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Today I learned that some masochist/sadist put together a 10U travel ball league that included balks.

Hey everybody 👋🏼, @834k3r’s son’s HS baseball ⚾️ team won its class’s Idaho State Championship!! Emphatic congratulations to the young man, his teammates, and Beaks’ family!!

Nice review! My two cents: For the All-Star if you find it slipping I recommend getting another set of pads and mixing two sizes. I'm a 7-3/8 and in theory the large should fit me, but the large slips, but the medium is too tight. M/L mixture is PERFECT for me. As for the looks, no, it doesn't look great, but I think the padding is the best of any other option, so I'll take (perceived anyway) improved protection and comfort (again, my perception) over looks. I don't notice the weight or have venting problems with the UmpLife harness (I did have them with the DeltaFlex, because that harness is designed for catchers, so when you wear the mask forwards the DF covers the vent holes - that's not an issue with the UL, but overall I do like the DF harness better because I think it slips less.) I'm pretty certain the shell of the AS is the same size no matter what padding you get. Mentioning that only because this issue was mentioned on the Rawlings. I'd REALLY love if Gerry Davis and/or @MadMax come out with a true UMPIRE skull cap - with great padding made for umps, but until I can consider that option I'm sticking with the All-Star and recommending it to all my partners. Overall what I love to see, no matter which one, is so many of us using skull caps now!

One of the things I teach to new umpires working the plate in 2-man. With no one on and a fly ball to the outfield, you have 2 possible responsibilities and neither one of them involve the PU staying at the plate. Just bust out and start moving. Once you are 5-10 steps into the infield, glance at your partner. If he/she went out, keep moving towards second to take the B/R. If he/she came in, keep moving as far out as you can to be set for the catch/no catch. If you wait at the plate to see what your partner decides, you are already too late to cover your responsibilities. I'm not sure what type of training your association offers, but what you are looking for is something an association should be providing. In Indiana, the state allows for only 1 official 'controlled" scrimmage (between 2 schools) during the last week of preseason where teams usually will work specific conditions. Our association also works with local schools to work intra-squad scrimmages and work with live pitching in cages. We have also gotten permission the past 2 years to run special scrimmages for training with our new umpires.

Disclaimer….there are a lot of opinions and personal feel here 😊 All Star Cobalt: The short brim fits with every mask on the market, so you don’t get the “direct bridge from mask to skull” effect. (If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, there’s an article floating around somewhere that talks about bill length being one of the biggest overlooked safety factors with skull caps.) The shell itself feels DURABLE. Solid. Not flimsy at all. Unfortunately, that also makes it super heavy. I think it’s around 16 ounces or so — several ounces heavier than the Easton, which I already thought was too heavy. “Oh but I’m tough and it doesn’t bother me.” Ok, I’m not. Try a lighter one and you’ll know what I’m talking about after 4 tournament games in 100* heat. Ventilation…..what ventilation? It doesn’t vent at all. It’s hot, and heavy. The padding is probably the best stock padding on any of these. Between this and the Easton, they’re the most comfortable internally. However, it does not hold the skull cap in place very well. The shape is almost like a cone — it just gradually opens outward from the top until the bottom edge. Some of the others have more of a long flat section so they sit on your head more like a cylinder, if that makes sense. This one moves around the most for me. I personally think this one looks stupid, and you can’t convince me it’s SO much safer than the others that I need to look like a dingus wearing it. Did I mention it’s hot and heavy? Jadekylin Skull Cap: This one looks the most like a regular hat, but the bill is WAY too long for probably any mask. Again, no scientific evidence here — just my experience with the All Star MAG and GD Mirage. If it’s too long for the GD Mirage, it’s probably too long for most others. The padding is pretty stiff, but not terrible if you get the right size. I’d wear this one if I had to wear a hardhat in the field for some reason. Rawlings Coolflo: These tend to fit “longer,” but not wider. Specifically with the All Star MAG- I originally thought the bill length was fine with the All Star MAG because I had taken several foul balls and never noticed the mask pushing back into the bill. Then I took one last year that literally left a line on my forehead where the skull cap got driven into my head. After that, I swapped back to the Easton for the rest of the season. One interesting thing: if you order different sizes, the actual shell size is exactly the same. The only difference is the amount/thickness of the padding inside. A Large measures the same inside length and width as a Small — the Large just has thinner padding. I assume this is probably indicative of other brands to save cost on mass producing many skull caps at once, but this is the only one that I actually measured before selling the others. To help the fit issue, I bought a set of Easton replacement batting helmet pads (NOT the actual Easton skull cap pads — and if anyone finds those, let me know because I’d LOVE them). I used one of the long oval pads in the back of the Rawlings to push my head slightly farther forward. I tried putting extra padding in the front for additional forehead protection, but it pushed the skull cap too far off my face and made the mask feel like it was floating out in front of me. Moving the padding to the back fixed that. I also hated the pleather pad feel on my forehead, so I added some bike helmet sweat-strip pads to the front. That helped with sweat dripping into my eyes and got rid of the pleather feeling on my forehead. This skull cap is actually lighter than both the All Star and the Easton, so I was eager to go back to it once I got the GD Mirage. It’s what I currently use. EvoShield: First problem: the bill was WAY too long. I actually had one of our maintenance guys mill it down a bit just to see if I could make myself like it…nope. I also hated the gloss finish, so this thing was fighting an uphill battle from the start. That said, I do think it was the lightest overall. If they made this in matte and shortened/shaped the bill a bit, I actually think it could be a decent skully. But that was never going to happen for me. The padding was similar to the Jadekylin — if you order the wrong size, you’re basically screwed. There isn’t a lot of forgiveness in the fit. If you’re within about a quarter hat size, you’re probably okay. But if it’s too tight, it’s REALLY too tight. Easton: I wore this one for a few years before switching to the Rawlings. The shorter bill worked well with the All Star MAG. The inside padding has a nice moisture-wicking layer around it and is SUPER comfortable. Very soft padding. Unlike the All Star though, this one actually stays in place well because the padding has more “give” and wraps your head better. Honestly, I’d love to somehow transplant this padding setup into the Rawlings shell. The two issues that eventually pushed me away from it were pretty significant: It’s heavy. Slightly lighter than the All Star, but still heavy. It’s HOT. It vents better than the All Star, but nowhere near as well as the Rawlings or some of the lighter options. A non-issue-issue….the forehead is raised higher than I’d like it to be, so I feel like it makes me look like a Brachiosaurus, or something. Personally, with the addition of the little padding, I like the Rawlings much more than any of the other options.

