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"Polydex" sounds like something you'd use to look up people'e phone numbers "Polyspan" sounds like something you'd use to build a long bridge. Back to the drawing board for both of you.

Hi guys. I'm a catcher not an umpire but since we often need to work together I'd hoped you would overlook me posting here. I recently lost my gear bag with all my gear in the Los Angeles area. The most precious item being a Nike titanium mask w/ navy Nike pads. I was hoping anyone reading/selling here could keep a look out for me. I don't expect to get anything back but I figure I'll try anything I can. The mask obviously has pads that can be changed out. But I bought my particular mask from eBay and the previous player/owner had written in silver sharpie "X13 or X31" (I can't remember exactly) on the front of the lower pad. So I'm hoping the thief will start listing my stuff on eBay/Craigslist or here, as they were, in which case the mask can at least be identified. I'd appreciate any help. Thanks much.

come on old man! Already half the planet doesn't remember what the heck "looking up people's phone number" means! You could call it the PolyJaxRoloDex and people would STILL not get your inference.

I don't have any personal animosity towards Dan Dada or +POS. They've had some excellent products but I just do not understand the utter lack of competence in customer service. I also do not understand why some of you idiots keep ordering from them. I'm hopeful you get your gear but for cripes sake STOP ORDERING from them unless and until he/they fix their SH*#ty ordering system and lack of customer care. My two cents. Edit: Dan, please get your SH*# together man. Answer the F*#King phone. Hire a damn customer service rep. Return an email in a timely manner. WTF man! Your parents were like gods or saints in this industry. Do it to uphold their legacy. Right now +POS is synonymous with SH*#ty service and maybe you'll get your purchases. Eventually. Maybe. You can't want to keep that kind of reputation. Damn man, even Ump-Attire.com and @JimKirk tried to help you out and buy lots of your products and be a distributor and you couldn't or wouldn't be honest and communicate with him. It's a damn shame. A goddamn shame.

Sounds like time for @Umpire in Chief to put up a poll for the naming of the flex pants.

Only thing fading in Florida are old squids.

I met Scott in Baltimore and told him that I'm a big fan of his videos. A very nice and receptive gentleman (for an umpire, lol). He indeed was wearing the pants when I introduced myself and I was impressed how roomy they appeared not clingy. I did comment to him that I thought they were a little darker than the other Smitty pants but not by a whole lot. The color was reminiscent of the old Davis pants. I'll definitely get them for summer ball. Nice job fellas.

Between all of us on this site, if your gear pops up on here or craigslist or ebay, we'll definitely notice. Good luck in your search.

I'm mad just like @Majordave . That is why I too am placing an order with 5-7 things including shoes, pants, shirt stays, and shin guards. Lol

HAAAA - "I emailed you because in my judgement, I clearly saw a glitch!!!"

I just dropped arbitersports.com and George Drouches a note. Don't expect a response, but sent it anyway.

I live in the Coachella Valley so I'll keep an eye on the local Craigslist down here.

This totally sucks. Sorry for your loss.

Thanks very much for the support. Here's a list of all the gear that was stolen. Maybe it'll help if any of the gear is seen listed together to ring a bell. 1 Black w/Silver trim "NO ERRORS" catcher's bag Set of Nike Pro Gold catcher's equipment in Royal Blue w/ white trim (the chest protector has a "D" (Duke University) embroidered under the neck and whited out) both chest protector and shin guards are 17" tag size 1 Nike titanium face mask, silver (natural metal color) w/ Navy face pads (had writing in silver sharpie on the lower face pad "X31" or "X13", I can't remember exactly) 2 pairs of different model Adidas cleats, both black, one totally blacked out size 11, one black w/silver trim size 9.5 2 Black Mizuno AZA72 ash wood bats, one 33", one 32" 1 Rawlings natural wood bat w/ black ring 33" 1 Rawlings black, one left ear batting helmet (had a "B" bruins sticker in the front and #9 sticker on the back) size 7 1/2 1 Rawlings royal blue catcher/base coaches helmet 1 Rawlings black catcher's mitt PROJP20MX w/ mesh top, 32.5 size (was wrapped in a black WebGem glove form) 1 Rawlings tan Custom St. Louis Shop catchers glove (round "R" patch"), stamped with "St. Louis Custom Shop" on the heel, one of a kind. 1 Mizuno Limited black w/ silver trim outfielders glove, I believe the model is GMP70BK but I'm not totally sure. Ichiro Suzuki Model (was wrapped in a black WebGem glove form)

I have the Black Majestic and love it. I only use it for base work however. I ordered down a size as I use a LS shirt with cold gear behind the plate and I knew the jacket was sized for plate work. I no longer carry an umpire jacket with me, I use the Majestic. Typical umpire jackets/coats just make me sweat but don't have any thermal properties...unless you go with the Therma-base zip ups...That may be in my future but for now, I just layer up under the Majestic.

