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I'll take, "Thank God this will never happen in a game I'm working!" for $500.

That was my first thought here. One of the best in the state doing a state semi, and he’s got a plate brush on him while on the bases? Was it in his ball bag? 🤦

Further - if it hits me, that means the catcher missed it. I hope it bounces to the dugout and the runners all advance.

It's pretty clear that these ejections have been happening during games with younger players, which means less experienced coaches (Daddy ball) and parents that still think their kids will be professional ball players, or they will get free rides through college. Since you're not a push over, which is the case for many umpires at this level, you are getting more than your fair share of ejections. I wouldn't sweat it.

As god as my witness Andy, I thought turkeys could fly

I know exactly how you feel.

Sweep the dirt off the base? Sweet Jesus, Mary and Joseph - WHY? Was this an excuse to engage the upset player? Does he like to clean the bases on the regular? If a player is upset, look or walk the other way. If he escalates it from there, it's ALL on him.

What does that even mean? He's earned the right? What, earned the right to act like a F*#King prick? No not ever. If a coach wants to come out and have a respectful and civil conversation with me, then I will happily oblige. If not, he can get F*#Ked. A coach touches me, he's F*#King done. I don't care how egregious of a call an official makes or whatever the situation is, it NEVER gives a coach the right to abuse you, either physically or verbally. Period. It's this type of tolerance that has greatly contributed to the shortage of sports officials.

Perhaps this is more to the point Introduce yourself and your partner(s) by name; confirm all players are legally/properly equipped take lineups; write names you need (HC; F2) on your lineup card HTHC goes over ground rules; break meeting Greet F2, give him a game ball, and start counting warmups If things go sideways in the game, fix them. Be approachable. Use verbal and nonverbal communication effectively. Usually less words are better than more words. It's not difficult to find yourself into a sh*tsh*w by talking too much.

Which ones are best at brushing fresh wet paint off the plate. Asking for a friend.

MUCH better mechanic.

See below for most HS/JUCO Football- Clock operator.....CHECK. Locker Room............CHECK Basketball- Clock operator.......CHECK. (sometimes 2!!) Locker Room.....CHECK Baseball- Clock operator.......Ummmmmm, hey guys, here is this brick sized box you will need to hold and there is no way to attach it to your belt. Also, we think the batteries are charged. Locker room.................... IYKYK

I recently put a post up about having 10 ejections this year. Had good feedback on it from the group. I used to be afraid of issuing an ejection - I was already worried about what a coach, player, fan, partner, or assigner would do. This caused me to lack confidence in myself and spilled over into other parts of my game. I also used to let the "grow thick skin" comment bother me - as to imply that if I eject someone, I can't mentally handle the pressure. I grew to believe the opposite is true - letting people get away with whatever they want and allowing yourself to be miserable is not having "thick skin". Handling business is having "thick skin". Remember that you are the impartial party at a game - if you are miserable, there is a high chance you aren't the only one and they might be relying on you to make things better for everyone else.

There might be, but in fairness, the core items – the ZRO-G mask, the Cobra CP, and the shinguards, specifically – are all more-than-adequate for most amateur umpires. And the prices! Wow, what a savings! Sure, the ZRO-G mask is hollow-tube steel, and not any of the -ums, but it looks just like a Nike "Icon", without the hefty price tag. The pads are super-springy AirCell open-cell-foam pads, among the best of the "stock standard" pads on the market. Sure, the shinguards are basic, but really, do new umpires really need premium shin guards? Heck, they even use SR buckles instead of cheap steel D-rings and clips! Then, that brings us to the Cobra. I'll expound more on the details later, but the Cobra was poised to upend the protective gear market when +POS suspended operations. It was one of the first CPs to use HDPE instead of ABS, its layout was uniquely and innovatively effective, and it was employing 5-layer laminate foam... while the ol' yellow-W slug was still stuck on sofa cushion foam! ... annnnnnnddddd charging $200 for it!