I prefer to put the inexperienced guy at 1st. 1. U1 only comes in for R2. Let the new guy get comfortable with the system with the least amount of bouncing back and forth to the inside. 2. U1 (at least how I pregame it) makes the initial decision to go out for a shot to center, so R3 needs to be able to key off of that decision. I would rather the inexperienced guy makes a decision they are used to from 2-man. An experienced U3 can make the adjustment. 3. With no-one on, a good U3 can push back on U1 trying to come in and take the BR to second by mistake. 4. U1 has a little more time to recognize the rotation and get down to the plate. Or U3 can remind him with enough time to get there. While being on the plate is much closer to 2-man, I think an inexperienced guy gets a better feel for how the 3-man system runs as U1 because they aren't having to also deal with balls and strikes, lineups, substitutions, and all the other game management the plate deals with. This is especially true if the reason you are running 3-man is because it is now HS postseason and the pressure has gone up.

If there was ever a picture of throwing raw meat into a pond full of piranhas, stating that the frames are going on sale would be it around here.

After many years, I am honored and humbled to have been chosen as the plate umpire and crew chief for the Class 4A Oregon Baseball State Final game to be held on Saturday June 6. I would like to state that even though I am a rare poster on this site, the knowledge that I have learned from all of the members here have helped me achieve this goal. Special shout out to Warren for starting this site many years ago to fill a void in our umpire’s community.

Speaking just for younger/rec level, when a Manager comes towards me after a call my partner made I make eye contact and give a small point (literally, I point) them to my partner. They almost always know they should not be coming to the other umpire. I also am proud of how the youth I’ve worked with will stand their ground when appropriate. Managers who think they can bully kids into deferring to an umpire that was 100ft away on a banger are ridiculous.

Charlie Ramos appears to have heeded your advice. Cool seeing some Davis stuff at the MLB level (other than those patent leather plate shoes 20 years ago)

... And it's a 3-man crew?? ... And there's a kid out-of-uniform (green T-shirt and shorts) prominently amongst the congratulatory Smash Group?? I can see why PU "took it" it went over the fence between the LFFP and F7 running that way. However, U1 wouldn't / shouldn't be slashing in. The rotation should have been PU continues down the 3BL to 3B, judging F/F (Fair) and HR. Stay at 3B for both R1 and BR. U1 would / should then watch touch at 1B by BR and "ROTATE!" down to Home to replace PU and watch touches of Home by R1 ... who... dis... a... pearred...

