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MadMax

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Everything posted by MadMax

  1. Paycheck Justification. The pay – I can’t say “game fees”, because there’s more to it – has increased dramatically in the last 10 years, and doubly more in the past 5 years. The preeminent conferences are performing full-blown personnel management, creating & deploying crews per series that will not only execute each game of the series satisfactorily, but will function well together as a crew in all 3 aspects (and yes, there are 3) – inside the fence, in the “umpire room”, and outside the fence. That crew’s performance and behavior, in all 3 aspects, is what directly reflects on that conference-association and their leadership staff – assigner, evaluators, and instructors. Accordingly, the pay is per series… and all that encompasses. Sure, a “series” could just be a single mid-week game, but the same expectations apply. So, within the fence, the two most critical aspects – even more than outright Rules knowledge, and far more than mechanics details – are pre-action preparedness, and situational management. Rules knowledge, mechanics details, etc., those are all supposed to be taken care of in at least the umpire room, if not outside the fence. In amateur baseball, we’ve all had that partner who has remarked, either in the game or just after, “Wow, that’s the first time I’ve heard of that rule (interpretation)!” That does. Not. Fly. In. College. Baseball. The immediate inquiry follows – “Why is that? Have you not been briefed by your crew chief / assigner / mentor? Were you not in the Zoom call? Have you not read your email(s)???” The same goes for mechanics / rotational details. A college baseball game is not a place to be “testing out a read-step versus going-to-a-spot” (for example); you should have already assimilated it and put it into practice, if it’s that important. And for the men-of-few-words instructors out there, everything they tell you is important. They ain’t gonna tell you twice. College baseball umpiring has gone notably younger, too. Many of the conference staffs are stocked with ex-MiLB guys who are there and available for any number of reasons. There are 3 things that they bring with them that assigners / evaluators favor: They function well within the more intense speed-of-the-game, more (readily) than a “homegrown” college umpire who has (likely) climbed the ladder from HS → JuCo → NAIA → D-3+. They have the physical and umpiring disciplines that permeate all 3 aforementioned aspects, or realms, of umpiring. They are compliant and/or malleable, at least. And much like Matthew McConaughey‘s character in Dazed and Confused – “I tell you what about these (Minor League Umpires), man. Every year, I get older, and they stay the same age.”
  2. Father’s Day?? That sky blue is the optimum choice on any game which you wear sky blue on! Sundays… Getaway days… Laundry days… Days where you intentionally want to pi$$ off that one guy on your crew (who will immediately opt for jackets… sleeves off)… Days where the sun is so bright, it peels paint in minutes (and you can feel your black shirts fading by the minute)…
  3. Since we have our state’s Rules Interpreter on the NFHS Rules Committee, he has volunteered Arizona to be the Guinea pig 🐹 (more like lab rat 🐀) on trying out potential Rules adjustments (enhancements). Last year, we applied the 20-sec Action Clock, similar to the NCAA Action Clock, only lacking the charged Offensive conference if a Batter requests Time; likewise, there wasn’t a charged reset to the pitcher for stepping off. Instead, the BU was to tell the pitcher “Clock’s still running”. More often than not, the pitcher would still have adequate time to re-engage, come set, and pitch. Conversely, if his act of stepping off and faking (as to 2B) was judged to be sufficient play to cause the runner to return to the base, then the BU would reset the clock. Yes, it sounds a bit half-baked. But, we didn’t have the NCAA version codified into NFHS for us, and it worked satisfactorily for us for the entire season, including playoffs. Where we really “got after it” was the between-innings clock, which we set at 90 seconds. What’s (annoyingly) curious, is NFHS has had it codified at 60 seconds for several years, but never had enforced it! The vast majority of the coaches acquiesced to it, and we only penalized the most blatant of transgressors. It really sped up our games, definitively. Now this year, we’ve added two whoppers. The first is mound visits (Defensive Conferences), wherein we allow 6 total, with 3 of them involving a/the coach. This is just like NCAA. The second one? … 🥁 🥁 🥁… Balks are (or can be) Live. Balk is called, pitch is hit for a 2-run HR, the HR stands. With R1, and 3-X count, Balk is called on Ball 4, then the pitch stands as called. With R2 (only), and 3-X count, Balk is called on Ball 4, then the Balk penalty is imposed; R2 is awarded 3B, and Batter continues with count at TOP. Fun! Yes, we are the first through the wall. We are confidently and eagerly anticipating results that will hopefully inspire the Fed to change this millstone of a rule.
