Leaderboard

This? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I love this approach. I've had situations where I've let a little white/gray slide. If a coach or player were to say it was distracting then I'd enforce the rule. But with this one it's not one I think I could let slide.

done in a relaxed subtle manner ....I totally concur!

I think I just really made his day. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Think of it as lingerie for umpires...

... and you better be on Ump-Attire.com buying a new CP!!! Really. $40. Forty Dollars and a few days of waiting on shipping it to you is all it takes to stop looking like a yutz, a schmuck or a doofus, and putting yourself at increased risk of injury. I was a catcher, and I used my ol' catcher's CP for my first year of umpiring... Forget it. Might as well wear a sheet of cardboard. Are you using a cheap softee-shell that you got from the local sporting goods store? Makes you look like a meatball? Pfffft... Donate it to the nearest tae-kwon-do or martial arts studio for use as a sparring vest, for all the good it'll do you in baseball. Own a DavisShield?... ... ... You may be beyond hope. That Champion Hardshell CP sitting there, offered by U-A, is the ideal entry-level CP. Hard plastic carapace, contoured body panels, segmented padded liner/vest, decent hardware, substantial shoulders, but no-where near as hulking as a WestVest nor as pricey as the better CP's. You don't need a sports car for the daily commute, right? You just need a simple, reliable hatchback or coupe for the daily drive to save up for and get the sports car someday! This is that commuter car. Heck, it even has a better harness than most of the other, more expensive CP's come stock equipped with! But don't stop there, I advise you... Get it, and with a few extra bucks, purchase a Flex-style harness for it. The Force3 Flex isn't bad; the All-Star DeltaFlex is good, but it only fits slim-to-average builds on a non-All-Star CP like this; but if you want to think serious, contact @Razzer and commission one of his ULFH "RayFlex" units. You can take it with you into that sports-car CP you'll one day get, and if you get it personalized (you should! Ray includes it in the cost), you're allowed to feel a little vain and self-serving at Christmas. And I better not catch you wearing Catchers' Shinguards either, mister! Those Champion shinguards offered on sale alongside the CP? Those will work swell. You'll actually be able to move in them without toeflaps and sideflaps flopping all out the bottom of your pants... Oh, and you'll actually be able to fit some good pants over them, because these are nowhere near as bulky as catchers' shinguards. Now, where is @gnhbua93 hiding so as to talk up the fact that U-A is offering the Force3 Defender V2 on sale, too?!!! PS- Go ahead and get the '15 All-Black Umpire shirt, especially at that price, if all you've got is that lone Navy shirt that some ol' codger in your association said "This 'ere navy one is all ya need!". Those of us with all the different styles of black umpire shirts (there are 4) won't mind. We'll work a game with you, no sweat!

While he's taking his warm up pitches I tell his coach that the glove is illegal. He will have to change it before the ball is put in play. The 8 pitches will give enough time for him to get a replacement from the dugout and the game isn't delayed.

im hooked will be emailing you after the first

I might be. Thinking of switching to a plastic TG to reduce weight.

Think you just made his day @Thunderheads

Ah, yes...the myth of, "I didn't get paid more than $600 by a school, so I don't have to claim it," rears its head again. If the school/entity pays you less than $600 they don't have to report it on a 1099, but you have to claim it. I'm not a tax attorney, but as one tax attorney told me: the IRS is generally forgiving and will work with you if you incorrectly claim a deduction to which you were not entitled. They are totally unforgiving, and will come after you hard, if you fail to report all income earned. So, why not just report the income? As pointed out above, with all of the legitimate deductions available to us amateur umpires, the effect on your taxes can be quite negligible. BTW, I stand up in front of my high school association and say the same thing to the members every January.

You know, I swore I would not reply until I had finished my first cup...

"After the new year"

Pretty sure I remember in emails with Jeff (albeit regarding a new Douglas with modifications) he told me a week extra lag time to get everything set. He also told me that the gap protection plates would be in grey. As they no longer have the black plates (I guess).

That IS a Nike Japanese mask..

And now Ray is starting to putz with the idea of adding graphics AND personalization to the RayFlex. Seriously man! I am starting to run out of reasons to hold off getting one.

That's awesome because they are giving an excellent bag with the purchase. And only 3 out of 4 left. So somebody was savvy enough on making a great investment for his face.

OK Kevin, I think enough have posted with the correct FED ruling was, what was ruled in the game?

@Jdc03270, indeed as @BT_Blue relays, a number of sources produce and carry visors. Diamond, Honig's, Champro, Markwort. The Markworts are currently on sale at Epic Sports. I put them on all my masks (except my FM4000, curse you @Thunderheads for your fancy customization skills!), and have been supplying them to my colleagues' masks down here in the Valley of the Sun.

THE WEEKLY REPLAY: HOW TO WIN these OAKLEY FLAK 2.O XL PRIZM SUNGLASSES

I was stunned to see the announcement myself. I have known Carl for many years and through the internet had had numerous discussions with him. I have been a very frequent buyer of the BRD and I credit it with a large part of my rules knowledge development. I remember one of my early interactions with him on the internet was back on the old McGriff's board when I had posted a comment that I had gone through an entire season with out ejecting anyone. His response was "congratulations, you got better this year"........it was a play on the old " 10 years of experience or 10 FIRST years of experience" comments........ in subsequent posts between he and I, it was really true........I had earned a year of experience in many areas, in this case game mgmt. skills, rather than just another calendar year of umpiring.... Carl will be missed....I'm glad to hear Brent will be picking up the reins......

The era of paying 500-600 is gone. I'd pay a max of 300

You will not be able to. The only who does retrofit for Douglas now is Douglas themselves. Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

Okay I'm a wimp about the cold (among other things ). I have several pairs of gloves I use depending on the situation. I have an older version of the Manzella lightest gloves I've used for a more mild cold temperature they have the textured grip so you can still use your indicator, and yes I use them behind the plate too. I have a heavier set of Manzella gloves for colder temps. They are too thick for me to effectively use an indicator with, so I ditch the indicator.

Start with understanding priorities & responsibilities I think we all know who's responsible for each base touch. No need to address that. So let's discuss priorities... only 3 things can happen without the baseball - interference, obstruction & base touches. So understand your #1 priority is status of the ball. Only take your eye off the ball when a runner is getting close to a base making sure he clears any fielder, touches the base and clears any subsequent fielder. Watch the ball, glance at the runner. Sometimes the ball is going to be released as we're glancing and we can't say with 100% certainty that the runner had/had not achieved the advance base at the time of the throw...but we can make an educated guess. When in absolute doubt, give the benefit of the doubt to the runner. They didn't screw up and throw the ball out of play. I'll leave you with this - Base awards are actually pretty easy when you think about it. Surely we're not getting confused on 2 bases time of pitch, right? That said, the only time confusion sets in is with multiple runners and a ball hit to the outfield. In those situations keep the following information in mind: R3 always scores R2 always scores R1 can only go to 3rd or scores B/R - can only go to 2nd or 3rd (unless he's past 2nd at the TOT - at which point it becomes pretty easy again) If R1 scores, the chances are pretty good B/R gets 3rd. If R1 gets 3rd, B/R can only get 2nd.