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Just arrived via UPS today: the limited edition “Kuta.” Same plates as the Enduro, with a different pad and color way. Same great quality coming from Derek and his team. Looking forward to strapping it on in 4 weeks!

I've finally completed a laundry list of software updates some of which were very over due. For the geeks, this upgrade included: Newer version of PHP Conversion of the databases from MyISAM to InnoDB Multiple security updates So I am again allowing new registrations to the site. Please note. This upgrade is in preparation for a new full version of the software in February. Going from 4.7.X to 5.0 in February. I've skimmed through the change logs and the only thing which will directly impact users seems to be that members will no longer be able to log in with their username they must use their email. I will send a couple of email reminders out to all members before I launch this upgrade.

The DX Kuta is a prototype we were field testing in 2025. The DX was simply a carrier for Covalta which is our chemically cross-linked closed cell foam to get some additional real world testing. The foam itself is engineered to be extremely good when dealing with high speed, localized impacts. It is already used in some pad cores and in the DX Mk2 as well in a limited role. The feedback was very strong but Covalta is being considered for different product lines so this is a limited edition product, we only produced 60 pieces. The Kuta itself weighs about 18% less then the DX Enduro with the same thickness. If anyone is interested in picking one up early, please contact me. What is remaining is likely to go on sale in mid-February. @blue32 stand by on the shins. We're working through a number of prototypes at the moment.

As a board member, here is what I can tell you. Insurance, Arbiter, rental costs for banquets/meetings/training facilities/training equipment/videos, accountant/treasurer and webmaster/website costs, food/drink and awards. That is what your dues for our organization go to. Along with carrying a cash surplus in order to cover any emergencies or payment shortfalls from leagues/schools in order to make payroll on time. Pre-Season training for us starts in January with video calls for our JUCO crew, we have a preseason banquet/training in late January for all members where we focus on the upcoming HS season, then we have weekly in person training sessions from the first week of February until the week before the season starts in March, approx. 7 90 minute sessions, along with spontaneous cage work opportunities. We have recurring conference calls in-season to go over what we are doing well and what we can improve on. We charge $85 for a general membership, $30 for softball only, and $30 for students with valid school IDs. After 25 years of service, you no longer have to pay dues and become a lifetime member. Our dues are based on the lowest single game fee that our org gets, ($85). The State also charges a fee to register with them.

Well, you see, AI allows for the block chain to harness the synergies of distributed crowd-sourced computing power. Couple that with the expositional increases of meta-cognitive, cold-fusion, solid state chips with kung fu battle grip and the purchasing power of crypto, and you have a technology that provides incrementally harvested returns that will, some day, be able to provide a replicatable economy of scale that can approximate a human brain with an accuracy rate between 5 and 113%.

I have it from a reliable source that Purchase Officials is one of the official suppliers of the Annual @wolfe_man Garage Sale and Black Shirt Gala. 😉

B4 batters at bat ended when he became a runner. Fact that play was made on r2 (why; who knows) means nothing.

Not until it has a kid playing in the game.

Yeah, but it will still not be able to figure out a batters strike zone in real time.

IF… and that’s a very big IF - I ever sell again. You’re banned from the sale. 😇😂

It's almost like they took a loophole through the back door to change a rule. Calling it an editorial change in association with the double first base is a cop out. It's more like "we need to change this rule to match our interpretation. Let's just call it an editorial change and be done with it"

Pat is the owner of Purchase Officials and they’re working with +POS from Dan Parsons. +POS stands for Parsons Officials Supply if I remember correctly. I will let Pat speak to the rest. Purchase Officials Supply is an excellent company to do business with and I’m speaking from personal experience.

Damnit, @DerekGDS . . . I'm contemplating getting out (or taking some time off), and you just keep throwing out reasons for me to stay . . . 😋

I had this happen during a college game. Home team pulled the tarp late, standing water in foul territory (the entire length of the 3rd base line wrapping around home plate) and in the outfield (the entire length from first base to 2nd base just beyond the dirt), along with frozen ground that was thawing was going to make it that we simply could not safely play on this surface that day. Visiting team (in the 3rd base dugout and had to walk through the water) was adamant that they were not going to play. Home team was just as adamant that they were. I got a phone call from my coordinator, who received a call from the conference commissioner, and was told to go check the field condition. Home HC was saying that we were going to play... I asked him to bring his AD down to the field. I walked the AD around and pulled out the line "Our number 1 priority is the health and welfare of the student-athlete." I also told him that if they insisted on starting the game, the moment that someone slipped anywhere on the field, we were going to pull them and we would not be playing anymore. He made the decision to kill it for the day.

