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Yeah, not AI. I can distinguish between the two. 😝

No they are not but stock isn't great. In navy, some sizes are showing as discontinued or not being produced at the time though. If you want me to check something specific just let me know.

I'm not going to say it's my favorite call to make, but I feel like I've been less prone to kick it when I'm in regular B (further from the tag.) That's not to say that I can see all the minute details better from far away, but I feel like I make the "accepted" or "expected" call more often from back there. I saw the same piece of advice in two places yesterday (in @grayhawk's reply and, by chance, in a Jim Evans book) that I don't recall seeing before: watching the glove of the fielder during the play. I would say that, by default, I soft-focus on the side of the base facing 1B and just kind of "absorb" the sequence of the runner's slide vs the applied tag. That may be a source of my discomfort from Deep B: I can't really see that same point of reference with the runner on the ground. I'm going to intentionally focus on the glove in my next few games and see how I feel about it. I recall having a similar uncertain/uneasy "exploded on" feeling during my first umpiring season for banger calls on BR at 1B. Someone, somewhere, suggested that I visually focus on BR's feet (while listening for the pop of mitt) as he approached the base, and that was a cue that got me squared away immediately. Prior to that, I had been doing a form of what I presently do at 2B: focusing my gaze on the base, then trying to judge if I saw a foot touch or heard the mitt pop first. As a relative newcomer, I would say that this specific topic remains the most uncovered & untaught aspect of umpiring mechanics: the actual mechanics of eye discipline. I can't help but believe that the most consistent umpires have developed a specific technique (although it may be subconscious) that helps them get it right more often. Just being in the right spot (angle and distance) isn't the only recipe for a good call. You have to have a mental approach on WHAT to watch and when. If I could encourage veteran officials on one training topic, it would be to contemplate & then communicate to the rest of us exactly how you are controlling your eyes during any given play.

Honestly, there aren't a ton except for 550 alternatives like the PTS65. All the other options in their Surge style fabric is going to be mostly adjustable or snapback. For 530 black I show 6 3/4, 7 1/2 and 7 3/4 are either not being produced or are discontinued. For 540 black I show 7 1/2 and 8 are either not being produced or are discontinued. For 550 black I show 7 1/4, 7 3/8 and 7 3/4 are either not being produced or are discontinued. Other then that, stock for 530 and 540 isn't terrible on most sizes. Not necessarily, there are a ton middleman wholesalers.

Let me ask you this question. Do you struggle with the play when working the 2 umpire system?

yep. (coaches only care about winning) just like in business, and those are the ones we are suppose to look up to (or we are the dweebs/losers on the outside looking in) winning isn't everything, it's the only thing. and i see the old pictures of winners not losers in the day wearing suits and ties with crew cuts. now look at what winners wear, dress down Fridays, no jacket and tie, even the old at least a button down shirt gone,, are you kidding me mcenroe, and now the untuck it look, shirt and the length of their hair, (that doesn't mean everyone 100%) either. and of course its still the winners, not the losers, who get to call all the shots in life. but baseball, it has stood the test of time (james earl jones speech here).

If we all looked like that in navy, we wouldn't have as big of a problem with it.