  4. Then you were taught incorrectly. Even an IP equal to F3 is incorrect. We should always be behind F3. Everything should happen in front of us. If there is ever a question of catch/no-catch (skip'n'scoop), then it is best to either defer to PU, or DO NOT make a call of catch – with no one on, the F3 will "tell" you whether or not he caught it; he has 1B right there anyway, so even if he caught it on the deck, and you (mistakenly) come up with "No catch!", he will in 99.99% of instances be able to touch 1B. And a lane into Foul territory? If there's a smash right at you (and F3), the last thing you want to do is focus on the ball while F3 is making a play at the ball and likely crashing into you on your right shoulder. Otherwise, on a pop fly in front of you, or atop your head, you should be pivoting in anyway, yes? If it is a fly beyond you, then you "dance" with F3, let him clear and pursue the flight of the ball, and you promptly either reacquire the line for your Fair/Foul decision, or trail the F3 into Foul territory towards a/the boundary. You never set your IP in front of F3. Not even in 3-, 4-, or 6- man.
  5. @Brandan Glendenning – export to iCal / GCal? Push notifications? I wouldn't expect this to handle payment; that tends to overcomplicate and bloat Arbiter (and the corresponding ArbiterPay). However, is there the means to ledger whether a game (or event, as you call it) was paid or is still pending? Examples of data field entries would be: Paid in Person at Event Paid in Person at Event Completion (these two would include cash or check, issued by the Event Director / host) Payment Pending / Not Paid Yet (the worst entry) Paid via E-method 03/05/24 (Zelle, Venmo, CashApp, PayPal, RefPay, etc.) Paid via Check issued 03/01/24 As an umpire, I need to see which games have been paid and which are still pending (thereby prompting me to start blowing up someone's phone). On any given week, I've worked not only multiple games, but using several different methods of payment.
  6. This is stated as a “safety rule”, for all participants. Even if retired by ten feet, if R1 trots in to / thru 2B, a FPSR violation shall be called. It doesn’t matter how ticky-tac ior innocuous it is. The rule is written as veer off or must slide. Curiously, MSBL and NABA (the two predominant Adult amateur leagues) use this college FPSRule. Of course, there’s much more emphasis placed on veering off than sliding to/thru the base, but what adult amateur is striving to avoid is the same thing that college ball is – players throwing at each other. Correct. If he slides, it must be a “bonafide” slide, and that is defined in the Rules (thanks Chase Utley!). See, if you (Runner) go in standing, then you are jeopardizing your own damn self on wearing a throw. If you “interfere” with the infielder and prevent a DP being turned, well “that’s baseball”… and you’ll likely be wearing a pitch on your next at-bat. The amateur game cannot abide retaliation like this. So this now brings it closer to NCAA FPSR, but of course with “Fed language”.
  7. He’s also foul-prone. That mask is caved in rather… acutely.
  8. We’re tremendously proud of you, and you have every reason to be proud of yourself.
  9. Here’s the sick irony… if that is/was the latest belt used by MLB Umpires, we’d see a swarm of ASSociation PTBs telling/directing/“influencing” their drones (swarm? Bees 🐝? Get it?) to get it, too, as that anything a MLBU wears – or, in twisted logic, doesn’t wear – is going to make you a “better” umpire. @concertman1971, this is your biggest challenge. Well, JS, it could be your (generally, not you specifically) best motivation to slim’n’trim the ol’ middle! “Measure once, cut twice, and still too short”.
  10. Anything that defies the spit-&-polished-black-leather-with-shiny-box-buckle convention, and instead satisfies a technical benefit (in this case, more structure and support as @Chris Hickman discloses) … I fully endorse.
