wolfe_man

To me, the key words are "takes a position". What is a position? Since it is not defined, then it is up to my understanding as the play is happening before me. Any position within 5 feet of the rubber is a balk. If F1 is camping 3 feet from the rubber, without the ball, then I'm calling a balk if any attempt on the runner is made. If they never try a tag on the runner, then play on. No harm, no foul.

Oh, I've got probably 8-10 shirt colors - and I prefer black, but seldom get to wear it. The other umps in my area are cheap and want to wear the classic red or blue with navy stripes (softball). A few of them are picking up the MLB blue with black side panels now though, so maybe this year will be the year! For HS, we're still navy. And now the OHSAA says they're trying to help us save money by not having to buy new shirts with their logo, so it looks like we're navy for an even longer time now.

That goes for me too! Black just looks so much better.

FWIW, I highly doubt that they have changed it yet. Until they sell the current stock, then I doubt that they'll be making any changes. It just costs these companies too much to keep modifying things until a new run is afforded (and desired). The photo is new and from the side: on the LH side of the picture, the harness strap covers the top LH corner of the bottom plate - but on the RH side, you will notice that it does not catch it in the same place meaning you will still have the fly-away/flaring wings issue on that plate. An alternative work-around that you can do is to add a separate set of buckles and a single elastic strap going around your body to that lower plate. The separate strap would keep that bottom plate tight to your body and prevent the appearance of "wings" growing out of your mid-section. I've done this to 15" Douglas CPs before and it works well. Recently, I am re-learning how many, sometimes in the thousands, units of gear need to be produced at a time in order to make it cost-affordable to sell to a small market (umpires). This is why All Star (and all good companies) try to produce a few samples, then test them like crazy to get feedback and identify the needed fixes before having a mass production run. Once the mass production run is produced, then they almost always have to sell it out before making changes. I honestly believe that is why Force 3 hasn't fixed their issues on their V3 CP yet. They have to sell off their old stock of CPs before releasing a newly updated V4 with the fix to the tearing neoprene issue. It's not that companies don't care, they just can't afford to throw out the old stock each time an issue is identified. If if were a safety issue, then that's something else - but for improvements and updates, you'll have to wait until current stock is diminished to a place where it's affordable for them to make a new run. Short answer, I wouldn't hold my breath for a fix for a few more years. I'd guess that they ran a couple thousand of these at a time, so I'd think that they probably have several hundred or more to move before they sell out of current stock (UA alone has 102 on-hand for example).

LOL and what is the "right" price? There are lots of guys out here looking for one, you can sell it today - just name a fair price.

I heard this from another supplier also. We all figured it would be coming, but it hasn't happened - and now it's here. It just doesn't make sense for TW to keep making mask pads, there's not enough profit in umpires when they can make millions in military, law enforcement and fire department products.

Wilson new black & tan leather pads - $30 shipped obo Adams HDX XV umpire chest protector, new but missing lower belly extension - $90 shipped obo

You can’t just drop this and not give us the details. Spill the beans!

I’m still using the Zebra Sarasa red pens

Looks like an original Douglas West Vest with the adjustable chest plate

Oops... never mind... I didn't know... I didn't realize... I was never here...

This guy is a good umpire, we've worked together many times and this was a D1 Varsity contest. I think he just was over eager and a bit lazy on this one. He was literally one step left of the middle of the diamond and maybe 8-10' from second base anticipating the steal. When F1 threw over, he was completely blocked out and had to guess at the call at 1B. The runner never made it back to the bag, not even close. He sat there on his hands and knees for a second and then realizing he was called safe, he quickly grabbed the bag and jumped up. But I'm sure from the angle of the play, my partner only saw heels and butt on the pickoff attempt because he was out of position. He came to me quickly and told me immediately that he was blocked out and needed help to his credit. But you are exactly right, this leads to big blow-ups when we try to just do what the MLB guys do without understanding why they can do it. It's almost always better to have angle over position. We can't have both and if we try to win on the position battle, we will lose the angle one. I was 95-100' away and I had him out with 100% surety - because I had the proper angle and he was out of position.

