Leaderboard

IMHO this is an underappreciated quality of the Enduro. With both my previous CPs (Champro then AS Cobalt) I would have to pull them up regardless of how I had the straps, because they'd slide down (I swear I nearly broke my collarbone one year, but that's a different thread for a different day). The Enduro has no such issue in my experience.

I had the opportunity to work a HS game at Busch Stadium yesterday. 3-umpire crew. It amazed me how big the field felt and how small the stadium looked from the field. I started the game on third, but we swapped after 4 innings, and I went over to first. First play was a BANGER . . . they showed it up on the scoreboard . . . It was my day. Home team up to bat, down 1. R1. Batter hits it to left field and the left fielder misplays it. We are off to the races. PU rotates up, and I rotate to home expecting this to die at third base. It always dies at third base. There is a reason this is the Holy Grail. It never happens. Roundin' third and headed for home . . . no idea what color his eyes were . . . but here he comes. Ball firing in, head first slide . . . and I get the BIG SAFE call on the play at the plate for the winning run. And yes, I did it. The plate was already dirty, so why not. I think I should retire now.

There’s a confession – by the industry – to make on the Adams XV. The orange foam on that one? It wasn’t D3O. 😲 Yes, the Schutt XV was true-blue (err, orange), genuine D3O. Schutt was able to employ it on the XV, at a relatively scandalous price point (≈ $89), because they had sourced it from D3O for their football helmets and high-end shoulder pads. Schutt has had a terse, toxic rivalry with market-competitor Riddell, and has lost several lawsuits between the two. This put Schutt in a precarious position in 2018, when they were acquired by a private equity holding company. The PE firm restructured them, and their assets, and split their departments up (ie. sports). Officiating gear was relegated to the Adams sub-brand. As a consequence, Schutt lost its relationship with D3O, and their Adams gear could not use it. So, starting in 2018/19, the Adams XV’s were equipped with a generic EVA foam, dyed orange. Here’s where I need to disclose a secret, and confess – I didn’t use it. When my original Schutt XV plates gave out (cracked) in 2019, I was given a “new” set of plates from an Adams XV, sans the foam jacket, and transplanted my genuine D3O foam vest to them. To its credit, that D3O has lasted 10 years of near-constant use, primarily in SW-USA environments, and in MLB velocities. Not. A. Hiccup. So we’ve disclosed, the Adams XV is not real, genuine D3O. Only a Schutt XV from 2015 (debut) to 2018 has it. But even then, the D3O being used on the Schutt is not the same D3O on Davis gear today. It has evolved, of course. Same “mechanics”, but it has certainly improved. One of the big telling points, as you’ve noticed, is pliability. It’s less springy, more… spongy. More like putty than trampoline. That allows it to conform to the user’s shape more/better than simply sitting atop it. Someone a page back mentioned heat-bending the plates, and the XV wasn’t particularly good at it. Like its football pad cousins, the XV’s plates were primarily cast in ABS, but with a twist – because they shared the same molds as shoulder-pad plates, Schutt had “perfected” their shape to be as low profile, curved, and thin as possible, and likely optimized the recipe with a hardener so the resulting plate held its shape instead of creeping (flattening out). That, or they might have used polycarbonate (which is used for football helmets), which would explain the high-shine gloss finish on a brand-new XV. Note that Douglas, Wilson, Champro, Champion, and pre-Cobalt All-Star CPs all were… semi-gloss… more like satin. Telltale ABS (without an additional lacquer or finishing spray). Point is, polycarbonate is a b!+€h to heat-shape. I know… it took me many, many hours to shape my original XV, cycling between a heat gun and a freezer. Yup, the freezer. However, the +POS Cobra, the All-Star Cobalt, and now Davis DX-family CPs use HDPE (high density polyethylene), which while more expensive, retains its shape better with less material required.

Agreed. Intent not required to call interference by a retired runner. Get two here.

FWIW - my understanding is that a Batter or B-R can be protected from interference when he accidentally contacts a misplayed pitch. In the OP he is not a B-R, rather a retired player and therefore does not enjoy any protections from being called for interference. Grab both outs.

Tell me you are over the age of 55 without telling me...................

THIS. UN-intentional is (among myriad scenarios) the ball bouncing up and off the bat again. A tantrum (no matter how docile or unruly) is laden with intent.

My game on Saturday was in the 50's and tonights was 40's, so I know what you mean. I've had no issues with the Cloud pads or the Enduro's D3O foam at those temps. Your body heat also helps to bring those temps up. I used to wear the Schutt/Adams with D3O foam also in cold weather games with no negative impacts. YMMV

If he 3b now R3 doesn't have to run ,force removed.

Is that more an aspect of the CP, the harness, or of properly dialing your gear in? I give the Cobalt top marks in that regard. Mine never moves. I'm really wanting to try the Enduro, but I can't justify the want. (Although I worked with a guy this weekend who should have better gear -- yeah, Champro bro. He said he is going to finally buy some new gear after the HS season. I debated using that as my "I'll buy it and try it, and you can buy the other one off of me" move. That was how I tried and moved a Force3 that I didn't end up liking.)