  11. I’m pulling up this old thread because it is the most recent, relevant thread to CP Pr0n, without being CP Pr0n. Do ya read Playboy for the articles? 😅 Yes, there were significant shortcomings. Perhaps the biggest was linking it to the Wilson lineup. Sure, it secured legitimacy, increased retail sales channels, and likely was conjoined in production resources (materials, manufacturing, packaging, shipping, support, etc.). However, it also served as a millstone around the DaviShield’s neck. Development and progress was stunted, and the “protective expectations” – conveyed by the step-sibling WestVests (Gold & Platinum) and their (over)thick pads and MLB logos – often relegated the DaviShield as underwhelming, underperforming, and unable to operate on the same playing field – literally and figuratively. Don’t insult it. There is nothing, no characteristic, to a Wilson that makes it “the ideal CP”. All Wilson did “right” was to secure Joe West’s endorsement, secure MLB’s endorsement, and patent the Velcro anchor tabs, thereby throwing all their chief competitors (at the time) off the board, justifying the elite price tag, and cementing themselves as the rival-less (not “unrivaled”, there’s a difference) standard for all baseball CPs for 20 years! The DaviShield became the odd, risky sibling. The price point always had to be lower than the (inflated) WestVests, and there wasn’t any motivation or latitude to alter or improve it. The original DaviShield had some innovative, dynamic features: Segmented, scale-like torso carapace plates; created a conforming fit for a variety of body frames. A (simple) laminate foam; closed-cell foam for energy absorption, open-cell “sizing” foam for body contact. Technical wicking mesh on the body-contact side; much more comfortable and better performing than crude nylon. Connecting (elastic) splines from shoulder arch to an ailette+pauldron combination that protected the outer shoulder different than every other CP at that time. A tank top-like harness, far better than the disc-&-nylon Y-yokes the other Wilsons employed. Plastic, indexed hooks; much, much more survivable than side-release buckles, non-corroding, and much less likely to tear or bruise one’s shirt on an impact… like T-hooks are notorious for. No, it wasn’t perfect, but it made for an exceptionally low-profile, athletic silhouette. I now believe, that had it been freed from the by-Wilson shackles, it may have been improved to a point where it could have waded into the same waters as the WestVests, Douglas, and Riddells… ie. Professional Baseball. As it is, the Force3 UnEqual could have been so much more ready-to-go had Force3 modeled it after the DaviShield. Oh, but we do! We still have colleagues go out there and use rafts / balloons! Why? Heat / ventilation Implicit (false) belief that pad thickness = protection Proper fit cannot be achieved with existing units (esp. for women) Protection to the lower abdomen, arms, hands, or specialized protection (such as, for the sternum specifically, or a pacemaker)
  12. Our family farm is on the county trunk highway that leads 9 miles south to the gateway to Alpine Valley Amphitheater in East Troy, WI. Yup. That one… where Stevie Ray Vaughn died. As such, as kids, we’d pedal down and listen to innumerable concerts from the grounds and ski hill opposite it, and not pay a dime. Pedal back by flashlight. Times were different back then. Besides that, we had Summerfest in Milwaukee every summer. And, the Wisconsin State Fair. And, the Waukesha County Fair… and all the other county fairs in the area. If you were enterprising enough back then, as a kid, you’d “employ” yourself as parking or setup crew, and listen in for free when the shows started. As I said, times were different then. My personal campaign is to see bands or artists on smaller, more intimate, more tucked-in-a-corner venues. BB King at the Mahalia Jackson Theater. Kings of Leon and The Head And The Heart at the Mesa Amphitheater. Mumford & Sons at The Willow. Fitz & the Tantrums at The Edison. Gin Blossoms at Copeland Park. Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit is on my “Must See” list.
  13. One of my favorite speakers addressed this very topic: What you’re trying to embark on is not easy. And, we (collectively) acknowledge you have passion for this, and we don’t want to necessarily squash your efforts… but please take this from guys who are or have been in design & engineering… you must define the problem first, and weigh whether or not a solution is warranted. If it is, there’s an entire process of trial and error before an effective, comprehensive solution is reached.
  14. … except that one 3BC who has a R3, and is convinced that you just took a run – “his” run – off the board.