I ordered a mask, and had a tracking number a few minutes later, and it shows that UPS has it. I also just emailed with a question about my order and got an answer right away.

That’s… nice… and all, but where is the baseball, real-world application? Or implication, for that matter? So you’re dropping a steel shot (ball bearing) from a height… is that steel shot 5 oz? Is it traveling at 95 mph? That’s the only numbers guys (in our practical business) care about. You’re demonstrating “typical” foam; that’s not entirely typical. That’s not Qualux (let’s name the beast) upholstery foam, 3/4” (Douglas) to 1” (Wilson) thick. Nor is it topped by a “plastic” (ABS, HDPE, PVC, etc) plate. That plastic plate, and its absence, is one of the primary reasons why your (Force3) UnEqual CP never achieved the market-shifting potential you so wanted. If you were to show the systems, in their model entirety (technical fabric, foam layer(s), plastic plate), and then drop (or shoot) a 5 oz ball at it, then you have a more realistic comparison. Then you can exhibit that your system is thinner, lighter, but achieves the same (or better!) protection values. Otherwise, what does that slick demonstration really show us? Not much. I’m not calling my colleagues and contemporaries stupid or slow, but most will not be able to extrapolate the/any implication from a bounce test like this. The test that “moves needles” is a much more practical one, with an Umpire (uppercase) wearing one; and that shot you had, you blew it when the ball missed and the Umpire winced. White-walled labs ain’t ball fields.

Two outs. R1 was forced off 1B at the time they were tagged. BR is out for not achieving 1B before the base was tagged. This is explicitly not the same as tagging 1B and then R1. That would be only 1 out - BR out and R1 safe on 1B. The order of operations matters greatly.

@bluetick48, if you truly want the best of both worlds – the timeless, iconic style of the Nike “Icon” Ti and the cutting edge modernity of the All-Star FM4K Mag – well… keep your eyes peeled. @DerekGDS and Gerry Davis Sports have something special appearing on the ever-approaching horizon.

Could be that negotiations with the MLBPA are coming up (2025–26), and the billionaires are priming everyone to think that MLB is losing money.

Come inside towards the cutout, put your right foot in the ground and open up towards first base. In my opinion, there is no actual benefit to pivoting as it was developed at pro school to help determine each student's athleticism. I use the "AAA" pivot, which is just coming inside and glancing over your right shoulder for the touch of first.

@JonnyCat, here's a link to year over year attendance, the attendance figures are on the right side of the table: https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/majors/misc.shtml So, pre-COVID they had 68M, 2021 saw 45M, 2022 saw 64M, 2023 saw 70M and 2024 saw 71M. It is worth mentioning that MLB's best year for attendance was 2007 with 79M. Anybody recall anything special about 2007? That same table also shows average game times on the far LEFT of the table. Since 1964, the best average for pace of play over 9 innings was in 1972 and it was 2:23. (I'm guessing fewer pitching changes?) The high since 1964 was ironically in 2020 (COVID) and it was 3:07. With all of the recent rule changes in 2024 we have gotten the average down to 2:36. @dumbdumb...it's official, your name most decidedly does NOT check out. Strikes and outs moves ANY game of baseball along. I completely agree with your smartsmart post. The conversation about pace of play and the product overall begins and ends with expansion of the strike zone. Sure, "chicks dig the long ball" but pardon the innuendo...How much longball is "enough" longball? How much is too much? Here's the year over year league HR totals: https://www.baseball-almanac.com/hitting/hihr6.shtml 1999 saw more HRs hit that year than any other...5,528 over 2,428 games. (The Steroid Era was 1994 - 2004.) It's a basic principle of supply and demand that the less there is of something, the more valuable and prized it becomes...just ask DeBeers, speaking of diamonds. I don't think anyone wants a return to Dead Ball Era HR production but more strikes and outs and fewer HRs is the optimum product in my opinion. It's really strange here in 2024 having grown up and MLB was considered the least innovative sport and now, just in the last few years, they are making a bid to become the MOST innovative sport. Admittedly, I did not like the pitch clock rules but, now I'm a big supporter. I like this brand of baseball, it's just harder to get a beer at the ballpark now and not miss an inning. For me, the Golden At-Bat proposal is a bridge too far. ~Dawg

