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I use a run-of-the-mill Smitty bag and a wood brush. I tend to wrap my hand around the bristles when grabbing the brush. The bristles are inside my hand and don't get caught as much. YMMV. But then maybe it's taking me a long time to clean the plate because I'm holding the bristles end? 🙃

Recent example from this weekend: D2, three-umpire crew, with yours truly as PU. Runners on, can't remember where. Pitch comes inside and short, F2 slides to block, and the ball definitely bounced. I was entirely blocked out, but I was pretty sure I heard a sound that it also hit the batter's foot--but I wasn't going to kill the play on "pretty sure." The ball goes to the very-deep backstop and one run scores and another runner makes it to third. Before anyone can ask, I call time and simply call the crew together--sorta; I just asked each of them from about 45 feet away if they had the ball hitting the foot. Both did, we put the runners back and the batter on first, and no one said a word. By being open about the conversation, there was no drama building to a climactic announcement that took away a run. It also reiterated that just because the one person who didn't see the facts was the person who needed to decide on them, it didn't mean they were incompetent.

PU lets BU know they're coming back, and as soon as nothing can happen at the plate that PU can't pick up, BU heads out. But in the end, I don't think it matters much--if the runner tries anything, it'll likely result in something Ray Charles could call or no play at all.

Brush goes in back pocket and indicator in front pocket. I’ve never used the pockets in the ball bag

@wolfe_man...you have a DM. The factory buckles on this rig are very lighweight. The pitch that broke the buckle came off a lobbed, eepheus special from the arm of a 13 year old. I would recommend rigging it with much stronger aftermarket buckles. Ones with more nylon than plastic would be best. Thank you for the purchase, good luck with the project and let me know how it turns out, please... @Thunderheads...wavin' a hand to you, too brother. Yeah, I had to get some sobriety from this joint. It's good to be back and see some familiar faces. It appears we have a sale here so, please lock up this thread, sir and thank you for offering this marketplace. I'm not sure I could have sold this anywhere else. @MadMax...thanks for offering to help me out with this. I have decided to go with the greatest capitalist solution that seldom fails to solve any problem...large or small. I'm just going to throw an obscene amount of money at the problem. It's how America does it and it's how Dad did it. I spoke with Cookie yesterday and my custom Douglas is under fabrication now. I have also decided I am tired of wearing baseballs to my gut, so I'm going to be selling my West Vest Gold here eventually, too. I just need to figure out an acceptable full-length backup CP to the Douglas...other than a Carlucci. ~Dawg

So if you're in A, that means there's no-one on. PUMP – In 2-man BU terms, that means Pop Up Means Pivot. You should have been coming in, briskly and with attention and purpose to A) not get in the way of an infielder, and B) watch the touch of BR at 1B. That pop-up is not yours. So yes, you messed up. We need to identify how/why you messed up, and it wasn't because you got the call wrong. It was that you didn't perform your role responsibility on that play. Now, with that said, you do have an obligation to get the call right. This isn't the pros, so we (collectively) gotta get past this whole "pecking order", "don't question or correct your partner" crap. In the amateur game, no one – no umpire is infallible. If you definitively saw it hit the ground, even if you're the supporting BU on this play and that catch/no-catch is your PU's responsibility, then it needs to be corrected. Your PU calls Out. BR is likely to run it out, anyway (if he doesn't, and peels off, dejectedly and goes back to dugout, then you rectify it after; you DO NOT call him Out for abandonment!). If he does run it out, and achieve 1B, then simply call "Time", and transparently, matter-of-factly state "[PU's name], (add: "from my angle", if you wish) I had that ball on the ground. It was a no-catch." BR is safely on 1B, you're good to go. A lot of umpires get caught up in the age-old (read: old) protocol that we have to be all hush-hush and get together quietly. I'm going to say this, frankly and boldly... in the amateur game, the more transparent (up front, to both clubs) you are, the less angst, friction, and vitriol is raised against you. Granted, you really gotta be on top of your rules and protocols, but by being transparent, it becomes that much more apparent that you (collectively) are endeavoring to get the call right, not so much in favor of one side versus the other. The pros have a set, defined series of protocols to follow, as well as the benefit (now) of Replay. The amateur game doesn't. Curiously, in the NFHS Rulebook, there is a prescribed, diagrammed mechanic/signal for "I have more information for you." I've never actually used it... but it's there. Respectfully, this scenario is futile to discuss. With R2, you (as BU) are at C. Different position, different angle, different responsibilities on the play for both umpires.

