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@MadMax so you mean, the 2nd and 4th pictures below aren't "rocking" the official equipment bag experience? https://www.ttnews.com/articles/two-freight-carriers-make-sure-mlb-umpires-gear-always-safe-and-arrives-time

what did you people do to my algo?

Since we are going down the gear bag rabbit hole, I’ll be the brave one to step and say YOU PROBABLY DON’T NEED ONE. Unless you are working a location with a club house or designated umpire area that you will be using for the entire day or weekend, you don’t need one. Look at storage components that fit in your vehicle and piece together what works for you. It might be purchased storage components, stolen milk crates, or a custom built rack system … but make it make sense for you. Something that keeps your stuff organized, but can be unpacked at home.

If the umpire believes R3 tried to make the pitcher balk, R3 is ejected and the balk is nullified. (MLB 6.04 (a) 3); (NFHS 3-3-1-n)

It wasn’t the one I was looking for, but I’m going to settle for it …

Top of 7, HT up 7-6, 2 outs, R3, R2. Pitcher going from the windup stops midway and steps to 3B because R3 began yelling. Interested in everyone's thoughts (real play, just watched it happen).

Agree that you put him on the plate (as long as he's a good ball/strike guy). MUCH less for him to ponder about rotations and just a few differences between 2 man and 3 man.

Where do you put the least experienced umpire in a three person crew? I tend to lean with the plate. My reasoning is that they're used to calling pitches and there aren't a ton of vulnerable rotations for PU in three person. If he forgets to rotate up to third and vacate home, it's not typically an enormous issue. What do you think and why?

While I am not into plate jackets, this would be outstanding. Although a new rule would be in the next year that they are disallowed due to the defense not being able to pick up the ball off of the bat. Shame.

The top two statements aren't contradictory.

Well, it's one or the other.

Hmmm, maybe you're think ing broadly enough.

Here's my conundrum tho..... As an avid suit wearer, and semi-fashion police....I can't wear white shoes, unless I wear a white belt, (white accessories to accent the colors). And a white belt is no good. So, I can't just rock the white shoes in good conscience.

Here's my conundrum tho..... As an avid suit wearer, and semi-fashion police....I can't wear white shoes, unless I wear a white belt, (white accessories to accent the colors). And a white belt is no good. So, I can't just rock the white shoes in good conscience.

Ok, I will bite. A batted ball that hits the rubber and bounces back past the foul lines (between the 1st/3rd base and home plate) is not foul? In and of itself and not considerating what I missed with the ball hitting the batter in the box?

Wrong. (Recognizing that what you think you saw is not what happened; but that even if it was you'd have the wrong interp)

SOAPBOX TIME! Here's the load of drivel from a <ahem> particular website: Keep your gear organized and easily get to the next field with the Wilson Umpire V2 Wheeled Bag, a massive 36”x15.75”x15.75” bag with separate upper and lower compartments to stash everything exactly where you want it. Durable inline wheels feature rails attached to the wheelhouse for total support when rolling from the car to the field, and a comfort grip cargo handle allows for easy movement. Store game day shoes in the vented compartment and keep your accessories in the mesh compartment, then call a perfect game with the Official Umpire Gear of MLB. WhyTF is this behemoth 3 feet long??!! That sets off every Oversize Alarm 🚨by baggage handlers worldwide*. You do. not. need. it. Keep in mind, airlines have a 62" linear limit. The Fūl Workhorse (which I use) and Force3 Ultimate both fall within that. By contrast, that Big YelloW slug up there brags about being 36"x15.75"x15.75"!!! That incurs an oversized charge, just on dimensions alone!! From my road experience of having to wrangle these Walruses, the "rails" that they brag about always f^¢king break, and the thing sags like a cow's prolapsed uterus (yes, I'm a farm kid). The "inline wheels" get chips in them, or the axles break, and you can't f^¢king replace them! Then, the coup-de-grace, the zippers may be oversized and large-toothed, but the zipper pulls break, at the roots, within moments of buying the thing. Here's the fun part – no one in MLBU uses this gear bag during the season. Know why? Because it doesn't fit in a DHL Travel Crate. DHL standardizes all their travel equipment and "luggage". Items have to fit into a particularly sized, modular wheeled crate, like a roadie case for a band. Know what is the preferred gear bag of these traveling Umpires, from MLB to MiLB to Independent Pro to Collegiate? The vaunted, legendary MotherLode at 27" x 14.5" x 5"+ (expansion). That's it. That's your holy grail. The MotherLode was formerly produced by eBags, now by Samsonite. The MotherLode and the Workhorse share two crucial things in common – they both have replaceable "rollerblade" wheels, and they both have molded "tubs" instead of paltry, pathetic spine-"rails". Much, much more durable. * - And it pi$$es off Road Umpires / Wheel-man / Crew Drivers for leagues-on-tour. I swear, I'm going to pitch the next one I have to load/unload into the nearest marsh, or into traffic.