Me, too. I read this today with disbelief, as well. Why would they ever consider doing this? The article I read said that attendance this year has been the highest since 2017. So why the need for such a radical change. I read that many people are down on Rob Manfred, maybe they are right. Since I've recently become a crusty old man, I've for the most part given up on professional sports. It's not the same game I grew up with. Actually, I've given up on pro sports a long time ago. Oh, who am I kidding, I've been a crusty old man for a while now.

Still a work in progress - based on the notes I have looks like there are still fit and ball bag adjustments going on. There are some other updates though. Customization Options Custom measurements/alterations to our rack sizing 8-12 interior lining color options Applique Numbers Embroidery Velcro Patches Airtag pocket (working on this per Max's recommendation in the thread) Estimated MSRP $300 - Standard rack sizing with no customization (Black/Black Lining) All other pricing is still TBD Standard delivery times are anticipated to be 6-8 weeks with rush options at 3-4 weeks. There may be some common sizes stocked for quick delivery but it would be minimal.

No balk but it gets even worse. Even if R1 doesn't actually attempt to steal, but does a hard fake and then returns, it's STILL not a balk because the pitcher's action can be interpreted as "driving back a runner." 6-2-4b

I’d argue that overall, All-Star develops some of the best products out there and offers one of the strongest value-for-cost ratios for umpires.

You guys realize he probably cannot talk about what his perfect CP is because he currently has it in development. 🤫

Protective equipment currently enters the US duty-free. A proposed 10% blanket tariff on Chinese imports would apply to gear from China, but most protective equipment manufacturing (for umpires) occurs outside China, primarily in Vietnam, Thailand, and Taiwan.