USA Softball tournament, early in my career (so I was a bit of a greenhorn redass). Pretty much the situation you describe, but first, a quick prologue. These tournaments are quality tournaments run by a joint venture of a local organization and the park district. Facility staff are all regulars and work these things all summer. As I am approaching the gate and wheeling in my gear for the day, HC BigPants is harassing the little old ladies working the gate about wanting them to let his parents in without paying or him not having his pass or some of his usual BS. I nod a sympathetic nod to them on my way in. During a morning game, while I am PU, HC BigPants presents as the HC at the plate meeting. In the middle innings, he decides he is going to start taking phone calls while coaching third base. I call time, take out my lineup card and walk down to discretely talk to him. I tell him he needs to take that off the field. He says "Yeah, yeah." I walk back and look up, and he is back on the phone. We are playing this game. "Coach, take it off the field!" "I need to deal with . . . " "I don't care coach. You can't have electronics on the field and I don't need you taking a line drive." "Do you know how much money I spend at this tournament?" "I don't care. You are going to have plenty of time to take calls if I have to remove you from the game." He relents, bitching and complaining the whole way. Fast forward to a late afternoon game with one of the several HC BigPants teams. The head coach presented to us at the plate meeting is a young female. Mid-innings with BigPants' BigBallers on defense. I have a whacker at second base, calling the BR safe as she stretched a single into a double on a lazy play by the outfield. Crowd is screaming and yelling. Here comes HCBigPants on the field. I assume he is headed to his pitcher, but he keeps coming to me. He starts very loudly with, "How can you . . . " I cut him off. "Who are you?" I don't think he even remembers our interaction earlier in the day. "I'm the head coach and . . . " I cut him off again. "No, sir. SHE is the head coach," and I point to the coach who came to the plate meeting. "I'm the one who writes the checks and I had to coach another team so she was just . . . " "And you were not at the plate meeting, so you are an assistant coach for this game. You cannot be out here." "You don't know how much money I spend at this . . . " And I launched him. The TD was already watching and had to get him off the field. I became the stuff of legends (for the next two days). The little old ladies at the gate heard about it. They brought me donuts the next morning. One of them told me, "I hate that @$$#0!3. Thank you for kicking him out, somebody should have done it a long time ago." So, no, tournaments don't make it confusing. They make it very clear. The person who comes to the plate meeting with the line up card is the head coach. We don't care what your org chart looks like.

I ejected a batter for throwing his bat during a tournament. I did nothing the first time, The second time, it appeared he was throwing his bat to gain momentum running to first base. I then warned the coach if the batter threw his bat again, he would be ejected. He did throw it again and he was ejected. Nobody complained. If his coach took exception to the call, I would have used that old standby, "for safety reasons."

When a call is reversed, the umpire makes it right. Score both runs.

Just got the Davis Memorial Day sale email…looks pretty good!

Coach: Can I appeal that? Option one: "Coach, you aren't that appealing. No." Option two: "After review, the call on the field stands. Coach has no more remaining challenges." Building on @wolfe_man and @beerguy55's comments . . . If you are the correct umpire for them to go to, make them explain WHY they want you to go to your partner. Step 1: Coach, what did you see? Step 2: What elements do you think I missed? Step 3: Why do you think I missed it? These are viable questions that can have reasonable answers. We all know it is difficult to see a pulled foot from C (particularly on softball or small fields where you work outside). Since we all know that one, there is no reason to shut a coach down on that one, but we still need to make them vocalize it. Coach could say, "I saw the tag miss the runner. Given your position, I think you were straight-lined and it looked like a missed tag when it wasn't. Could you ask for another set of eyes on that?" If there is no reason to grant the request, be clear in your answer. "Coach, I had a good angle and was right on top of it. My partner was all the way over there, so I'm keeping this one." Unless the coach is a total D, I have started leaving those conversations with "That's one I'd like to see on replay, too. I'm pretty sure I got it, but I'd like to know." This opens that door to let them know we WANT to get it and we aren't just being stubbornly argumentative. Yes, you have to be careful with that. Don't use it with a coach you don't know or one who is just looking for ways to get under your skin.

Here is the article from Jim Kirk: https://www.ump-attire.com/Blog/Jim-Goes-Parental-with-Umpire-Cap-Bill-Length-Warning-on-Umpire-Empire-Post I realize everyone's experience is different, but the AS Skully does not move on my head all game. I wear 7 3/8 or 7 1/2 hats and use the L version and mine stays right where I put it. I just don't like the too-short bill, but I realize it was built for the MAG. I am thinking of buying an Axis Pro for the longer bill. To fix any shiny helmets, I recommend a simple coat or two of $5 spray-on Matte finish by Rustoleum. I've used it on several in the past and it lasted me several seasons. Thank you for the post. This is very helpful and more discussion and info is needing shared on these. I wholly endorse wearing one and the more that we can put out there, the safer our peers can be.