Unless he's been exclusively around, or in an association, with these toxic, alpha-dog types who are all espousing, "My call" and "don't step on yer partner's (ie. my) d!¢k*", as some kind of sacrosanct doctrine. Hearing that tripe and 💩 gets old, and either gets ya p!$$ed off (like me), or timid.

Why are you pausing for permission? Who's gonna stop you? Plate Guy decides the attire, doesn't he?

It's okay to delay a couple of seconds to gather ALL of the information necessary to get the call right. Ball hit straight down, tons of spin on it, batter making no attempt to run. It's the last part, the batter not running that should seal it. Once you've made your decision... COME UP HUGE! No sense in being timid about it. Hands up, "TIME TIME TIME!!!" Keep saying it and move into the infield with urgency. Imagine the difference between that and what U3 did in this game. My guess is that he just doesn't have the experience to be confident in this situation. Reps reps reps.

Sure, that’s a valid clue. However, the PU has a pitch inbound, a swing, contact, and has to immediately if not expediently pick up where the ball is, and judge Fair/Foul. That’s within a second, if at most – at most – two seconds. I do not put blame on a PU for not reading a “minor”, or “secondary” clue like that. B(R)’s failure to run was likely a significant, contributing clue to U3. From his vantage point – angle, primarily – and B(R) not running, plus with possibly a sound, or the way which the ball deflected (if it did), his brain “did the math” and it equaled “Foul (in the box)”. Where I have trouble with this play / situation / action isn’t mechanics, it’s (inter-crew) dynamics. I’m not saying that PU got hyper-fixated on “My, my, my (call, responsibility, authority)”, but it sure did seem like he “kept to his own sandbox”, and didn’t even look / listen for his crewmates. Then, as @johnnyg08 notes, the other BUs didn’t echo / mirror U3, either. It shouldn’t take that. U3 should be louder / more assertive, but if either of the two other BUs had come up with the Time mechanic, then it ain’t a matter of “slowing things down”, it would have stopped it dead. I’ll take a minor derailment – a single axle or car coming off the rail – and a correction, than having the train go over the cliff and having a debacle. Correct or incorrect (regarding the ball touching the B(R)), once U3 calls “Foul”, it – whatever the action – cannot be rectified. It has to stay Foul forever. It’s like that crap the NFL does, that they let things (completely) play out on a possible turnover, and then review it. Since this game doesn’t have Review, there’s no recourse, and there should not be reservation by the crew members – definitiveness should be the order of the day.

Hi all...I had a pair of 17" Carlucci shin guards up until a few years ago, when I retired after a 43 year (37 registered with my state HS association) career working 4 sports. I responded to an ad from the HOF looking for equipment Cece made, so I contacted them, and to make a long story short, they now have the shin guards. Worked like a charm for me and I hated giving them up, but my wife and I were downsizing, so off they went. I remember the phone call when I ordered them from him through an ad in Referee magazine back in 1976. He had me measure myself and I sent the check to him and I had them within a week. He called 2 weeks after, and asked how they were. i said everything was great, but they looked kind of plain (me showing my youth and lack of tact). He laughed and said, "The hell with how they look. How do they fit?" No argument there, and I'd do it all over again, given the chance. RIP Cece, you were a great guy!

The crew had a foul ball in the box.

Upon further review, apparently the issue was did the batted ball hit the batter? If an umpire is not sure what happened, the usual suggestion is to watch the reaction of the batter. This batter, by his reaction, is telling me the ball hit him. That is why he makes no effort to advance to first base.