My esteemed colleague @DerekGDS answered that, dead-on ta boot. ABS – or, Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene – is another thermoplastic copolymer extensively used by human industry. Relevant to our discussion here, both have been used for sporting goods gear for quite some time, often being each other's alternatives. ABS "won out" in the production of football and baseball helmets because of its ease of production, and low cost on overall systemic investment. In other words, when you're doing a butt-load (or, s#!t-ton, as one of my favorite colleagues has famously said) of similar products, it makes sense to use ABS for everything... that whole "economy of scale". So, thousands upon thousands of baseball helmets... and football helmets... and football shoulder pad sets... and catchers' shinguard sets... ... and umpire chest protectors ... all done in ABS. Why? Because it's cheap. One of the characteristics that HDPE has over ABS is that is denser... so to accomplish the same shape, the material can be thinner. HDPE can also hold a cast shape more effectively. So, as it applies to umpire chest protectors, you'll notice that the All-Star Cobalt CP plates are more shapely, better defined, and look more like MX / BX (cycling) body armor, where body-conforming shapes, and "low profile" (ie. no bulk) is heavily desired. In contrast, you'll see how ambiguous and generic the plate shapes are on the Wilson Gold, the Wilson Platinum, the Wilson Charcoal, the Douglas, the Diamond Pro, etc. All ABS -cast units. This unwieldy bulkiness is further compounded by the packaging and shipping practices of the manufacturers, the vendors, and ultimately, the users – when trained, ABS will begin to take on the shape of stability. If a Wilson Platinum is packaged and shipped to be as flat as possible so as to fit as many CP units into a container as possible, and then piled on a stockroom shelf under several other units, and then sold to a user who just stashes it – flat – in the bottom of their gear bag under the weight of the rest of their gear... how do you think the CP is going to look??! I'm not saying that umpire gear has to be more costly, and use premium, expensive materials. But could we at least ask the questions as to why a manufacturer uses a particular material or technology instead of another? When you put all the factors on the board, the resulting price of a unit such as the All-Star Cobalt is somewhat justified; in contrast, the resulting price of a Wilson Gold sure ain't. ... And this is why I hold them in such contempt. Cuz when you consider the +POS Cobra, you see that Dan Parsons included HDPE, a newly designed harness, and 5-layer laminate foam, and trotted that thing out there at $99! ... Ninety-nine dollars!! And then there's the Wilson Gold – the supposed standard by which all other CPs are judged – and it's using ABS (cheaper), a pathetic harness (since upgraded, but 15 years too late), and 1" thick homogenous sofa cushion foam (again, cheap!!!!), and Wilson is charging... $200??!?!?!? WTF???!! CPs are a demonstration of functional physics, with an infusion of chemistry and materials science... ... and a dash of (manipulative) psychology. Without going into one of my famous diatribes, any laminate foam is going to perform better than a homogenous foam. Wilson and Douglas (as the best-known examples) employ homogenous, open-cell foam (used for upholstery, AKA "sofa cushion" foam) within a 3-layer construct. I say 3-layer, because to be technical, you must count the encasing material. Wilson totally cheaps out and uses cheap, crude nylon of the same variety used in Coleman tent floors and ditty bags. What this homogenous foam is depending on is volume. This is why it is 1" thick – the impact energy assails the plate, which in turn compresses the entirety of the plate against a broad region of the pad. Drop a 10 lb bowling-ball-sized sphere upon a 1" foam pad – the pad likely bottoms out at the point of impact. However, drop that same bowling ball upon that same foam pad with a 1/4" thick piece of plywood atop it; then, the load is distributed across the breadth of the plywood, and the foam likely doesn't flatten (entirely). At this point, we have to consider the following characteristics: 1) the weight of the plywood at 1/4"; can we go thinner? 2) the height (loft, thickness, volume) of the foam; can we go thinner? 3) the trait of open-cell foam to absorb and hold moisture (water) and heat; can we find something else? Open cell foam is rather nice and cushy as a material-of-body-contact, but it is pathetic at absorbing energy unless it has significant thickness. Closed cell foam is superb at energy absorption, and at refraining or eschewing moisture (water), because the cells are not water permeable, and the foam itself can be formulated to be hydrophobic. However, closed cell foam doesn't do that well at filling space, especially the space between a plastic plate and the wearer's body. Thus, when an impact assails a plate, it propels the plate and the closed cell foam back, across that empty space until the foam contacts the body, and then begins to compress. This is the (painful) result of an improperly fitted CP ( @Tksjewelry and I have discussed this at length, since she is an advocate for female umpires and their gear and attire challenges). So, the best thing to have is a combination – or, laminate – of open-cell foam's cushy loft and closed-cell foam's energy absorption. Once you set upon this method, you can begin to substitute in different varieties of closed-cell, thermoplastic foams, and benefit from their formulaic traits and characteristics. For example, certain varieties of TPU-EVA foam (TPU: thermoplastic polyurethane; EVA: ethylene-vinyl acetate, a particular polymer that is produced as a thermoplastic) are exceptionally hydrophobic, and their "crush resilience" can be formulaically controlled. Zorbium (Team Wendy's), Phylon (Nike), Fresh Foam (New Balance), Unobtamium (Oakley)... these are all trademarked examples. Once you settle on a closed-cell foam, then you can look at how to alter the open-cell foam; instead of using upholstery foam, why not consider egg-carton foam (All-Star does this), or lattice foam (Schutt-Adams did this) instead? Then, instead of using crude nylon, why not use a technical fabric, microfiber, or mesh? The lofty price tags on the All-Star Cobalt, the Douglas PDV, and the Force3 UnEqual are... I won't say "justified" outright, but I'll say "understandable"... when you consider: All-Star Cobalt: Cutting edge, modern design, laminate foam (technical microfiber // TPU-EVA foam // egg-carton open cell foam // technical mesh; arranged in pods), HDPE plating, additional armored extension. Douglas PDV: Made in the USA. Top quality craftsmanship and product support. Force3 UnEqual: Neoprene casing, Kevlar-backed plate cells (segments); the Kevlar is there as the best strength-to-weight ratio for energy absorption. Each of these is well past $200 each. So where does that $200+ for a 25 year old, China-produced, poorly-supported, ill-fitted, bulky, cumbersome loaf of a chest protector go? What's that money _for_??!

