Which umpire makes the fair or foul call?

Umpires divide up the field before the game. Fair or foul goes to whichever one owns that piece of the line, and being close to the play has nothing to do with it.

Let’s say a ground ball dies on the third base line with the base umpire standing right there. The plate umpire — 60 feet away — is the one who yells “Fair!” And he’s the right one.

With two umpires (which is what you’ll have most weekends), the split looks like this:

• The plate umpire has both lines from the plate to the bag. That’s every bunt, every chopper and every ball that dies before first or third.
• The third base line past the bag is his too. It’s his all the way to the fence.
• The first base line past the bag belongs to the base umpire only when he’s in foul territory behind first. He sets up there with no one on. The moment there’s a runner, he moves inside the diamond. The plate umpire takes that line back.

So with a runner on, the plate umpire has every fair-or-foul call on the field. Yes, from the plate! With one umpire, of course, it’s all him.

What he’s judging is the ball, never the fielder. He’s watching where it settles or is first touched before the bag. He’s watching where it passes the bag on a bounce. If it’s in the air past the bag, he’s watching where it lands or is first touched. (I go through those three plays in this card.) The fielder can be standing anywhere.

If you want to ask about a fair-or-foul call, ask the umpire who owns it.

Arguing with the base umpire about a ball down the third base line gets you nowhere. It wasn’t his call, and he won’t overrule his partner. The umpires can get together if the one who owns it didn’t see it. You can ask for that, but you can’t demand it.