  15. Here’s where you need to learn 2 things: In regards to product design, engineering, and development, and… In regards to the U-E forum. So you’ve heard that. “Protective” is a value-less adjective. Can’t measure it. Its value is assembled from what a person thinks it to be. Take this component + this characteristic + these elements + these values = “protective”. It’s marketing shorthand. If you don’t know why or how it’s (perceived to be) protective, you’ll expend unnecessary time and resources trialing (and erroring) in your efforts to surpass it, let alone achieve its equal. Even Chinese copycats can’t do it. In that same vein, “thin” is another near-useless adjective. It’s a descriptor, and while you can measure it, without knowing how or why it’s thin, or what comprises it, it does you little good as a designer or developer. I have to hand it to Douglas – while they still use open cell upholstery foam, at least they don’t lie or fib about it; they’re right up front in stating they use Qualux Upholstery Foam. Wilson uses the same stuff! So why is the Douglas unit (a bit) thinner, despite being the same foam? Well, because the Douglas is manufactured here domestically, the ABS (plastic) plates can be larger and denser. That additional density translates into more energy absorption, thereby lessening the load upon the foam behind it. By contrast, the Wilson units are wholly produced in China, so they strive to lighten each unit as much as possible, not to benefit you, the customer, but to cram as many units as possible into a container for transoceanic shipment. There’s also a psychological (lie) implication at play here: a thicker pad looks to be more absorbing, and thus, more “protective”. Teamed with that MLB logo on it, the CP appears to be able to handle MLB velocities. If I had Douglas’s ear, they could stand to switch to a modern laminate foam, complete with a wicking, hydrophobic membrane, and they could cast their ABS plates with ventilation holes in them, just like the Schutt-Adams. Game. Set. Match. … oh, and I’d develop a new vest-to-plate fastening system, far more effective than velcro facing. NOW, on point 2… you gotta learn how to transpose your thoughts into one post. Read (all) posts and responses thoroughly, process them, and then compose your own post. This forum is not a texting/chatting session, and hitting the “Return” key ≠ “Send”. Coincidently, this is much like (effective) umpiring. You must let the play complete, observe and process all the components, and then arrive at your ruling or judgement. If a participant has a contestation, then it is best to let them present their “case”, listen to it, process it, and then reply with a concise resolution. If you just keep going on and on and on, repetitively, or if you keep hopping from one thought to another, you’ll confuse, frustrate, or agitate the person(s) you’re interacting with.
  16. MadMax

    Walkoff

    Why would it be? The "end of the game" is not listed under events that make the ball Dead. So what makes the ball dead? Did it go out of play? Was there a call of "Time" by an umpire, and base awards made? Was the ball lodged? So provided that the ball stayed (Live) within the park, and was retrieved from the fence, then it is still Live; the defense may take the ball and conduct appeals, provided that an umpire is still on the field. An appeal can be conducted either by tagging the base which is being appealed as missed (& in possession of the ball), or tagging the Runner being appealed upon with the ball. Conjunctively, that umpire should inquire, "What are you appealing?" and the response can be something like, "He missed __ base!". Then, the umpire judges accordingly. The ball's not truly dead until the "window" for potential appeals "closes"... and that happens when all defensive infielders have departed the field, and no umpires remain on the field.* *- This is why umpires should shall not linger around in handshake lines!!!!
  17. MadMax

    Walkoff

    That’s not entirely true. In all 3 major rule sets, the act of hitting the ball over the fence – whether in flight for a home run, or on the bounce for a ground rule double – makes the ball dead. So a walkoff HR or a GR2B w/ R2 or R3 ends the ballgame, but absolutely can be appealed. In NFHS, of course, dead ball appeals are valid. In NCAA and OBR, if the defense indicates they want to appeal, they have to have their required 8 players in fair territory (the 9th, the F2, in his position in foul territory), and the PU will supply a baseball to F1, who must engage and be ready to pitch. The offense does not have to send a (next) batter to the box, and the PU can signal the ball Live for the purposes of conducting that appeal.
  18. If your association is (still) playing in the rain, uniform guidelines can go stuff themselves. If you (TPTB) want me to stand out there and officiate, in a downpour, in your stead, then you better zip it regarding what I wear to accomplish the job. Is that association providing the uniform? No? Then those uniform guidelines can go stuff themselves in those… extenuating circumstances. Otherwise, if TPTB are sticklers for “uniform policy”, then leave the game for them to call themselves, in their hoity-toity uniform.