The search feature is an extreme shortcoming of this forum software. They are taking baby steps to improve it, but not a lot. I just did a search for "hockey style mask" I got relevant responses, but not as many as I thought. Now also note that a search with the software must have a minimum of 4 characters. so U1 or HSM will not yield any results. This is by far and away the best way. to search. I did have a google option in the search dropdown, but it became incompatible after one of the updates. I will check on a new version of that.

Still won't spend MY money there....................

Thought the same thing.

How.. how is it gonna be murder?.. is it any different than you've done before? Holy cow...

NJ just mandated new shirts for 2017 with a NJSIAA logo. Navy is still the main color, black can be worn as an alternate. (Until the state playoffs, then navy)..Anyway, the backlash over having to buy one navy shirt from many leads me to believe there's hardly enough of us to force a change of any kind. I just ordered the state's new black shirts to have along with my navy. My bet is less than half my partners will have a black shirt with the new logo, and most will be bitching they had to buy a new navy shirt.

If we cared enough about what color/style shirt was popular, maybe we would. Our bylaws call for navy for baseball and powder for softball. This is a windmill I choose not to fight.

Wow, how inane is that? How 'bout getting the membership together, and making some demands/requests? Not to the point of creating a union, but to get the pulse of the membership, and to lean on the few that make the choices. Sometimes the Smitty with one shiny navy jersey, Sears combo pants, and a McGregor chest protector is making the choices for everyone ("By gum, that's all you need!"). Umpires are in too high of a demand to be walked over, and dictated to like this. RISE UP!

For those of you who work for backwards associations, what would happen if you and your partner wore the latest and greatest black shirt on the field? Are there that many umpires out there that you'd just be fired? Instead of waiting for change, or asking for permission, why not just wear what you want (within reason, of course. No flags or ugly camo, please). What would be the ramifications? Now I don't work HS or above because I still have a nine to five, so I really don't know what would happen.

Unbelievable. An entire state organization, still trapped in the past.

You show em!

It could be like That 70's Show where they burn all the disco records in the park, but instead of disco records we can all bring navy shirts.

I'm with you in your enthusiasm, @kylejt, but a trickling "up" into the Major Leagues is not going to force the change that we need to see happen. The High School associations have had three... _3_... revisions of the umpire uniform in the Major Leagues since 2010, and they still cling to the traditional navy shirt, navy jacket with shoulder stripes, and polyester pants. Some even still endorse heather grey! No, the change will happen when companies resolve and enact to stop producing the old styles / versions. If there are no longer navy shirts being made in that style, then there will be no other recourse. Use by the Big Leagues doesn't encourage Association Administrators to adopt something new; in fact, sometimes, it steels them against it. "It works for us, it's still available, why change it?" becomes the comfortable, safe excuse. So, cut off, wholly and resolutely, the source of the availability. Then we'll see real change happen. #ListenUpAdministrators #MoveForwardYouPutzes

Good news folks. I was finally contacted by Plus POS customer Service (Kimberly Wright) on 1/28/17. My stuff is on the way (via USPS...tracking #'s provided to me)! Once contacted, I even asked that one of their BB17 mask harness to be added, which she did - no problem. I did reach out to them one last time on 1/28/17 via their "contact us" email link on their website...originally, I had been trying to contact them by replying to my order confirmation email....both used the daniel@pluspos.com email address - so I'm not sure if anything different happens when going thru the "Contact Us" link on the website. Her email response to me indicated that the mask pads that I ordered had been out of stock & that the shipment was just received so they could now fulfill my order. I would have placed my order anyway back on 12/20/16, even with that info....I just wish I had been notified sooner than 1/28/17. Maybe she's a new addition to Dan's business & they can begin to improve the + POS reputation. Or maybe the umpire community on this website had something to do with it. take care, Jeff

The only time a player can be restricted to the dugout is when he is found to be an illegal substitute. Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

Golf where it's warm enough for shorts? Must be nice.