If you are the umpire who made the call and the coach starts for your partner, tell (or yell to) the coach, "That's my call -- come talk to me!" The only time I let a coach go to my partner on a call I made is when I am working alone.

I think you just changed my life while I wait for @MadMax to make the mother of all skull caps.

Not exactly new. This is the +POS Cobra, revised... or Version II(?). Other than a few of us hardcore gear geeks, no one took this thing seriously. Granted, the 500-ton millstone around its neck – like Lex Luthor draping the kryptonite medallion upon Superman – was DPJ's (name withheld) failures in customer service and order fulfillment. The CP itself was a marvel, well ahead of its time. It was the first CP to use HDPE instead of ABS (All-Star Cobalt and Davis DX-family now do as well). It was among the first CPs to employ a multi-layer foam laminate "sandwich" for its padded vest, with EVA-TPU foam comprising the "meat of the matrix". By contrast, Wilson, Douglas, and all their imitators were using open-cell upholstery foam. The Cobra also offset the primary hinge, the joint between the breast plate and the shoulder arch plates. Only the Wilson Platinum (and the imitating Diamond DCP-Pro) and All-Star CP4000 (AKA System 7) ever addressed this, in their case by fusing the breast plate into the shoulder arch plates as they swept up and over. By offsetting this hinge, +POS was actually protecting the all-important clavicles better than all other hinged CPs (Gold, et. al.), yet still allowing flexibility – which worked against the Platinum, which would invariably flatten out. At the time of its introduction, the Cobra had a really funky harness (IIRC, it was 1" webbing instead of 1-1/2"), and lacked any other accoutrements. This latest version imitates Ray's harness, and borrows some inspiration from the Davis DX-family units; while it's still using SRBs, the SRBs are colored, to make locating them visually a bit easier. I do have to admire how flat and smooth the plates are, especially the pauldrons and ailettes, something that rightfully annoys All-Star Cobalt owners, with the odd, turtle-shell shaping of their ailettes. I also have to hand it to +POS on this, too... the abdominal diagonal creases will allow this CP to tighten and conform to the wearer's torso really well.

Coming from a coach -This is not "appealing", this is "shopping". Sometimes it's bullying. Sometimes it's gaslighting. Don't put up with it. Only do this in scenarios where it's possible you had a terrible angle, or didn't see a dropped ball (or if your partner has given you a signal they have something). If you're certain of the call own it - tell the coach you have everything you need, my call is my call...appeasing the request (even if you have no intention of changing the call) just encourages more shopping/bullying. As an example, I had a play at first where F3 jumped in the air to make the catch, and BU, <15 feet away, called out. Our bench was on first base side, so I liked my view/angle - I went out and said, "They came off the base, can you ask your partner if he saw anything?" And he immediately said "yup, they came off the base and then came back down in time to beat the runner". End of discussion. No appeal. No shopping. He owned everything he saw. I say another word at that point and now I'm "arguing" not "asking", because now we're nitpicking on the fraction of a second to when F3 touched the bag. I don't care how right I believe I am at that point. He gets a "thumbs up" from me and I go back to the bench. I also know now that this guy is confident in his game, and he's not going to be nudged by any coach. Nothing is more frustrating as a coach to see the other coach doing this a dozen times a game, and getting away with it...and even getting a call or two go his way. I once got a warning for telling an umpire to "own your call - you had the call right before you changed it, and it wasn't close; stop letting him bully you"...guess he didn't like me challenging his manhood. It's not terrible - it's true. There may be better options, but sometimes the direct approach is better. Some coaches live under the fantasy that the PU has the power to overturn the BU's call...or the older ump can overturn the younger ump's call. I have no issue with educating a coach that the ump who made the call owns the call, and that the power he believes you have doesn't exist. Unfortunately, some umpires live under the fantasy that they can overturn their partner's call, for whatever reason riddles their imagination. (I do know that in some settings one ump is "the boss" - we can only hope their ego isn't so fragile they take that to heart) *this may lead to a debate to whether or not an ump should have made a particular call at all - that's a different discussion, for you to have with your partner - but don't be surprised to hear a coach ask "who's call is that?" or "why are you making that call from there?" I'll go with the first time an ump had to educate me about this process - "talk to the umpire who made the call".

The bigger question is did you grab any balks for the pitching dads?

Congrats on the season. IMO, this is one of the most difficult calls in crew of two. Plate is often blocked off. Plus, I think it may be physically impossible for our eyes, which capture about 7 frames per second (a standard definition camera operates at 30 FPS), to actually see this unless the stars align in our favor. U1, especially in B or C, unless the ball has some crazy spin coming off the batter, is in a tough spot too. I had a conversation with @MadMax about this scenario. I'll let him give specifics if he chooses. Since that conversation, I've been loudly and confidently killing anything that has any indicator of being a batter hit in the box by a batted ball even if I don't actually see the contact. If nothing else, talking with Max gave me license to make the call and not wait for my partner who is probably waiting for me to make the call.

