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https://www.ncaa.com/news/baseball/article/2018-08-16/college-baseball-video-review-challenge-system-approved It seemed as though it would only be a matter of time before the IBB and no fake to third would be implemented. The changes on pitchers' positioning is going to be problematic unless there is a universal effort to enforce the new standards. The HBP and runners staying at their bases changes are the most interesting to me. I wonder what the penalty will be for runners leaving their bases during a defensive conference.

What I’m about to say might derail the focus on “the shirt” or “the uniform”, but bear with me please... I’ll knit the topics back together again. It has nothing to do with the specific shirt style or color, or the color of pants, or the way we hem them (sorry @BT_Blue ), or if we wear black, blue, grey or green ball bags (... but why would you?)... it has to do with control and conformity. And, it begins at the association level. There are two things in particular that associations love to do: Stratify their members Determine the group’s uniform And yes, it’s in that order, because how else does the resulting uniform get to be so pedantically defined as some of the examples we see? Right from the commencing phrase, “Let’s start an association”, most founding members immediately start haggling over structure – who’s going to be in charge, who’s going to be associatively in charge, who has seniority, who has “final say” over this, or that, or any number of things. So much effort is invested to avoid “true democracy” because if true democracy existed in the association, then how would anybody get their way, what they want, and their preferences implemented? And, furthermore, if it was a truly democratic association, how could anyone ensure that everyone else acts, behaves, or looks the same? Variety scares some people; and, relative to our topic here, it terrifies some umpires (and other sports officials) especially. I will never argue that your appearance as an umpire is not vitally important – it unequivocally is. But what so many associations do is use it as a tool (then, a weapon) and metric of conformity and stratification. And they always reinforce a directive with, “Well, that’s what the association dictates.” And again, in the absence of true democracy – or even majority / minority polling – the authority to dictate those directives breaks down to that stratification of whatever kind they can find. Seniority, tenure, appointment, etc. A great deal of parallels can be made between the military / law enforcement / firefighter service uniform codes and sports officials (ie. Umpires) uniform codes. When the shooting and shelling starts, does it really matter the particulars of your uniform? No. When there’s a civil crisis happening, does it really matter if that LEO has a navy service blouse on or that LEO has a black service blouse on? Short of having a means of identifying that that person is in fact a LEO, no. How about if a multi-structure, five-alarm blaze breaks out, is a firefighter going to be chastised if they happen to be wearing a FR overcoat with yellow stripes instead of orange stripes? No. In point of fact, firefighting is most similar to umpiring, because if a firefighter doesn’t wear the proper equipment, correctly, then they risk serious injury or death, and make the job of firefighting perilous. So too with umpiring, if you don’t wear the gear you have correctly, you’re making the job perilous for yourself. But far too often, we have “senior” association members putting unfounded emphasis on what brand or color or style of uniform or equipment another member must should wear, instead of mentoring that member on how and why to wear it. This speaks towards a problem that appears throughout society, and will continue to challenge us in the sports officiating community – the perception, respect, and challenge to authority demonstrated between generations. “Because I said so” doesn’t cut it any more. Neither does, “Because we (the association) said so”, really compel today’s generations to compliance. Associations need to get their heads (their leadership, primarily) out of their ass(ociation) and start to foster and develop relationships between their members and the Rules, then the proven practices (mechanics, game management, procedures, etc.) that administer those Rules most effectively. And “proven” does not necessarily mean “time honored tradition”. How I conduct myself as an umpire, how I manage a game’s progression, and how I administer, interpret, and apply the Rules speaks magnitudes of volume more to my performance as an umpire than what color or style shirt I’m wearing. From my own experience, participants and fans alike figure out pretty quick who’s the guy in charge, barring a cohesive crew of equals (of which I have gratefully been a member of many), regardless if I’m wearing MLB 2016 Panel black or pink with polka dots. Rightly so, though, the game participants and fans fear variety and inconsistency of calls and rulings. Unfortunately, the old school of thought (and the one that most associations subscribe to) is that uniformity of uniform connotates uniformity and consistency of calls and rulings to the participants, and demonstrates conformity to the association’s standards. It does not. If you look in the fine print of the NFHS Rulebook, Rule 10.1.9, it states “Umpires shall wear gray slacks, and navy pullover shirt or state association-adopted shirt.” So what difference is to the Fed if the pants are heather or charcoal? What matter is it if the shirt is just a plain navy polo shirt (Nike, UA, Russell Athletic, Rawlings, or heck... LL Bean), a Navy shirt with a single trim stripe of red (which TOC makes, BTW, and looks fabulous), or is the hideously antiquated red-&-white trimmed smock (I say smock because of how some guys wear it)? It isn’t and doesn’t. Fed doesn’t care! ... But the associations care because this is their opportunity to exert control. Heavens forbid that you are evaluated and tested and corrected at several times during the season, to make sure that you’re keeping up with Rules interpretations, that you’re still able to discern a strike, or that you’re not saying “stupid things”! But as long as you conform, and wear the instituted uniform (of that particular year, Ohio)...

The dirt area surrounding home plate is a 26 foot circle, which means the batter has 13 feet from the point of home plate to begin running to first.