@humanbackstop19, that's a very... appropriate conclusion you've reached. Bravo. You touched on a sub-topic here, "conflict resolution protocol", that I will soon address with @jjb... I had this long response all typed up and was in the course of editing it when other replies, from @Haid D' Salaami (whose insights are pretty poignant), @Jimurray (who even provided video... the contents of which illuminate a very applicable "truth"), @dumbdumb, @ElkOil and @Umpire in Chief (Ruh roh! We gotz da Chief involved!) all rolled in. Even @maven put forward – all leagues and levels of consequence want a/the Balk call echoed. You have a concern about a coach asking / inquiring / arguing (take your pick) with you about a Balk being called, specifically if you're not the one who called it and are merely echoing it. First, how hard is it to just to redirect the inquiry to your partner who actually made the call (this "decision" you so focus on)? If you aren't the umpire who made the actual call of Balk, then the coach is asking you either by proximity (understandable), or because you've shown a trait he can or could exploit. Second, as the announcers at several points in the video montage state (and are they ever wrong? Heh... well, in this case, they are right), a Balk cannot be argued. So, knowing that, why would a coach be arguing with you? If a coach didn't know, you should, so why are you fearful of an argument ensuing? Just direct him towards the umpire who made the call, even it is for clarification. Third and final, your refusal to echo... ... based on that you're "inserting yourself into something you can't get yourself out of", and that "he's gonna want to know what YOU saw." Flip that around, and your partner calls a Balk. You stand there, unmoved and aloof ("not inserted") because you haven't the foggiest what he could have seen. This ballbuster of a coach you so fear starts inquiring with your partner, "How can you call that a Balk?! He didn't balk! Your partner (you) didn't call a Balk! Hey (you)!! You didn't think it was a Balk, didja?!!!" I think you're inserted into the sh!t now. Might want to keep a small shovel in your gear bag. Just echo the Balk call, fercryin'outloud.

With the exception of "12/20/16", I think you may have just copied and pasted, word-for-word, the very first post ever made on the very first internet umpire message board in 1990-something.

I want to take this a step further... To me echoing a balk is a different thing from actually calling the balk. Echoing, to me means I don't know the call, but I'm blindly echoing my partner. On the other hand there may be a balk and every umpire on the field is actually calling the balk. Sit 1. Right handed pitcher in the set position, I'm U1 in the A. The pitcher comes set, then briefly starts and stops his motion. U3 has a great look and balks it. I probably couldn't see that motion and can only echo. Sit 2. F1 while engaged with runners aboard drops the ball (very much an over-simplification). All umpires are actually calling the balk. So lets look at Sit 1. Coach comes out. Maybe he's in the 1st base dugout and I'm the first umpire he sees. So he comes toward me. And why shouldn't he, he saw me calling the balk. It is up to U3 to know the situation and take control. He should be heading our way and say something like, "hey coach, I've got this call." Only a complete horse-$#!+ umpire would leave a fellow umpire hanging in that situation. If I were not bailed out by the calling umpire, my theory is that for better or worse I'm now stuck with this call. I'm not telling the coach, "Well gee I was only echoing my partner's call and don't really know what happened, so you will have to go to him." I'm going to give it my best there and then and deal with the partner later. In Sit 2. I'm actually calling the balk so the coach comes out. Even if my partner starts to intercede, thinking I may have only been echoing, I'll wave him off and let him know I've got the call.

Echo your partner.... Also, you shouldn't just "kill the play" The balk can be acknowledge and the play continue in many circumstances. As for the confusion part. If we're working together I call thats a balk! and you echo me and now the balk is not full filled then once the play is over/killed then if the coach wants an explanation as soon as his foot hits I'll ask, "bob if you have a question on the balk come to me..." "I have no stop" that is the calling officials responsibility to the crew. If you wanted to go farther you could even say it in the call..... ie. "thats a balk, no stop.... thats a balk". The point I believe the NCAA wanted to get across was that they don't want to see one umpire call a balk and the other 2 are looking around like "really?" but to work as a team and a single unit that trusts one another.