He's wearing the LE Orange version.

Did the same, just got it today. Seems to fit well. Will break it out next game. I’m over caring what people think and too old to care. I thought about it this way. Some people may think it looks weird or whatever. How many of those people would visit me in the hospital, or worse?

My qualified opinion is that instead of implementing an elaborate ABS challenge & imaging system, there’s something far, far more fundamental that will change everything in the college game, and push it more towards the Minor Leagues, which is ultimately what all TPTB in MLB want. This one thing will change hitting, it’ll change pitching, it will emphasize fielding, it will make scoring more collaborative and competitive. No need for expensive, calibrated technology that is, or can feasibly be, implemented selectively. Guess what it is? Wood bats, or at least wood composite. #EndMetalAlready

Under Objectives of the Game (OBR Rule 1): 1.02 The offensive team’s objective is to have its batter become a runner, and its runners advance. 1.03 The defensive team’s objective is to prevent offensive players from becoming runners, and to prevent their advance around the bases. Getting the umpires to help you fulfill one of the objects of the game is a no-no and umpires should not succumb to it. Stop them yourself. Younger ages have rules in place to account for differences from the adult game. One of them is no leading off on 60 foot basepaths (or stealing would be pretty much a non-competitive play). There is no reason for an umpire to call time for the defense to stop runners when the rules proscribe a specific way to do it. This problem takes care of itself as the kids get older. Play on larger diamonds makes it a much riskier play for the offense to test the defense in close quarters.

There are 3 essential components to the equation to solve this problem; we (umpires) have control over 2 of them. The third is under the control of gentlemen like @beerguy55 and @Coach Carl, but I concede, it is highly variable. The first element, and most immediate and direct, is to not call Time. Stop. Deny (the request, the urge, the temptation, etc.). Resist. Hold fast. Stick to it. Respond to the “requests” with: “No.” ”Nope” ”(You) don’t need it.” ”Nah” ”No need” ”Noppity noppity nooooo.” In 94% of cases, our granting of Time is a concession, not a compulsion. In the professional game, the protocol – note, not codified rule – is to call Time, not only to change the baseball (cuz they gots plenty), but because the slightest twitch can result in an Out or an Advanced base, “needlessly”. That’s not part of the “professional game”. This isn’t the case of amateurs, especially of single-digit-age tots. They should be able to throw a ball 10-15 feet, they should be able to catch said ball, they should be able to get themselves up to their feet from a on-butt or on-knees position, and if you say, “but they’re still learning!”, then I’ll immediately counter with, “And experience is the best way to learn!” The second element is we need Tournament Directors / Site Supervisors / League Admin who will reinforce us and this perspective, rather than kowtow to the bleating, “outraged” coaches, and sabotage us. Games are snappier, with more action, and more experiential learning, than being halted every. two. seconds. because. we. need. time. called. to. give. two. thousand. frenzied. signs. to. an. infield. who. doesn’t. know. exactly. what. to. “do”. anyway. Coach, you and I, and everyone here know it’s going to be R2-&-R3 in one pitch, regardless of if you have “a play” on or not. Heck, it’ll likely be R2, with a run scored cuz that pitch… vooooop! <clink> … just went over my head clean to the backstop. Didn’t have that play “on”, didja? But truly, we need TDs and admins to hold the line, and reply, “That’s the way it is.”, not with, “I’ll talk to him (the umpire)”, or, “Yeah, he’s a stickler about that.”, or, “He won’t be doing your games in the future.” Those replies tolerate and coddle those coaches. Which attribute directly to the third element… Which is, coaches must stop coaching this (the granting of time) as an entitlement, an expectation, and as a counter-tactic (to aggressive base running). It is not benefitting their charges (kids), nor is it benefitting the game.

Understood, Its a problem in most areas. However, if the pay was much better, and the abuse wasn't there, then we'd have lots more umpires. Sadly this is lost on most associations and organizations. JMO.

I'll let others go into more detail, but the main idea is to heat the plastic to where it's pliable and then reshape it to fit your body and hold it there, or restrict it in place somehow, while it cools and re-hardens. You are re-forming the hard plates to fit your shoulders and arms mostly. If you do it a few times; heating, shaping and then keeping in place while it cools - then you'll end up with a CP that fits tighter to you than one out of the box could ever fit. You can use a heat gun (preferred) or hair dryer (same results, but takes longer). Don't overheat or you'll lose the shape entirely, no puddling here please. The best method is slow and steady. Remember to remove the padding first so that you are only heating the plates. I've seen guys use hard objects (i.e. a basketball) to reform the chest plate and then tape the plate to it or maybe they would rubber band the shoulder parts around a football or something of the sort to get the plates to form better to their shoulders or arms. Some do heating, restricting and then put the CP into a freezer to 'flash-freeze' the cooling and do several cycles. There really is no right or wrong way as long as you end up with a CP that fits you better than you started with, but I recommend exercising patience and take it slow. It's easier to add more heat to make a CP more pliable, than it is to reshape a melted plastic plate.