FTFY

Or the old Robin Williams "New York echo": Helooooooo! Shut the F*#K up!

Honestly? I swear more or less like a pirate, so I kinda wish the 4Ps were actually the 3Ps, and leave Profane out of it. I'd be okay with it, since I would easily/happily provide an equivalent-level rejoinder. To use the original scenario - although I'd never brush a damn base off..... Player: "You gotta be f---ing kidding!" Me: "No, I'm not f---ing kidding, and you need to get outta here before you get run." And ........ scene. He get his f-bomb out the way, and blow a little steam off, I get mine, and hopefully he goes away, and doesn't get tossed. If he decides to keep going, well, he's had his chance.

I agree that R1 cannot be entitled to 2B until R2 is no longer entitled to it. So that's enough info to answer the OP: 1B is still occupied at TOP, and the batter is out on strikes and may not advance. But what if R1 and R2 are BOTH standing on their advance bases? Then the answer will turn on what F1 has done. The bolded part above does not tell us enough info. In the windup, the time of pitch begins when F1 starts his delivery—usually a rocker step, sometimes just moving the hands. By the time he's moving "toward the plate," we're well into the time of pitch. So, in the revised play, had F1 started his motion prior to both runners reaching their advance bases? If so, then we have R1, R2 at TOP, and 1B is "occupied" for the purposes of the D3K rule; if not, we have R2, R3 at TOP, and 1B is "open" for the purposes of the D3K rule.

Those prices are absurd. No wonder there was pushback from D3 schools on the requirement to implement this season.

In my part of NJ, the school conferences contract with assigners for individual sports. Game fees are set by a group of athletic directors with nearly 0 input from any representative of any officials in any sports. Some assigners in NJ tried charging officials assigning fees a while back and the state slapped their hands pretty hard so that isn't a part of our fee schedule. HS associations are responsible for training, testing, and certifying their members meet all the eligibility requirements sent down from the all knowing NJSIAA. Officials pay dues to the associations and to the state. I don't really know what I get for my dues monies, which is why I got involved in the executive board of my volleyball association and will be its president come spring time. I can assure anyone who is interested that he old guard is not going to like some of the things that are in the offing. There are many people collecting lots of money who are not really doing anything of value to collect thousands of dollars from the membership. That will not continue one way or another.

I second 834k3r's post. Value the discussion and stories. Have done 200+ games over past two seasons, zero ejections, one dugout restriction....maybe it's true that Canadians are just too damn polite!!

A few comments: Regarding the anecdote, I don't have much to add. A yahoo umpire looking for a scrap with a kid. Not a great look. That said, on close plays at a base, we should NOT instantly turn and run away. The kid on the losing end could turn and pop his opponent in the nose, and we cannot always count on a partner to see it. Don't approach them (and never, ever, clean a base, as if you weren't really sure where it was), but don't leave them until they start to separate. (This tactic is essential for football.) I never try to "prevent" an ejection. Ejections happen when people cannot control themselves, and if they cannot control themselves, how could (and why should) I control them? Ejections should be situations that are big, that others see, and that must be addressed for the good of the game (both the game on that field and the game of baseball generally). Experienced officials know how much shîte they can stomach, and where their line is (usually not strict enough). It's more difficult for newer officials who haven't figured out where their line is, and that's part of the learning curve. I don't tolerate anyone yelling at me—they don't have to agree with me, but they're going to model adult behavior or yell at their steering wheel. I have known few umpires (or officials in the other sports I work) who take (what I consider) exactly the right amount of shîte—almost all habitually take way too much, and a very few have hair triggers. Many of them don't know how to issue a proper warning, either. For me, that's the real art: warnings aren't there to prevent ejections (I'm not trying to prevent anything), they're there to remind a participant of the consequences of proceeding. Then the participant makes his choice, and we go from there.