It can. I have had at least one situation where a HC really really wanted to get a game in and the weather was simply not cooperating. The mound was a mess and the batters boxes had standing water in them. After inspecting the field with my partner we spoke with both head coaches and one was insisting that the field was playable and everyone else recognized the situation for what it was. In the mean time, the rain kept falling. My partner and I explained that we felt the field was unsuitable and posed a significant risk to pitchers and batters alike. I mentioned that once the game started that the umpires had sole discretion to stop play and that if he wanted the game to start it would, but then it would be terminated after the 1st pitch. He finally recognized the folly of his position. Most people are reasonable when it comes to the safety of the players. The rule is more applicable to calling games prior to the teams and umpires arriving for a game at a field that would never be playable.

Bruns cleared this up in one of his "Responses to Submitted Rules Questions" memos his put out on February 28th last year. The memo was 7 pages, but here is the relevant section:

When U2 has a hit and gets an award, I believe they are awarded a Grammy I will see myself out.

I think we can say that the throw was close enough for F2 to try to field it so it's teammate interference. R1 wouldn't be the runner whom would have been played on so the B-R would be out and without replay I could see scoring R1. But replay would have him not touching HP TOI.

Good work. Always remember that sometimes a coach wants to put it on the umpires to call the game. He knows the field is unplayable, so after the umpires whack the game, he can always tell his AD, "Well, I wanted to play."

My state has complied with Hopkins interp of RLI but some of you have used "if the act does not interfere with a fielder or a throw" in 8-4-1-g-1 to justify not complying with the interp. Your 2026 book does not have that criteria any more. RLI as Hopkins wants it called is now by rule.

Don't shoot the messenger. They called an "Editorial Change".

I and others posted all your points when the interp first came out. Just call it like they want, or not in your neck of the woods. Once it was made clear in my neck of the woods there were no complaints. And I don't like calling it that way as I also don't like balking F1 going to the mouth on the rubber with a runner/s on.

People like me who are staunch advocates that interpretations should not override rules as written. This play was a dominant case the last few years. Hopkins issued an "interpretation by memo" which was not in any published source and was the exact opposite of what the written rule said. What happened to "Rules are hard to change and it can take years, so that is why we govern by decree"? See, rules are not hard to change, and it can be done when the right person wants it done.

I have C on this. I believe they clarify U1 position so umpires don't get confused thinking possibly in 2-man, it might hit you while you're inside (making it interference), despite there being no runners on.

Maybe we should ask Hunter this question.

In Texas all the chapters of the State umpire chapters should have board and members meeting. A financial report is usually given and given the volunteer aspect of the officers it may not be detailed. But if you are in attendance, which is lacking to a great degree, in your state I'm guessing they would address your question. How they would respond to it should guide your future involvement with them. Or not, just pay the money and get your game fees.

I went with C. “A”simply states the foot touches the plate. Doesn’t say parallel. The answer “C” is word for word in 9-1-b

I seem to recall that last year there was a lot of confusion on this point. Maybe they are clearing that up through this test. Whether there was a previous reset or not during that at-bat, with runner(s) on base, a pitcher starting his motion before the batter is alert and ready (for the first time) is a warning and a reset. Next time is a ball in all cases.

Since both questions have the same correct A and B answers, the correct answer must be All of the above on both.

My HS association is $80. Gets us a rulebook, and a banquette at the end of the season with some decent door prizes. 😏 Couldn't tell you what the rest is used for. The state grabs another $60 from us, which gets us nothing more than a background check, and a poorly written test each year. I think the state pays the Arbiter bill as well. We don't have high school assigning fees, so there's that. Bottom line, it's $140 of expenses for tax purposes.