  19. That’s not only a bold claim to make, but also unverifiable by any measurable metric. “Better than”? How? What are you considering “better than”? And “shown to be”? Again, how? Kevlar’s elasticity & strength-to-weight ratio doesn’t make “better protection”. Instead, it makes it the (only) ideal candidate and solution for arresting (catching) ballistics under a certain force (mass & velocity combined). Steel can do it, but the penalty is weight. Significant. But if Kevlar is so much “better” than other materials, then can we say that the Kevlar-infused Force3 UnEqual CP is “the Best” CP on the market?? No we cannot. There’s a lot – a lot – more to it. Team Wendy’s was pressed into service because someone on staff identified that the state of foam for mask pads was (and still is, to an extent) woefully inadequate and borderline barbaric. TW’s entire ethos is to eliminate – or, at the very least, significantly and crucially reduce – traumatic brain injuries. So their mask pads were supplied to Major League umpires, who were otherwise used to either big-volume open-cell foam pads, which relied on stand-off distance, or dense, heavy, leather-encased pads lined with recycled wool and upholstery foam. TW’s Zorbium foam reacts endothermically. This means that it crushes and rebounds, along an exponential gradient / curve, while converting that impacting energy to heat. The vital characteristic is that (relatively) gradual resistance. TW owns that formula that controls the amount of resistance, and they can create different variants of Zorbium to suit the application. They must be doing something right; the US Armed Forcrs locked them into a (near) airtight supply contract to make helmets and other protective headgear. They no longer could support or justify making customized replacement pads for baseball gear. If a company’s got a product (foam) “better” than Team Wendy’s Zorbium at – this is important – endothermic reactive resistance, and is hydrophobic (sheds water), and low rebound, and is lightweight, then I haven’t heard of it. And I’ve heard of a lot of different options. The reasons that Team Wendy’s got to be so revered on CPs is down to three factors: Zorbium was readily on-hand, and was thinner (by half to 2/3rds) than upholstery foam. Team Wendy’s was receptive and accommodating (within reason) to the customers, in this case (first) the Major League umpires, and then as word spread, amateur umpires. Word of mouth is always more effective than advertising (ie. a particular logo, ahem). The quality of craftsmanship & the materials used justified the (monetary) value. On that last point, especially, is where Douglas still, to this day, trounces Wilson. Even with Wilson (finally! 20 years late!) “improving” the pad vest by using (basic, unbranded, ie. cheap) Memory Foam, Douglas’s craftsmanship and customer relations completely outshine the big yelloW slug. Now, if we could get Douglas to upgrade their pad vest from Qualux (upholstery foam) to a modern laminate foam, we’d have another dragonslayer.
  20. I do have to hand it to Honig's on this topic. Even when Dick still owned the business, they were known for splitting frame from pads, and selling them in any combination you wish. Makes much more sense, and is much more appealing and effective to a customer than buying a frame with token, garbage pads because the manufacturer is compelled to stick the cheapest, most pathetic pads on their frames to sell in retail spaces. See: Diamond iX3 (aluminum), pretty much any Wilson, etc.
  21. It looks really nice, and cohesive, and that you (and your team) put a lot of effort in... but I have to frankly say, it's a missed opportunity. I count... 4 spots / issues that, if attended to differently than just replicating what it was, would make that CP an absolute dragonslayer.
  22. Quite. Its strength lies in its density, and its main allure is the bespoke / commissioned nature of its construction. CeCe would actually make this for you, to your dimensions. There’s no “second impact”, which results when the CP is worn loose, or not conforming to you, and the impacting energy contacts the CP, driving it like a knockerball against your body. This was one of the chief shortcomings of the Force3 UnEqual V1… it was produced “one size fits all”, so many would wear it loose. Then, it lacked the density of the Carlucci, instead relying (solely, in the V1) on the Kevlar for energy absorption. This is a failure to (fully) understand how Kevlar functions. Ted Barrett was a champion bare-knuckled boxer, and an ordained pastor/minister. His trust is in Someone Higher, and I’m sure his tolerance of an impact is much different than many of us. On that theme, I think these latest generations of people – not just umpires, specifically – are way too soft and sensitive. Pain management is part of the game. Enduring and overcoming it is part of the success. We’ve fostered an entire generation (or, I can argue, two) of people whose only “pain” from activity is sore thumbs. We should absolutely employ technology (ie. advanced materials, construction, and fit) to reduce pain, but we cannot continue to tolerate unrealistic expectations of “no pain whatsoever”. The entire reason I bought a Schutt AiR Flex I as my first “real” CP is because I had used and trusted a set of Schutt shoulder pads for football, wherein I was a wide receiver & kick returner. I wanted the sleekest pads I could get. Besides, I had also been a catcher, and a goalie, and wanted the lightest, most ventilated gear available. My expectations have never been failed by any of the three Schutts I’ve owned & used ( AiR Flex I, II, and D3O -equipped XV). They’ve allowed me to wear a Large shirt on plate _&_ bases, as well as a “true” -sized plate coat. 44 Long. Fits perfectly, and hands down the best ventilated CP on the market. Is a Schutt perfect, or ideal, for every umpire? No. But is it itself capable at the Major League level? Absolutely yes.
  23. No. On a play like this, the Batter is now a/the Batter-Runner as soon as he’s batted the pitch into play. Any INT he commits (upon a fielder) is defined under “INT by a Runner”, no longer “INT by a Batter”. I have to qualify that “any INT” because on the matter of a batted ball touching him, his only “safe haven” is the batter’s box. If he touches the batted ball outside of the box, he’s guilty of INT with a ball by a Runner prior to passing an infielder. The only other exemption he has is tangle/untangle, but as I mention in a parallel thread, that threshold passed on this play.
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