Ejection should always be applied for something done previously. It would not be right to eject someone for something they haven't done yet. If a rule makes ejection automatic for something like this, the umpire might reasonably assume that the coach would know that his player was ejected without make a big show of it.

In my game? I'm going with a foul ball, unless there is something I see which makes me believe this was an altered bat. For all I know, the last pitch the bat hit caused internal damage and made the bat fail. I have no way of knowing if this bat was in use by the last batter, or not at all in the game. I would love to hear the argument a coach tries to make that this is a fair batted ball which now is lodged and deserves an award... I would think it deserves 2 strikes! I'm also going to the mound and shake the pitchers hand to make sure he is not bionic 🙂

YES! For like 5 games after replacing my harness with a UL one I would go to adjust my CP in between pitches just out of habit and it would be stuck in place. It is well worth the money, as is anything Ray puts out.

Here is the relevant high school softball rule--2020 NFHS Softball rule 8. As you describe the play, I would say that rule 8-10-1 Penalty 3 is the rule to apply to your scenario (highlighted in bold italics)-- SECTION 10 DOUBLE FIRST BASE (STATE ASSOCIATION ADOPTION) Art. 1 . . . The defense must use the white portion and the batter-runner the colored portion when a play is being made on the batter-runner. PENALTIES (Art. 1): 1. The batter-runner is out when there is a play being made at first base and the batter-runner touches only the white portion provided the defense appeals prior to the batter-runner returning to touch the white or colored base. 2. The batter-runner is out for interference when there is a force play and the batter-runner touches only the white portion and collides with the fielder about to catch a thrown ball while on the white. See Rule 8-2-5 Penalty. 3. Obstruction is called on the defense when there is a force play on the batter-runner, who touches only the colored portion and collides with the fielder about to catch a thrown ball, while also on the colored portion. See 8-4-3b Penalty. Art. 2 . . .The offense or defense may use either the white or colored portion: a. On any force out attempt from the foul side of first base. b. On an errant throw pulling the defense off the base into foul ground. c. When the defensive player uses the colored portion of the double base, the batter-runner can run in fair territory when the throw is coming from the foul side of first base, and if hit by the thrown ball, it is not interference. If intentional interference is ruled, the runner is out.

Ah, some folks carry 2 bags?! I didn't even consider that either.

Well yeah its Japanese its gonna run forever.... 😆

Oh ball bags I have a wooden brush I love the feel of it in my hand and dont care for the skinniness of the plastic ones I feel I get better pressure to sweep on the wood than the plastic So thus with Smitty XL bags I toss it in under the balls. /shrug takes a little digging out but at my level I am lucky during a reg season game to get 3 balls at the start of a game. Playoffs I push for 4 to 5 but reg season 3 is all I can get

Agree that the Champro Magnesium is a solid, lightweight frame entirely comparable to the Wilson aluminum. I have the silver Wilson aluminum and alternate it often with a black Champro. Added a set of tan Team Wendy pads and think it makes as light and protective a set up as any at this price point.

May I suggest one of these instead? Much cheaper than a Wilson right now, they're magnesium for lightweight and solid build plus you have a color choice. This is a very good deal now that Ump-Attire has them on sale for only $99 each.

You're already using plastic and they're getting caught in the material? Hmmm... I never get mine caught, so maybe my pocket is a bit larger or something. In the Smitty XL's, my plastic plate brush sits perfectly and comes out and goes back in very smoothly without getting hung up in the fabric. I found the thicker wood handles caused my bristles to get stuck, so I started using the plastic brushes and haven't looked back. All I can suggest is maybe try picking it up out of the pocket differently. For me, I mostly lift mine out with my thumb and first index (pointer) finger. I played around with it until I found what worked in my situation, you may have to try that also. As a last resort, maybe trim some of the bristles down that seem to be getting caught the most. I've done that before also.