Brother @orangebird, there are three types of plays for an umpire on a baseball field. There are plays that you have seen and executed. There are plays that you are aware of as a possibility that you have not yet seen and executed. This rotation play that you mentioned here is a CAT-2 for most newer umpires. I average SEEING this play and having to rotate about once per season over the course of about 190-ish 2-man games. I have only ever had to make the play on the plate as U1 one time. Statistically, none of this is anyone's concern. The question is...do you AND your partner KNOW exactly what to do on this play? Have you fully pre-gamed this? Because here's the concern with this rotation...and it's an enormous concern. This is potentially a scoring play. You might have an inside the park home run here...or even an attempt. The Game cannot have a play at the plate with no umpire...cannot have that. The keys are...knowing the 4 trouble balls you go out on from A in 2-man. Ball down the line, ball to the fence, converging fielders AND OR (and this is the tough one) ball below the waist. As the ball is hit, open up so your shoulders are parallel to the foul line and stay in A. Pause, read, and react...if you have a trouble ball, go out. Right fielder running to the foul line? That's a ball down the line. Ball in the gap that's bounding/rolling with velocity? Ball to the fence. Converging fielders IN THE OUTFIELD (which could be any combination of CF, RF, 2nd-baseman and or 1st baseman)? And finally, fielder running in the outfield with his glove out face up? Ball below the waist. When you go out, call your partner's name, tell him you are going out and point to the ball. From there, it's very easy...once you have that ball down fair AND no spectator interference? Get in foul territory and then get to the plate and tell your partner, "[NAME], I have the plate!" Do not say that until you are in position to make a call. Finally, be ready to adjust your wedge positioning as the catcher moves AND be ready for a possible run down if the batter/runner is pickled between 3B and home plate. Plate, read your partner. Yes, he should tell you he is going out but read your partner. If he slashes in, he has the batter/runner and the touch at 1B and you have the baseball. If he turns his back to you and goes out, you need to be on your horse and moving into the infield. You now have the batter/runner and their touches all the way around to all 4 bases unless U1 gets to the plate and tells you they have the plate. If you do not hear them say they have the plate, you take them all the way to the plate, if necessary. Once U1 has the plate, you can whoa up at 3B and lock down that end for a possible rundown and or pickoff play. As always, both umpires should also be looking out for obstruction, interference and or malicious contact. Both umpires...KNOW who the speedsters are on each team. You don't have to write them down but, pay attention so you know who might be a threat on an AB with no runners on. Generally, your leadoff hitters are leadoff hitters because they have some wheels and are looking to take extra bases. There may be others, too. And U1 watch your route into 3B. Most batter/runners are looking for a triple on a ball hit to RF or down the RF line, especially if it's deep in the corner. U1 wants to avoid being in the throwing lane from RF to 3B so be mindful of the vector where the ball is retrieved in the outfield and the vector where that throw into 3B is coming from. Take peaks when you can but, don't lose sight of your base touches and or interference or obstruction. Oh...the CAT-3? Those are the plays that you never imagined were possible or could happen but, you have now experienced. Remember our priorities...fair/foul, catch/no-catch, plays with the ball and plays without the ball. Stay chest to ball and let the ball take you to play. Don't guess where the play is going. Hustle at all times to get angle and then close distance. Being in the right place is half the battle. See each play fully to its conclusion and execute proper timing with sharp, decisive mechanics. If we stick with our fundamentals, they help us on the unusual or irregular play or the CAT-3 we haven't seen before. ~Dawg P.S. This rotation, if executed properly, is a rock star play for the umpires whether there's a play at the plate or not. Once the dust is settled and you have R3, an out or a run, you will hear the tell-tale line you got it right because a fan will say something like, "WOW! Did you see the umpires on that play?!?! How did they know to do that?!?!" And whatever else has happened or will happen for the rest of that game, that's a great feeling to be on a crew that nails that rotation.

If I may interject... (cue Peter Falk) There is something crucial to point out regarding the entire DX -family of chest protectors (and, this is likely something that will project further into forthcoming shinguards as well). All of the "plastic plates" that comprise the carapace of the Davis DX protectors are HDPE. High Density Polyethylene. What's the alternative? ABS. Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene. Other than the +POS Cobra and the All-Star Cobalt, everybody else uses ABS. Here's why, straight from the... "not a real" AI horse's mouth → ABS is used so much because it's cheap. Not only is it heavier, but it doesn't hold to a cast shape as well as HDPE. ABS is desirable for its impact resistance, surely, but what the professional sports are starting to recognize, is that the added weight (mass) brings with it more strain on the body. It's a double-whammy with... particular manufacturers who produce entire runs in ABS (as cheaply as possible), and then ship them over crammed into a crate/box to maximize quantity per container, then distribute them to wholesalers or retailers where they sit on a shelf, flat, then are sold to us, flat, whereupon we stick them in our trunk, or gear bag, and pile everything on top of them... again, flat. No wonder it has all the contouring of a brick wall when we put it on! By contrast, by using HDPE, not only are Davis (and All-Star) CPs lighter, but they also can achieve lower-profile shapes, and hold that shape better and much, much longer. The entire DX family is based off one (set of) shape(s). Instead of cultivating 3-4 entirely different CP designs at one time (as many other manufacturers do), that do not share parts or fastening methods, once you wear one DX, they all feel virtually the same. The difference comes in the pad vest (and rightly so). And while D3O is so vigorously promoted (by me especially), it's for the specific, proven reason that it is hydrophobic – it sheds water (near-)instantly. Why would you want to lug around all that extra sweat moisture when you don't need to?? The Crosslink foam that @DerekGDS sourced has equivalent characteristics, just lacks the proven pedigree. ... and it isn't orange. 😎