If the HC *refuses*, then he's restricted and no one else has the HC rights.

Anybody can ask for time, players, coaches, managers. It is up to the umpire to grant the time request. Umpires should only grant time when play is considered relaxed. Relaxed is typically when any play is over, the offense is not trying to advance, and the defense is not trying to put anyone out. Usually when having only one umpire, calling time lets him get back into position without the risk of missing something when his back is turned to the field. In this case, seemed like the proper procedure, but I wasn't there. Did anything come of it? Arguments, or just play on? And this is a byproduct of 8u tournaments. Coaches do not know the rules, or bother to learn them. However, there could be a tournament rule that says this. Knowing the rules, and any modifications is incumbent upon managers, coaches, and umpires. Another however, often at the lower levels, you won't get the most experienced umpires. And shame on the tournament for being too cheap to pay for 2 umpires.

This fallacy that an ejection shouldn't happen unless the player shows up the umpire or looks at him just needs to go away. Players and coaches use this chickenSH*# tactic all the time. They say something completely ejection worthy while staring ahead or walking away to bait the umpire. Sorry, if you say "F you" or something personal, it doesn't matter where you're looking or if you're walking away. You. Are. Done.

Legal bats for Babe Ruth 13-15 are USA or BBCOR. On an appeal by the defense the umpire inspects the bat and rules if legal or illegal. With no USA or BBCOR marking this should have been ruled an illegal bat. Even if the umpire thinks it is a legal bat, if the marking is missing, he should rule it illegal. If the defense appeals before the end of the at bat, the penalty is removal of the bat and the at bat continues with a legal bat. If the defense appeals after the end of the at bat, the batter is ruled out (assuming he made it on base safely), all outs made during the at bat stand and remaining runners return to their bases at the time of the pitch that was put into play. And, of course, the bat is removed. Since It appears the umpire ruled incorrectly, the defense has two options: (1) accept and move on or, (2) protest. Ejection is not a penalty. Though, if the batter tried to use the bat again, that would be grounds for ejection.

High school varsity game played on an all dirt infield. Runners on 1st and 2nd, 0 outs. Popup about 20 feet from home plate, up the 3rd base line, in foul ground but not by a ton. To be safe, I call "infield fly if fair". Catcher is under the popup but whiffs on it. It lands about 8 feet foul, but has spin/wind taking it back towards fair territory. Coach from dugout yells at his defense to let the ball roll fair. It does, and they pick it up in fair territory. Runners have not moved. I called batter out on an infield fly, and there was a huge reaction from the offensive team. Did I do anything wrong here? I knew for sure the ball was going to land foul, but called the infield fly because I knew if it did land it could possibly roll fair. I think its just a heads up play by the defense to allow the ball to roll fair, knowing that they had the out on the IFF.

(/🧼🪣 We all need to remember that umpires are human. And given it's an avocation that comes with a lot of social pressure before even stepping on to the field, I can easily imagine the umpire didn't want to be "that guy" in the initial encounter and then rethought himself. "What battles to fight?" is a given in any interaction. I don't let buckets on the field. Am I in the majority of the broad umpire community in my area (which spans from kids 1 year older than the game up to LLWS) - no. But I do it. Do I get my laser level out to see if the bucket is 1 inch beyond the fence line? No. Are there times where fields where he fence line ends 20 feet beyond the base and coaches go out there to sit on a bucket partially in the field of play and I let it go? Yes, especially if everything else is going well. As UIC, on field or off field, if F2 doesn't have a dangle, will I stop the game until they get one? Yes. It's a LL safety issue, full stop. No argument is going to work with me on why we'll play without one. Do I get a stopwatch out to measure off 1 minute between innings? No. Never even considered it but I do keep the team moving along. My point is, everyone picks what to enforce to the letter and what not to. This umpire went lax and then rethought himself. Next time, he'll remove the bat straightaway. Not giving a crap what someone else thinks can help an umpire be great. It can also be their downfall. Everyone is human. Humans grow and learn. I can promise you every umpire in the world is still learning - including MLB. To borrow from @Richvee "If you're not getting better, you're getting worse." 🧼🪣/)

You got it right

Did find this just cruising around the internet tonight, might help improve padding protection without impacting airflow as another way to customize the fit of helmets. https://gamebreaker.com/collections/d3o-sheets/products/gamebreaker-stealth-hard-shell-helmet-liner.