Just my opinion, @HumblePie... 1) Acknowledging "past history" between teams - I will cover this with my partner(s) in pre-game. I will NEVER mention this at the plate meeting. What's in the past is over. Maybe past beef will insert itself into the game you are getting to work but, I prefer to simply adjudicate the game in front of me, pitch by pitch, play by play and call by call. There is nothing in any rule book that defines specific or extra penalties or consequences for actions or inactions "...when there is history between the teams." Runner gives a forearm shiver to a fielder coming into 2B because he's been making time with his girlfriend? That's not my concern...what happened on the play was malicious contact and I am ejecting that runner on that basis and that is how I am writing it up. If the league or the state athletic association wants to factor in "things from the past" when doing their post-game investigation on this, that is their right/privilege. 1A) Sportsmanship - My umpire association and my state high school athletic association have asked all umpires to make mention of sportsmanship at the plate meeting so, of course I do what I am told here. But like HumblePie said above, we're not there to conduct a clinic or preach so, I keep it short. If I wasn't told to speak about this in the plate meeting, frankly...I wouldn't. Like #1 above, it does nothing pre-emptively. Nobody catches themselves prior to exhibiting poor sportsmanship and says to themselves, "Oh jeez...I should make another choice here because the umpire said at the plate meeting that we should exhibit positive sportsmanship..." My opinion on all of this is largely dictated by what you are being told to do in your local market. Do as you're told to do, always but if you have the option, I would leave this off. Less is frequently more. 2) Learning and using player's names - I actually spent this entire season NOT introducing myself to players. And I saw ZERO negative impact from this. Oh don't get me wrong...if an F2 walks up to me and introduces THEMSELVES to me, I would respond in kind. If F2 wears a pitch, I will still absolutely walk a baseball out to F1 to give them a few extra moments to reset themselves and I always verbally check on players that might be hurt and grant time as needed again to give them a few moments. I don't feel I'm missing anything here by not introducing myself...change my mind. 3) Talking to the coaches about who can approach you - This is another one I have dropped from my plate meetings. It's been my experience it pre-emptively umpires NOTHING. If a non-head coach doesn't like or doesn't agree with a call, he's going to run his mouth and/or leave the dugout or the base coach's box. As you pointed out there are rules covering this and those rules should be applied/enforced as situations dictate. Where I typically see this being a big problem is travel baseball and other youth baseball leagues who play by FED rules and the coaches simply do NOT know there are rules at that level regarding who can address the umpires. Well, coach...YOUR ignorance of the rules is YOUR problem. You are violating the rules with your conduct and you are now restricted to the dugout. Head Coach, that is by rule a dugout restriction for you, too. They can either read the rules themselves or they can learn the rules when the umpires enforce the rules. ~Dawg

I agree 100%! The only question I have is this, where did it start that guys are asking the head coach what their catcher’s name is? I’ve always just gotten the catcher’s name from…. THE CATCHER! It just seems superfluous to ask the coach…. 🤷‍♂️

I am proud to say that I have NEVER ejected anyone. Now, I have confirmed THEIR desire to no longer participate in that days contest...... 😁

Maybe not as "high end" as they are looking for, but I love the Mizuno with my AS Mag.

You're both right. The batter INT rule does require the batter to move...IF THERE IS TIME. For example, with R3, F1 throws a wild pitch, and R3 tries to advance. The batter generally has to move and clear the plate area for the play, and he has time to do that (usually a couple seconds or more). But in a straight steal of home, he would have a fraction of a second to read the disengagement and then clear the plate area. That's not enough time, even if he saw the sign and knew a steal was coming. So I would never call batter INT on a batter who remained motionless in the box on a straight steal. BTW, asking for a rule here is pointless—what you want is an interpretation and case plays. IIRC Wendlestedt has a couple rulings making the batter liable for INT if he hinders the defense, regardless of intent, when he could "vacate the area needed by the defense" (or words to that effect).