Before @wolfe_man jumps on it, if I would send you, at no cost to you, a set of side-release buckles that would effectively replace the broken one (and a second one, just in case the other one goes), would you consider it? The replacement process would be very simple and straightforward.

If I were to microanalyze it, here's what I have: 1. The moment the ball touches the bat, it becomes a batted ball and is no longer a pitched ball. 2. Shortly (microseconds) later, the ball is now a lodged ball. 3. Thus, the status of the ball depends on if the ball was lodged over fair or foul territory. a. If over foul territory, the ball is foul. b. If over fair, we have a batted ball lodged--two bases. In practice, I'm leaning towards viewing this as foul in all cases. It would be a hard sell if the bat hit the ball clearly over fair territory.

Lines? you guys have actual lines.. WOW!

Eject him. Kidding. Ignore and live long.

really do not know.. I am pretty sure they are volunteers as well. However it maybe due to the fact they have to decide on whom gets the award? Im guessing at that

Foul ball. Contacted bat second time while batter still in box. All codes. 😄😄

Not physical assault, but we get verbally abused often. Take last night for example, 5-4 game entering into the top of the 5th. Rain was supposed to come in the afternoon, but held off so we've been trying to get this game in (or get at least 5 innings done). Rain starts as HT takes the field in top 5. We keep going, mud is building up as this field doesn't shed rain well. There is no standing water on the field. We keep going... F1 walks a batter. Wild pitch. Ground-out. Rain staying steady, but I've played in much worse. HT pitcher is having trouble consistently throwing strikes and adjusting to weather. I hear grumbling from HT coaches about why we're even playing still. I confer with my partner as I'm already out from behind the plate on the ground-out, he is a much more experienced umpire and we agree to keep going. After full-count, the batter singles to left-center, a run scores and now we have a tie game. Rain appeared to be letting up and clearing by this point, but field is muddy but no water standing anywhere. We hoped to get through the half and then put down diamond dry between innings, but HT really struggling to throw strikes now as he is just off to L or R of plate. The remaining HT fans, players and coaches start ooh-ing and ahh-ing on every close pitch. Another walk on an ugly curve ball that doesn't break, goes 5 feet behind the batter. By this point, HT coaches are loudly griping and the HT fans pick it up. "Why are we even playing?" "Someone is going to get hurt." etc. We were simply trying to get 3 outs and then we would have an official game in with the HT winning if we could not continue. A Dad yells really loudly at me that "this is stupid, we shouldn't even be out here, someone is going to get hurt" I did something I seldom do and talked to the fence (I know, bad idea) and the HT AD immediately addressed the fan. This school is known for very passionate fans in every sport. They had no trouble with playing, until they saw they weren't going to get the outs and a rain-shorted win. Regardless, as I return to the plate (I had spoke to fan as I was walking back) a new wave of rain comes pouring in. It's really coming down now. It's too much to even try to continue now, so we have the teams go to their dugouts. We start to our cars after conferring with coaches that the AD wants VT to go their buses and HT to their personal vehicles (not in dugouts) for safety. We also discussed what the outs, runners, count was so we could keep track as the game was suspended, not over. We're now leaving the field and you have to use a single gate for all fans, coaches, players, umpires, etc. A "lady" comes running up behind us yelling at us that we would have stopped it earlier if it were our son playing. We don't engage and keep going. She cuts between my partner and I and mouths something about us being idiots. My partner stops dead and says "Are you calling me an idiot?" to which she has no desire to continue and walks away. My partners comments about this being why we are losing officials and down 50,000 over the last 10 years across the US. It's not physical abuse, but this type of nonsense from fans is why we're losing people. I do think it is worse since the pandemic. It's almost like people think they have the right to not only feel a certain way, but also have the right to express it to you and that you have to take it. I had another one on Saturday where I called an IFF on a pop-up behind the SS position, towards 2B but just off the grass. Any normal SS would catch that ball, but of course this one boots it. Regardless, IFF says caught by an IF with normal effort, so I have definite IFF. Parents begin griping at me that the ball wasn't even in the infield. How can you call that an IFF? To be fair, this was MS ball which I normally pass up and avoid like the plague, but I was helping a friend out. I've had fans yelling at me a few times this year, mostly feeding off their coaches. I do not play favorites or make up rules. I am humble enough to admit when I'm wrong and realize that I am not an MLB umpire or perfect. I can honestly say the times the people have been the maddest at me this year was when I believe I was completely right, but it didn't go their way. Another one that stands out was a clear OBS on a run-down where F2 didn't get out of the way after doing his part. He stays in the running lane and throws to F5, then R3 turns around and runs right smack into F2. Bang, OBS! The fans and the VT HC lost it. Fans yelling that's two this inning blue, etc. as they disagreed with another judgment call earlier. People are out of control. I don't know the answer, but if they aren't made to comply and show good sportsmanship, then you are going to keep losing officials. We don't make a lot of money here in OH anyhow doing this, so the abuse takes its toll fast. I really enjoy the kids and the game and have a good rapport with most coaches, but the fans make it hard to keep on sometimes. I'm not sure this is what you wanted or not, but the facts are most of us are never going to be punched in the mouth for a bad call. We aren't going to be physically assaulted and quit as a result. What makes us quit, is the never-ending verbal abuse from fans that honestly couldn't pass a rules test if their life depended on it, but yet feel they have a right to criticize and berate officials for any excuse. NOTE: The above is the best of my recollection of the events as they transpired. I am sure I missed something somewhere, but I have tried to portray what I felt was happening at that time. I should not have talked to the fence, but I am not trying to portray anything that did not happen. There are definitely things I learned from this game that I will handle differently in the future, but I am confident that at no time did we attempt to do anything to favor either team or put anyone in harm's way. When we saw the rain was making conditions truly unplayable, we suspended the game. While it was raining, we did feel that the game could have been completed, until the harder rain started to fall. My partner was in C and in near constant communication with the F1 about his ability to pitch in the conditions. I was behind the plate and neither batter nor catcher was in danger of any injury either. When the harder rain started to fall, then we called it for safety reasons. YMMV.