I have some umpire socks for sale.. and an umpire leg guard... and an umpire shirt (same as regular socks, guards, shirt, etc. but it's especially for umpires with only a small 30% mark up). 😈 Why do we, as the consumers, keep allowing companies to do this to us?

I did use a regular skull cap at season's end this year and it's just as good as the AS Skully in my humble opinion for most masks. If you wear a Mag, you may want to stay with a short brimmed skull cap (ala Skully) but otherwise, most full frame masks are just as good with the regular skull caps (Rawlings, Evoshield, Wilson, All Star, etc)... and pro tip: a normal skull cap is cheaper than an umpire skull cap.

I had an ugly EJ last year due to my U2 being too deep in B and missed the pick-off at 1B. I overturned his safe call - after he came to me (it was THAT obvious to the fans, the Defensive HC and bench... and me... player never made it back to base by a foot) - and the Head Offensive Coach lost his mind. He had to go for prolonged arguing and the fans let me have it - and followed me to my car post-game. First time I've ever left a game without undressing, I felt that unsafe. For my sake, please stay in regular B unless you have advanced movement or training... or have telepathy and are 100% sure that they are indeed stealing.

These are the same frames to be honest. I think they look different thought when viewed at different angles - and definitely different with pads vs. without pads. I've had many versions of the Nike Ti from all different years and they're all the same, but can look really different when viewed from a higher or lower vantage point. I used to think the original Ti's had a bit wider ears, but I think part of it is the color changes from shiny silver to dull grey over time which plays tricks on your eyes by making it appear the earguards are different shapes. I'll be happy to change my tune if anyone has proof they're using a different platform, but this is my two cents (or whatever inflation adjusted amount inserted here).

We don’t have this option anymore unfortunately. TW has moved on to more profitable ventures (aka military contracts). We’re lucky that we can still get mask pads! A few have had luck with football pad refitters, but I don’t know of any personally. Riddell won’t even re-do their old Powers if you’re lucky enough to find one. Greg @blue32 - any feedback to add?

The only thing bad with the old pen in the pocket is when you take a shot there and your pen breaks… and leaks!

I wear a 6" TG on all my masks now - and wear it as instructed on the bottom bar of my mask, but I still have had a baseball find a way to my throat after deflecting from the CP and TG thankfully. It hurts no matter what, but after getting hit pretty good before I started wearing a TG it made a believer out of me, I wear one religiously now.

Good luck guys, I've sent emails before and never heard back. It looks like this last site visit was 5/17.

Pics of the shins (15.5”) These are very much like Honig’s and Force3. They have a removable inner pad for a lower profile fit or for removal for washing a la the F3’s. The side plate coverage could be a bit wider perhaps but should still be more than adequate to protect you. It’s hard plastic versus soft padding at least, so it’s safer than much more expensive shins out there right now.

The padding reminds me of the old TW material but much lighter. The Elite (RH side of below photo) is 3/4” thick and the Regular (LH side of below photo) is about an inch thick and a bit heavier due to the hard plates of course.

I have a pair of black & white UA Yard Turf II’s in size 11 (worn twice) for a very fair price if anyone is interested. They’re sharp looking with great traction! (PM if interested so I don’t hijack the thread) Bought new this March, just stuck with my NB Mids again this year as I kept rolling my ankle. But the only new ones I’ve heard about are the Mizuno’s.

Back of Elite versus back of Regular CP (blue foam pads peaking from underneath the arm plates)

Elite 13” CP I have added a new harness, cut out the fixed throat pad, reshaped & relocated the gap plates. Dame thing here, GR8-Call is considering feedback and making improvements (throat guard will Velcro in & out in the future) and considering fixing gap plates too. I really like the fit and feel of this protector! Lightweight and fits great.