NFHS 5.2.1 - "Time" shall be called by the umpire and play shall be suspended when: NCAA 3.7.a - Call or indicate play to start the game. "Time" when the ball becomes dead and "Play" when play is resumed. OBR 5.12.a - When an umpire suspends play, he shall call “Time.”

You need to continue looking until you know there will be no OBS possibility. Also if you read a single a pivot puts you in better position for a throwback. That pivot can be more relaxed. Otherwise AAA is the way to go.

Since this play isn't otherwise covered in the rules, seems to me like an 8.01(c) situation. I think we give the offense 2 options. We can: 1. Eject R2 for cheating 2. Put R2 back on second I suspect they would choose option 2.

uniform total weight=1 ounce

@grayhawk tell me you haven't worked in TN without telling me. Having worked the "Spring Fling" (state finals) in TN, I can confirm some of the guys working those Finals have been working the State Finals for the past 20+ years. They are set in their ways and if (god forbid) they did not get to the State Tournament, would probably quit and take all of their friends with them. My one EJ this year was the easiest of my life. Game 4 of a 4 game series, HTHC had enough of the way his team was playing. Play at the plate, I call SAFE. He comes out, i meet him at the edge of the dirt circle, warn him to not enter the dirt to argue the play at home, he goes right around me. Boom. gone. Easiest EJ ever. He wanted to go and made it easy on me. Easily defendable, looked good on video, report was easy and the assignor replied "got it, thank you". Had I not EJ, would have looked terrible.

I have a passion for being both thorough and prepared at the plate meeting before every game I call, in as few words as possible/practical. If you're fairly new to calling baseball, or have never taken the plate meeting prep seriously, I urge you to practice talking through a mock plate meeting in front of a mirror, with your folio and mock lineup cards in hand, and time it. Work through it ten times until you have it memorized. When it flows comfortably, try to knock 30, then 60, then 90 seconds off of it from start to finish. It's as important to know what does not need to be said as it is to know what is critical to be said out loud. If you KNOW there has been a history between two teams, address it at the plate meeting, but don't put every coach and team through a lengthy sermon that really doesn't apply to them. I created a "Game Card" on Excel (20 years ago) that I've updated over the years, and it is invaluable. I print it out on cardstock, and it is flexible enough that I can use it for any brand of baseball I call. It has a place to keep score by innings, log coaches' names, log pitchers' and catchers' names, track courtesy runners, track pitcher visits, and log warnings and ejections. Introduce yourself and your partner(s) by name, with a firm handshake, and make the effort to call the Head Coach by his first name throughout the game. Shake the catchers' hands, get their first names, and ask them for the pitchers' first names. USE THEIR FIRST NAMES. It's far more personal and professional than using "Coach", "Pitch", and "Catch". Whenever I'm calling a tournament, I create a similar "Cheat Sheet" the same size as the Game Card, and I put all the tournament rules on that and review it when appropriate at the plate meeting. You know the rules I'm referring to ... the ones that many TDs overlook until ten minutes before the first round of games are starting: -- Determining home/visiting teams -- Who provides baseballs -- Rule Set (before Modifications) -- Ground Rules (Dead ball territories, etc.) -- Time Limits -- Mercy Rules -- Courtesy Runner Rules -- Extra inning rules -- ID Official Scorekeeper & Scoreboard keeper Make sure, for example, if you hear a TD state, "We're playing by High School Rules," that he knows what exactly he's saying. Hundreds of summer ball and fall ball coaches think high school rules and MLB rules are nearly identical, with perhaps only the FPSR (Force Play Slide Rule) inserted. Sadly, the same can often be said of TDs. Pitcher visits become a nightmare. Balk rules are different. Obstruction rules are different. Some of the differences are stark, and some are subtle, but you have to be in charge and exude confidence. No matter what level I'm calling, I always ask these two questions: "Coaches, are all of your players properly equipped, and is all equipment legal?" There is only one acceptable answer to this: "YES." Less experienced coaches think they can somehow minimize their responsibility by answering, "As far as I know." Whenever I get that answer, I calmly and firmly tell the coach, "I need a firm answer, Coach, or we need to have you check all that right now." In all cases below the Varsity HS level, I also work this 10-second phrase in: "Coaches, remember that you are the only two who are authorized to approach me or my partner(s) on the field. Your assistants can talk to us from the coaching box, but they can't leave the box to object to a call." There are often Head Coaches who are really more "Managers" of the team, and they let their assistants run the show. You must identify at the plate meeting who the Head Coach is, and there can be no, "Well, we kinda coach by committee." Shut that down immediately. If you don't, you've trained them to call their own shots and walk all over you. It's just wrong. In my experience, I have had far more trouble out of Assistant Coaches than out of Head Coaches. Assistants are often enthusiastic, but ignorant of the rules. They often have no idea that they are not allowed to approach the official on the field. They often snipe from the dugout. Go to the Head Coach and remind him of what was said at the Plate Meeting. There should not need to be any further warnings. The old cliche' is very true, that you have only one chance to make a first impression. Make a good one at the plate meeting, and command respect for the next two hours.