In all seriousness, part one of my answer would be that your association (or any association in this situation) needs get an assignor with a spine. If an assignor takes away games when a coach calls and complains about an umpire, that's a big problem. An assignor should take away games solely based on the assignor's or the umpire association's evaluation of an umpire. With that said, I know that I don't have knowledge of the politics that goes on in certain parts of the country. Thus, I know that replacing a spineless assignor may be easier said than done. [I also know that there are some travel ball leagues/entities (I use term "league" loosely when speaking about travel ball) that care more about the coaches because the coaches pay money to play whereas umpires are viewed as nothing more than a necessary expense. My only advice to you on that is either to not work travel ball, find a travel ball entity that supports its umpires, or work the travel ball games with full knowledge that you have no support from the "higher ups". There is not much more I can say about "for-profit" travel ball entities.] Part two of my answer is: even though you are not going to get help, you should still be approachable. For instance, if the coach comes and asks you to get help explain (in a calm tone of voice) why you are not going to get help. By way of example, Coach, "Matt, he pulled his foot on that. I need you to get help." Umpire, "Jim, I was in perfect position to see that play. I had a clear view of the fielder's foot touching the bag and I was standing 12-feet away. I do not need to get help from my partner on this call." Coach, "You need to get help. Don't be bigger than the game." Umpire, "Jim, if I had been blocked by a player, or if I had been out of position I assure you I would get help to get the call right. But I was in perfect position and had a perfect view of this play and I have this call right. Its time to get the game going." I have not read "Verbal Judo", yet (it is on my to-do list). But, in my example you've addressed the coach's concerns with your calm responses. First, the coach was concerned that you got the call wrong (missed a pulled foot.) You have informed him that you had a clear, unobstructed view of the fielder's foot and thus don't need to get help. Then, when he argues that you're refusing to get help because either you're stubborn, have a big ego, or are "bigger than the game", you've addressed that by assuring him that you would get help if your view had been blocked by a player or if you were out of position. Finally, you've then taken control of the situation by saying that its now time to get the game going. If he keeps arguing...and you're working a FED game...use your three warnings at this point. Give him a verbal warning, "Jim, this is your verbal warning. I have clearly explained to you why I do not need to get help on this play. If you continue to argue you are going to be restricted to the dugout or ejected. It is time to get the game going." If he continues to argue, proceed to the next steps. That's the best I can do to answer your question.

If the fielder has to throw over or around the runner who went in standing, then he has been hindered so FPSR applies. Call it.

How do you report prolonging an argument in a restriction/ejection report? Because that's exactly what it is. He's already talked to you... And received a directive that the conversation is over once you and your partner(s) converse. Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

Just another example of our poor snow flake society watering down any form of perceived 'unfair' bias. I try not to laugh at HS coaches complaining about signs being stolen... a LL coach complaining? The majority of the good pitchers at 12 have a decent FB and maybe a change or hanging curve but putting the pitch into the glove every time? highly doubtful until you get deep into the tournament. I hope to God the leagues in my area decide not to enact this rule... How am I going to determine if they truly are stealing signs? Ask the catcher every pitch what he is signaling and then poll R2 and if he is right eject him? So many other things to worry about... this is not one of them.

As@maven said many associations are built specific for the area. Where I live in So. Cal our association handles all of Orange County HS Baseball D and only HS Baseball. I could also join the group that handles Los Angeles HS Baseball but I would not see many more games as my availability is what it is. For the off HS season I work for a couple assignors as well... Find out what is set up in your area as well as figure out how far you are willing to travel since that will be a big determiner as to your availability for associations. Sent from my SM-G935P using Tapatalk

@ElkOil, make sure you review the threads about how to measure for them, and determine which size you "knee-d" (ha ha! I crack myself up). And do recall, that if you do need the Large 18" size, @grayhawk has a set he's selling! These truly are the last set of shinguards you will ever buy*. * - Unless the dog chews em up, or you get into a spat with SWMBO and they are confiscated, or etc.

Force3 all day and twice on Sunday....comfortable and you NEVER feel anything. You forget you have them on and you run in them with ease. Extreme low profile, especially with Honig's Poly Wools. i personally will not wear anything else.