Keen Vista Low at Amazon I'm a NB guy, but I do have these as a backup pair. KEEN is a top-notch producer for industrial safety shoes. Many such manufacturers are offering "sneaker type" options. These are comfortable compared to a boot. They aren't super light, but in terms of toe protection I would say you couldn't do much better. Probably need to use a guard flap attached to your shins to address the lace/metatarsal area. If you need a wide toe box, these are the ticket.

Thank you sir @Umpire in Chief. You are a gentleman and a scholar.

I would love to take that Elbeco off your hands, but I would need a second one to make sure my partner matches. 😋

That's a specific caseplay and the answer is no. 3.4.6-D

This one does not have the D30 pad that the Enduro comes with, which is outstanding. I don't know if this has the same pad as the DX Mk2, just in a different color fabric outer shell. We'll have to see what @DerekGDS says about it. One note about the Enduro with the D30 pad: I have owned just about ever protector on the market, and this pad is the best one I have used, and is on par (or dare I say better?) with the Power, which I also own. Hoping to see some shin guards with D30 in the future? 😁

Jim, those plays specify what is defined as a meeting and what is not. You blew right past 2.10.3-A This is defined as a meeting. If the catcher gets crossed up after such a meeting, he cannot meet again with the pitcher. Question 87 on the Rules Study Guide asks this very question: 87. In the fifth inning, F1 allows three straight hits to begin the inning. F6 asks for time to go to the pitcher and give his teammate a pep talk. After the meeting, the first pitch to the next hitter crosses up F2, who asks for time to chat with the pitcher about their signals. ANSWER: b) Time should not be granted, as this would be the second player-to-player meeting during the same inning. Patrick Faerber spends significant time explaining on the Umpire Classroom video why he disagrees with this ... it goes against other language FED uses on the same Study Guide as placing safety above all else. It is his suggestion to handle the situation by going to the mound, and allowing a battery meeting.

Mannnnnnnnnn, this is the most transcendentally cosmic thing I have ever read on this forum... This so crystalizes everything that is wrong with the relationship between the NFHS and the umpires, and yes...even the coaches and players. I'm sure many case books have these flaws and not just the NFHS baseball case books, however the fact is, a case book...ANY case book is supposed to be a resource for the official/umpire to take the printed word in the RULE book and learn how to apply the abstract rule onto the field of play. The case book should be a direct reflection of the rule book. There should never be circumstances where there is information governing play that exists only in the case book. As @The Man in Blue states here and I am paraphrasing...if a governing body issues a case book that diverts from any rule in any way, that should be a flag that they need to first change the rule. Or, take a step back, and really consider if you should be putting information in the case book that does not connect to the rule book and edit that prior to publication. All of us frequently engage with coaches after plays sometimes with the phrase, "Coach, by rule..." Does NFHS really want us saying, "Coach, by the case book..."? when we have to apply something that only exists in the case book on the play in question? Again, really great topic here. Thank you for this thread. ~Dawg

@MadMax Just wondering when you will be able to ship the 4 pairs of shoes to me? I'll be starting to outfit the new guys with gear in a couple of weeks. Thanks... ump7tony

Agreed. On all accounts. Especially that the rule book is vague. Nothing in that rule book should be vague. It is put together by educators. Please accept my apology, Dawg.

Oh I didn't mean to imply anything. I can only speak for the board that I am a part of. All of the board members are non-paid positions. The only paid members are our treasurer, webmaster, and assignor. All 3 of those positions are non-voting positions.

Oh, we know the reason . . . that doesn't make it right.

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Correct. They are not using the rulebook vertical zone limits but rather 27% and 53.5% of batter height. If it makes you feel better (worse?) - the horizontal is measured at the midpoint of the plate. So they've almost entirely abandoned the rulebook zone. Regarding measurement by player, it's done during spring training. Why they don't measure it to their stance vs raw height 🤷‍♂️

There are 2 schools of thought. One is put your chin at the top of the catcher’s head and maintain the same head height on every pitch. The other is put your eyes at the top of the zone and adjust to the height of each batter - get your eyes under the batter’s elbow. This is what I do. If my eyes move up, the pitch is a ball. My eyes do not strain on a low pitch until about 2 balls below the knee. My Trackman reports reflect that I’m getting those pitches correct.

The color scheme scratches the right Giants fan itch for me.