As Kevin's wife never says, "Always listen to Kevin." Plate meetings should be 30 seconds max, so I won't be able to trim 90 seconds from my plate meeting spiel. I cover what I have to cover and no more, because nobody came to the park to talk to me. In tournaments we have to determine home and visiting team and talk about time limits; in HS baseball, never. I never discuss providing baseballs at a plate meeting. Baseballs should magically appear, or I use the incantation, "I need baseballs!" I never raise mercy rules at the plate meeting—I can't give the impression that I'm expecting a rout, or someone will conclude that I'm trying to cause one. I'm definitely never mentioning extra innings, because I don't want to prime them to think that could happen today. I'm seldom concerned about courtesy runner rules. I'll allow one when coach wants one—if the other coach wants to object, we'll deal with that in the moment. Courtesy runners speed games, which is always good. I don't care who the official scorer (much less scoreboard op) is until I have to do. Raising all that at the plate meeting tells coaches: "Look, we're going to have lots of problems today, and I need to get in front of all of them." Psychologists call this "priming": we can actually generate more problems when people expect there to be more problems. (I knew an old timer who would start his plate meeting with: "Look, we're going to make some mistakes out there today..." No, no, a thousand times no!) No warnings, no "here's how we're going to handle arguments," no threats ("if they leave their positions...."), none of that. If we have problems, warn, restrict, eject. Because I haven't been "pre-warning" them all game, when I give a coach a warning, it makes a much bigger impression and will more often than not lead to the desired outcome (that is, coach STFU). That's why we want to minimize the plate meeting. With familiar coaches who know how to write a lineup, I'll scan the lineups during ground rules, and the whole meeting might take 15 seconds. Where I must do more, I'll do more (if TD asks umpires to review something he's had trouble with, I'll do it), but the faster we get to baseball the better.

Your signature suggests that people should read Verbal Judo. If this is the case, it might be helpful to use its tenets not to necessarily win the arguments with coaches, but to open their eyes to their inane behavior in front of children and toward children. Ejections frequently present themselves in the heat of a game. Often they result directly from our failures leading to the blow up, like when a HC starts barking about a 15 year old needing to pay attention. A well placed interjection of, "You do realize he's 15, right?" or "It's fall ball" can stun them into silence long enough for us to walk them off the ledge and back to the dugout rather than running them. I've found success in using what Mrs. Kevin_K calls the Kevin death stare when stupidity tumbles out of the mouths of people who don't realize how they sound to a reasonable people. Ignoring idiots usually encourages poor conduct. Experience is the best learning tool. The more you see the better you get at almost anything. Your experience will teach you that the only ejections you regret are the ones you don't make. YMMV

Good. Maybe it seems like a lot, but players and coaches get out of line a lot. @maven said something like "What we allow, we condone." I am a coach first, and an umpire second, and I am a fan of warnings and ejections. It's not petty, it's appropriate. Same as calling infield fly.