Well, I couldn't resist. I ordered it yesterday 😅 can't wait for it to arrive and try it out in actual games. The Cobalt willstay as a backup though.

I like my Adams XV a lot. It fits well after I modified it extensively. The D30, besides adjusting the throat portion (velcro so simple), fit well and felt good out of the box. After tightening the harness, and then tightening it some more, it fits like a properly broken in glove.

Seems to me the test question has equated the scenario* with the retired batter inadvertently kicking a loose ball. * the subsequent to the offer at the pitch "golf swing" that inadvertently (but not intentionally) impedes F2

Pedantic semantic alert. Intent is not required to call interference by a retired runner unless he is continuing to run the bases normally. But our batter isn't a retired runner. He is a retired batter who is now a teammate.

Well everything has been largely uneventful so far...until yesterday where I took my first serious foul ball to the mask! I'm fine, seemingly not concussed...but my glasses split perfectly in two right at the bridge of the nose! Thankfully it came with two outs in the bottom of the seventh in a 5-run game where I just needed to squint my way through about five more pitches but yeah, can't say I expected that as an outcome for a foul ball to the mask.

That's fair. But "dialing in" the Enduro felt more permanent and straight forward. Full disclosure, my AS Cobalt is still my backup. I like it. I like the Enduro more.

If I may ask... Why? There is some good pieces of information out there. To you, what is the difference between those platforms and platforms like this?

I don't think 5-1-1b applies because the batter had already completed his time at bat, so he is no longer a batter.

So I posted a question/concern about the temperature range capabilities that Derek was kind enough to provide a thoughtful answer to. Have since used the DX30 in multiple high school games in the (alleged) low 50s with wind chill and took a couple of solid hits to the foam and with no issues. Very happy since it's incredibly comfortable to wear. I kept it inside the truck cab instead of the bed to be sure to keep warm just in case. And of course its in the 40s today. Sheesh.

Went from an All-Star Mag to a Davis Trace Hollow Carbon Steel with Tango2 Pads (the LUC pads and my face do not like each other very much). And today, I upgraded to the Cloud4 pads and switched my UMPLIFE harness from the Mag to the Trace.

Starting with the slow mo of the call at 3:12, I interpret U1 right hand pushing across his body and head movements as "no, he's away". Then at 3:20 U1 right hand fisted and gesturing to the bag is saying "you didn't even try a tag"

Play by play is a Balk. I had a humorous discussion with Brennan on Refmasters about my opinion of an attempt to put out in the two previous balks. I came to the conclusion that if the deke succeeds it's not a balk but if they don't get the out it's a balk. My takeaway from Jim Evan's balk video might not be current in MLB today. Basically if you thought there was a play on it was not a balk.

I haven't submitted it yet. It's a weekly quiz our state sends out. I'm running a streak of perfect 5/5 weeks and am struggling with whether I give in and select the BS answer they want, or how it should actually be called. And by "actually" I mean "I say so." 😋 I suspect they want "A" because it states he "accidentally" hit the ball. (Sorry, golf swinging the bat near the ball is not "accidentally" hitting it. Golf swinging the bat near the ball is what is preventing the catcher from grabbing the ball, not hitting it.)

I moved from the Adams (Schutt) XV to the Davis D3O this season. Over the weekend, I took my worst shot of the year: a tipped ~80mph fastball right over the catcher and into my right pectoral. POP! "Ooooohs" from the stands; "Walk it out, walk it out to the mound.." from the defensive head coach to his F2. Me: "I'm fine, let's play." F2: "That sounded VERY bad!" Me: "It's pro level gear. That's why I spend $250 on a protector." I literally felt nothing but a shove. No pain, no aftereffects. To be fair, the Adams XV was always great in this regard, too. However, the Davis is pliable. It hugs your torso and lays tight to the body at every point. No jostling or rigid plates rubbing uncomfortably when you're sprinting out on a rotation.

I took my first glancing blow in my Enduro on Saturday. Varsity ball, batter fouled one back off my arm/shoulder guard - I didn't feel a thing beyond the impact! CP fits great, is aerated for cooling, is comfortable to wear and protective. Everything that one could ask for in a great CP!

I haven’t been here in a while . Just saying hello…

Garbage!

So there I was... ...working the bases at a JuCo game (NCAA rule book). R1, outs don't matter. The pitcher altered his delivery by stopping his free foot during the "kick," but -- this is important -- HE KEPT HIS HANDS MOVING and never did a "double set." The batting team's head coach went ballistic. "THAT'S A BALK! BLUE! BLUE! THAT'S A BALK!" I ignored him and continued to umpire. He kept going as if I didn't hear him, confidently and wrongly exclaiming: "He can't alter his delivery for the purpose of deceiving the runner. That's what the rule book says...VER-BA-TIM!!!!"