I had t Hooks installed so I only had to send the lower plate. It was $32.50 inc shipping. Turned it around ASAP.

yup,... just go to Jeff direct

I just searched the forum and found this! but double check w/ Jeff because prices may have changed

I’m ambivalent about the Sox, but the dodgers have two of my least favorite players in Puig and Machado (not helped by his... questionable plays on the bases this post season), so go Sox I guess. I was really hoping that the brewers, AKA the Royals of last year, would make it. I agree that it’s a super boring matchup.

In the 2017-18 NCAA rule book, it is spelled out in rule 7-1d-1 Exceptions: d. Batter’s-Box Rule. This rule is designed to speed up play by controlling the actions of the batter between pitches. 1) The batter must keep at least one foot in the batter’s box throughout the time at bat. Exceptions—A batter may leave the batter’s box but not the dirt area surrounding home plate when…: In the 2016 BRD, Carl Childress writes, “A high school batter who legally leaves the box may go onto the grass. A college batter must stay on the dirt except in two instances: a substitution occurs or time is granted for an offensive or defensive conference.” So far, I cannot find a second corroborating play or rule for his statement about the high school batter being able to leave the box and go as far as the grass. But the whole point of the batter’s box rule in all three codes is pace of play. I do not think it was meant that a batter can run 90 feet or more from the box between pitches. How about you? Don’t you think a batter would slow the game down if he was allowed to run the bases whenever he felt like it?

Every time I see that clip and he falls to his back right as he catches the ball, my heart is in my throat! Even though I know he catches it. This is the first World Series I am not excited about since before 2010. Obviously I have to root against the Dodgers. But I feel all "Crying Game" having to root for the Red Sox.

Or, just get a Champro, load it with TW pads and a Wilson harness. Oh, and what's with the sports bra on the All Star?

Apparently not. This is pretty basic, even for rec ball.

Reading through this thread, I'd started to worry that I'd screwed up by getting the smitty ball bags that match my pants... This gives me a little hope I like the way it looks, but would it be looked down on by evaluators?

My brother, to this day, has not seen Pablo Sandoval catch the pop fly to end the series... Stormed out of the room as soon as the ball was hit. At least we got the championship the next year!... And it looks like it could be another 30 years till we do it again.

The MLBUM also allows the umpire to judge that a batter "lingering" in the dirt circle has shown no effort to run to 1B and can be called out.

Kind of sort of - this rule had already once before, in 1975, been protested and ruled the same way by the same AL president (in the first case the league sided with the umpires, who let the home run stand) - so though the rule book hadn't been updated in that time, the precedent had been set.

Blasphemy. Besides, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The FM4000's planform is born out of research by All-Star, undertaken on their own, aimed at designing a mask that was strong, resistant to (most) deformation by transferring load outward, reducing the amount of flat surfaces presented to a ball. Through CAD work, they arrived at a pyramidal -shaped cage, curved along an arc. The utilized this cage in what became their signature HSM, the MVP2500 / 4000. Going further, they expanded it into a TM, with the mask shaped almost as a true half-sphere, but also curved around the face so as to increase pad contact and effectiveness. Lots of design and science here. While All-Star introduced the FM4000 in a hollow steel model, it was what they did "behind the curtain" during the next five years that really makes them stand out amongst their peers. Of the various materials that could be employed for a mask, magnesium had always been intriguing – supremely lightweight, incredibly stiff and resistant to deformation (bending). Its limitation, though, was one of cost (understandable) and bonding – magnesium is not welded together, but instead is cemented (or, more like glued). Welds are more desirable than glue joints because the bond is homogenous, and thus, easier and less costly to do en masse. Cement or glue bonding becomes more costly because you have to introduce another substance, control the amount, allow it to set and cure, and then quality control check it to make sure it held. Magnesium becomes much more attractive when you can eliminate all joints and bonds, and the magnesium alloy part is die cast. So, All-Star worked out how to die cast molten magnesium alloy into their strongest mask geometry (planform). The resulting FM4000MAG mask is incredibly light. And, because it is magnesium (alloy) it will never bend or break. There aren't any welds or bond joints to pop, either. The mask is one piece, injection-molded, homogenous magnesium. Now, this extreme light-weight-ness comes at a single price – like titanium, there is such little mass and density, the mask will instantly transfer compressive energy (impact force) to the next thing adjacent to it, in this case, the pads. It is absolutely crucial that high-density (Team Wendys at least) or high-volume pads are used. One of the first professional catchers to use the FM4000MAG, Jonathan Lucroy, identified that the pads needed to be thicker (greater volume), and could benefit from having a pressure plate. As such, the latest version of LUC-4K pads have a hard plastic plate as their foundation, which makes contact with the mask bars. Then, the pads' volume is greatly increased. When any force impacts the mask at a localized spot, the entire plate is engaged and the force distributed throughout the entirety of the pad. While the chin pad received this treatment, the forehead pad did not. Why would it? Catchers wear a helmet with their mask, do they not? This helps to absorb and dissipate most of that energy. Who would wear just a common hat? Huh.

When this happens, please post the video. I will enjoy watching the OHC come unglued, being ejected and the PU grabbing the stankiest end of any stick ever.

Interspaced. The defense needs to know the situation.

I love this. Finally a definitive no-nonsense, common sense way to call this play.

I once was told by an evaluator that I didnt make a college group "because my pants weren't cut long enough." I later found out there just wasnt room on the roster. It took another 3 years to get in.

Yeah, it shocks me. I’ve heard some pretty intricate rules disscussions... really shook my faith in my rules knowledge until I looked it up.