Why are you walking out in front of the plate and turning your back to the runner? Back up behind the plate to watch this play. Once you've seen the runner touch (or not) the plate, you can stop staring at it -- it's not going anywhere.

I don’t know your experience level or anything, but two most important things are 1) knowing the rules and 2) using the rules only when discussing with coaches and partners There is nowhere in any rule book that says “a runner must avoid interfering with the fielding of a batted ball WHEN POSSIBLE”. They must do it, period. If you deemed catcher was most likely to field the ball (and I wasn’t there but truthfully catchers field those 90% of the time) then runner is out. There is no caveat for “if he was stealing” or “his momentum” or “how much time he had to avoid”. You were there, we were not, if you protected pitcher, that’s end of story (except C could theoretically have been guilty of OBS then but he scored anyways) and all you had to say to coach. Dont interject things that aren’t in the rules

To add to the litany of LL horrors, I've noticed that LL fields are more likely to have a short and/or covered backstop and ball wills ricochet back on you vs 90' fields are generally larger and may have no overhang. Also, I find the HSM has larger field of vision which is something I struggled with early on my traditional mask and why I went to HSM.

No, keep the commies out of this. "That's nothing" is preferable because it rules explicitly on the action in question. And, in general, we should avoid telling people what to do if possible: our job is to rule on the action, not to dictate it. If someone doesn't want to play on, that's his prerogative.

Yes. For both a batted and thrown ball, if the coach has time to vacate the space needed by the defense, he must do so. Failure to do so is INT ("teammate" INT). If he does not have time to move, it's nothing. Play the bounce. We should give the safe sign and verbalize, "That's nothing!"

…………..and he probably assisted the defense by getting hit.

My partner was wearing one of these shirts for a Varsity game yesterday... I tried hinting that he might want more collarbone protection but he said he really liked it. It's probably gonna take a broken rib or collarbone for him to change his mind. Scary.

I'll take it. I have extra buckles at home and can repair it or may cannibalize it for parts. DM me your PayPal please. Thanks.