Illinois has required this for a number of years. They didn't tie the law to IHSA, but to public recreational facilities. Similar to what @MadMax cited, IHSA adopted this requirement for us: 1.) All players properly and legally equipped? 2.) Location of the AED? 3.) Is there a trainer or qualified medical personnel on site? (No emergency plan question requirement, though this is encouraged to be discussed with event management before the plate meeting. The AED and trainer questions could be discussed in this pre-meeting or at the plate meeting.) Answering NO to number 1 means something needs to be rectified before we begin. Answering NO to number 2 means we play, but umpires have to file a special report after the game. Answering NO to number 3 simply means we have the authority to remove a player for suspected concussion protocols, and they may not return.

Here's where I care the most, Lovejoy... A multi-billion dollar professional sport directs – not "encourages", not "requests", directs – its umpires to wear a particular piece of equipment, and yes, I'll concede, they supply it... but that piece of equipment is not intended for said umpires, and to make matters worse, said multi-billion dollar professional sport does not hold the multi-billion dollar sports equipment company, with whom they have a "sweet ol' lady" deal, responsible to produce something for those umpires. That's where my cares sit. Literally, figuratively, metaphysically, rhetorically... take your pick. I will not ever sit there again and listen to a stool pigeon from "that company" ever, ever "impress" upon a group of umpires like that. Got it past me once, when I was a "younger" umpire.

The following soapbox moment isn't directed at you, @TheLovejoy ... your statement simply triggered me: Really, I do not care if you (or anybody) takes the skullcap off with the mask, or leaves it on. It doesn't matter a hill of beans... or even a small pile... or even a handful... or even the Himalayas of beans! They likely have their reasons, whether that be conscious or unconscious awareness, it does not matter. I'm of the qualified belief (thru investigation) that MLBUs keep their masks far too way too much too tight because there is a behind-the-curtain protocol involving the insurance lawyers and underwriters – that if an umpire's mask hits the ground, it can no longer be used (reliably), and that any subsequent claims of injury will be scrutinized, contested, and possibly denied. That's a valid position. Those guys aside, what does matter is that we – collectively – must keep what dwindling numbers of umpires we have active and healthy, and we must find ways of attracting, recruiting, engaging, and retaining a new generation of umpires. If that means they opt for wearing skullcaps, of any sort or brand, who cares? If that means that they wear a HSM 🤨 cuz that's what they're familiar with (being a former HS catcher), who cares? If that means they find and use a... <gulp> Wilson Gold 🤢... that they got from PIAS, who cares? If that means they use the side-shot instead of the hammer, who cares? If that means that they wear an 8-stitch instead of a 6-stitch on the bases, who cares? Who freakin' cares?! They're working, dammit!! What does not matter is some "evaluator's" opinion that <this> is a "bad look". Or, that <this> gold belt buckle on a polished leather belt is the mark of a "better" umpire. Or, flippantly telling a guy, "You'll never make it as an umpire if you don't do <this> in <this way>". Keyboard Crusaders will always drop derisive comments on guys, simply because they can... and they're cantankerous and have a burr up their a$$. The guys that get my goat are those that sit or stand aloof and "take notes", and the bulk of what "issues they have to address" with the guys that actually worked (that game) boil down to "style". I'll tell you something, this latest/next generation – they are craving feedback and review, and (this is important) they crave self-expression, or at least learning / accomplishing something in their own way. It's part of their identity. They do not want to do things simply because "that's the way we've been doing it for 30 years", especially – and this is critical – if you yourself don't model what you're saying, or someone else who is idolized (or held aloft) as a "gold" standard is himself fallible or does things that amount to, yet again, personal style. So sittin' there, telling a new umpire, "Yeah, you gotta leave your skullcap on, cuz it's a bad look" ain't gonna hold water, ya putz.

The same is true in my HS association. The local LL actually does a fair job of getting younger umpires going though. Many a good umpire has started at that level and advanced.

But Rock! Why would you ever expect them to make different molds and casting sizes of a bedpan??

The only difference between the two helmets, that I'm aware of, is the length of the bill. The Axis Pro (catcher version) is made for all masks and the Skully (umpire version) is made for AS MAG mainly. The Skully was specifically created with the short bill for the AS MAG due to it's unique forehead shape making it impossible to safely wear a regular bill underneath it, so they created the short-billed umpire skull cap (aka Bob the Builder). The Axis Pro has the same removable & washable padding and offers more colors (for catchers of course). This is why Max is so fond of saying these companies are for catchers, because they don't normally produce umpire-only gear. They just happen to have some gear they can throw out to umpires too, but it was made for catchers, and with them in mind, first.

