Jump to content

Mike Prince

Inactive
  • Posts

    2,130
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    12

Mike Prince last won the day on March 20 2014

Mike Prince had the most liked content!

About Mike Prince

  • Birthday 03/21/1965

Profile Information

  • Location
    Mooresville, NC

More information about you

  • Types/Levels of Baseball called
    Cal Ripken/Babe Ruth

Recent Profile Visitors

10,843 profile views

Mike Prince's Achievements

585

Reputation

6

Community Answers

  1. @Thunderheads, lock it up please. These are going to a new home!
  2. Have had a couple of inquiries, but no offer/sale yet. Someone take these off my hands please!
  3. Update - the pending sale on these large (and in great shape) shin guards did not materialize, these are available once again. Make me an offer, they are boxed up and ready to ship to you!
  4. Sale pending on these. And no, not to Thunderheads!
  5. Yep, 20", that is not a typo. In any case I am no longer active here (or in umpiring), but decided to post this to see if there is any interest in these shins. They are the newer gray shell/navy padding models, I used them for 3 seasons before my umpire retirement last summer. They are in great shape, and have been modified with plastic buckles as part of a Douglas factory recondition after season #2 - I did not care for the stock Douglas metal buckles. I sent Jeff Cook an email recently to find out if these could be reworked to a smaller size (to make them more sellable) and the short answer is that it's not financially practical. So, if there are any tall/long legged umpires out there, feel free to make me an offer on these. You will get a truly great set of shin pads for a great price, I guarantee that. So, for purposes of complying with what I remember to be the rules here, I am offering these for best offer plus actual shipping costs to you from Mooresville, NC (28117). I have great feedback here as both a buyer and a seller and am honestly looking for someone who can use these to take them off my hands. I paid a fortune for these, but am not concerned with the return on that investment (I already got that by using them). If they don't sell here they will likely be donated locally. Please PM (vs. posting as I won't respond to posts with offers) offers or email to mfprince@gmail.com. I am traveling for the next week including the weekend, so if you want these and are in a hurry to get them this may not be the deal for you. If there is interest in these I can post some pictures of them tomorrow. Thanks - Mike
  6. So maybe you should start a new thread for your sale instead of hijacking this one...
  7. The +POS pads are actually quite good, they are identical to the All-Star LUC pads. The value of the pads is probably less than $15 so you won't save a lot by buying a frame only.
  8. Hell, just call lots of them. Who cares how you do it? 😄
  9. My nephew plays 10U USSSA and the tournaments I have been to as a spectator have shown that they don't pay or respect their umpires, and they are getting what they pay for. It is apparent that most of these guys are not trained and at first glance they do not know how to manage a game or situations, but I do not blame the umpires for this; the TD's are treating umpires as a commodity and the blame lies with them. I say "at first glance" because I went to his last tournament of the season this past weekend and my seat in the bleachers was within earshot of the umpires' meeting that the TD was holding (this was not intentional, but it made me realize what a disadvantage these poor umpires have). A couple of the gems I overheard: - You get 3 new baseballs per day of the tournament. If you do not turn them all in at the end of each day I will dock your game fees $5 per unreturned baseball. If for some reason you need more baseballs you get charged another $5 unless you can turn in a damaged ball. I saw umpires all weekend delaying their game to make sure out of play foul balls were being returned to them. With a 2-hour time limit, I bet at least 10 minutes per game were wasted by everyone standing around so the PU could get "his" baseball back. - An ejection is a last resort and all ejections are subject to immediate review. If you EJ or restrict a coach and I overturn it, you will finish the game you are on and you should not expect to get assigned any more games this weekend. WOW. I saw coach behavior on my nephew's team that I would have no problem justifying an EJ on and the umpires never even warned. In fact they continued the conversations and got walked all over the entire weekend. The 1BC ran at the umpire to dispute a catch/no catch call during the play and was not even warned! But, this is what happens when the umpires have no backing and their authority is non-existent. Also saw multiple occurrences of umpires justifying their calls verbally to the stands... - Pay was $25 per game and they got one voucher for a hot dog and a drink at the snack bar. Two-hour time limit games, two-man crews and each umpire could probably get 5, maybe 6 games a day (games started at 8am each day). So I can make $125 with a free lunch in 90+ degree heat, unless I don't have 3 baseballs turned in... Bottom line, you want to subject yourself to this level of ball, you have to play by the TD's "rules". He isn't looking for good umpires, he is looking for warm bodies who are willing to work for peanuts and keep the coaches happy. All the TD cares about is money and that the teams return for his next tourney. Umpires? If a few leave he will find other ones - someone (trained or not) will do it for $125 a day and a free hot dog...
  10. Mike Prince

    Trick play

    You believe wrong!
  11. I cant get a guard on right with it,Sure you can.
  12. Your FM25 is a fine mask, worth investing in a new finish for it. I've had a lot of different masks and the FM25 is my favorite.
  13. Time shouldn't be called (in most cases) until the playing action is over. As far as the original question, the earliest time should be called is after the BR reached 1B, but you must also judge that all playing action has ended as well.
  14. I would have no "worry" of being known as the guy who habitually calls others on their BS excuses. If they suck on the dish, I wouldn't expect that they're much better on the pads. I think doing the pads well is harder. There are fewer opportunities to F-up on the pads , but those F-ups are usually signficant. I'd rather that he suck on the dish. You can't much care about what these guys think about you shaming them into working the plate. If this is a significant problem, then you're probably getting good at calling them on their BS. Why worry ? I disagree about the dish versus bases. While I agree that one F-up can be worse on the bases it is still better to have the better umpire on the dish. Nothing can derail a game quicker than an inconsistent or poor strike zone. And there is not a lot of damage control I can do on the bases when my partner has a horrid zone. But if he F's up a call on the bases, I find it easier as the plate umpire to run interference or do something to keep the situation under control. Oftentimes the coaches look at the PU as the crew chief, even if he technically has no more authority. I respectfully disagree with your disagreement. When I have an inexperienced partner, I encourage him to take the plate. Once they realize they won't get hit (or that the equipment will protect them) most do just fine - batters and coaches remarkably have an ability to adapt to whatever strike zone is being called and ball/strike chirping is pretty easy to manage, even for a new guy. Many "disaster" games I have had involve a lazy or inexperienced partner on the bases - it's easy for a new umpire to be overwhelmed as to where proper positions are and how to have proper timing. Once a new guy blows a call on the bases and realizes he either gave or took away an out incorrectly, things go further downhill from there.
×
×
  • Create New...