tried to run back to first to avoid a tag. Had Garcia slid safely into second base and attempted to advance to third, Barber would have run to home plate, covering for Tumpane, who was covering for Johnson, who was covering for Hamari.

Umpire training programs, such as umpire school, camp, and otherwise, teach the movement/rotation/coverage system Friday night's crew employed in Seattle; it is also codified in the MLB Umpire Manual. The next time you're at a baseball game, watch the umpires when a ball is hit toward the outfield and one of the crew who has responsibility for such matters goes into the outfield; the rest of the crew will backfill based on the prescribed mechanics, showing that hustle is still key even for the officials in order to have every potential play covered.

Video as follows:

Alternate Link: Umpire mechanics were on display at T-Mobile Park (SEA/CCS)