I HIGHLY recommend picking one up if you have not already.

Forums like this have done FAR more for my development as an umpire than anything I've ever received locally. it was true 20 years ago and it hold true today. The video clips of plays are priceless in terms of developing and growing as an umpire. You don't want to see a play for the first time in your game. You want to see it in someone else's game and learn from it. There is a lot of garbage and misinformation out there..."Ol' Smitty" they used to say. Long before they became a leader in the industry. I would encourage every umpire new and old to use social media for your development.

So as best I can tell I'm done with the HS season. The public school regular season ended on Monday and it's Friday and I haven't randomly been assigned a Catholic school, so I think I can call it now. Let's start with the basic numbers: worked nine games, with one cancellation they forgot to tell us about (half pay, woo!) and one rainout they told us about early enough where we weren't at the field yet, so 11 times I had something show up in Arbiter. I set up my blocks to be open for three games per week and basically always got two so that was definitely noticeable to me. My HS org is pretty big where I don't think they're lacking for bodies and I wasn't trying to bother my assigner, but definitely felt like I could've gotten a few more games in. My partners were always more experienced, as you'd hope for someone new to HS, and I had two partners that were also working some level of college ball, so that was neat. I also randomly managed to have one partner three times, which felt a little surprising for an org this big. As for the actual games, they were largely uneventful. Four of the nine felt particularly competitive and only one game felt like it could go either way entering the seventh. I managed to work four mercy rules and another game that ended 12-4 or something else that felt over by the third inning but couldn't quite get its way to the 10 after 5 threshold. The biggest issue that came up was "did that batted ball touch the batter in the box?", which was a point of discussion in a pair of games. I had plate and the fielding team coach came because he thought a single should've been a foul ball, but I didn't see it and my partner didn't see it so the fielding team coach definitely let out an annoyed "what are we doing people?" or something like that but when he came to me with a lineup change like 20 minutes later he seemingly got over it. Then I had a pretty obvious foul ball off the foot working base I saw, plate ump let it play out, we conferenced and overturned it in about five seconds lol. When I pregamed with one of the college guys he told me that if it looks obvious to you as the base ump, give the plate ump a second, and if it hasn't been called, then you can call it foul, which I found really helpful and will definitely be something I try to use going forward. I also had a runners lane correct no call, which felt nice to get right, actually managed to check off the classic "no white/grey long sleeves for the pitcher" during the windiest game I worked and I finally got to actually call an infield fly multiple times because I swear I never had one last year. I will say for all the emphasis the NFHS test places on the admin, non-gameplay rules like its version of the DH, CRs and the one-time reentry sub stuff, none of that felt like it was within 500 miles of coming up as an issue in any of my games. I don't think the test should get rid of them, but the ratio of "what happens if you pinch hit for the catcher then CR him?" vs "is this obstruction?" feels pretty skewed in the wrong direction to me. I definitely got helpful feedback from my partners, but right now my main thing is I wish I had ways to practice certain scenarios on-command with more experienced umpires offering the training. Like give me a group of HS kids fielding and running the bases and have someone hit fungos for certain scenarios for us to practice how exactly the mechanics should work at game speed. Like I know if I'm plate, my base umpire is in A and they're staying on the line to judge fair/foul down the RF line then I should take the plays on the bases, but it's something I'd feel much more confident in seeing it practiced in a controlled setting. I'd also love "is this a balk?" training where they just have someone do assorted weird-looking things on the mound and we have to figure out if it's just weird or an actual balk. Perhaps the camps offer stuff like that, dunno. As for the rest of the baseball season, I'm definitely fine with sticking with my local rec ball org I worked with last year. I told my assigner as professionally as I can "I'm a HS ump now, don't you dare give me any u10 games" and he's respected that. My HS org does have a bunch of travel, but none of it is in my county and I'm not exactly someone dying to drive over 30 minutes to a game. The HS org does have fall ball weeknight games, which intrigues me as something I'm pretty sure my county doesn't offer, but otherwise I'm prioritizing shorter drives and less intense games even if working travel with the HS org would probably offer more valuable reps. I think if I write any more paragraphs I'll learn if this site has a character limit lol but yeah, that's year one of working high school in the books! 😎

After watching the video and reading the posts I bought an All Star helmet. I honestly never thought I would go with one. I’m going to give it honest try. For me it’s like the dangling TG. Why take a chance? So far it’s been pretty easy to wear and get used to.

Maybe the umpires had band practice or had to meet their parole officer?

Looks like an Ai response.