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I was a catcher. Can confirm. I am an umpire. Can confirm. I have daughters who played softball (and umpired softball) . . . BIG CONFIRM. I was always told it was to make sure you are staying close to the play, not heading towards the line for nachos. Regardless of reason, don't put your hands on anybody.

I’ve just joined your ranks. I’m honored to say I have been hired and begun training with the United States Capitol Police. Though I have a long road ahead of me, I will give it all I’ve got. I guess when I became obsessed with umpiring at age 15, it should’ve been an early warning sign for those around me that I would get into law enforcement 😁. Shout out to all law enforcement and veterans on the site, and wish me luck!🍀

It’s highly likely that I can call an ABS zone a lot easier than they can pitch to one. Be very careful about what you want. You might just get it.

If you get the Fechheimer be sure to keep the wedding ring polished up. A line of suitors generally starts to form near the field exit if you don't have the ring on prominent display.

If you are not currently an MLB umpire, and maybe a big time DI guy who has been around for a long time, don't do it. They're grand fathered in (it used to be common), but it should not be emulated

Catchers HATE this

Yes, but it will be available in another limited color scheme. This is just a render, colors may be slightly different and this is still subject to change.

Congratulations and thank you for serving!

I’m 6’2”, 215lb, and can wear a 44R, but the 44L makes it drape on me properly while wearing the fabulously low-profile DX family of CPs (shameless, shameless plug). My first-ever plate coat was a Fechheimer 46R, and while it did fit me (and the Schutt XV I wore) well, I was… “treading water in it”. In a 44R, with the CP on, the cuffs ride up a bit for my liking, so YMMV. The 44L turned out to be “just right”. If you’re going to a liquidation sale to track one down, or heck – just to determine your size, take your CP along; no shame in that.

With great respect for Mr. Madmax, I don't think it's a ridiculous question at all. I recognize we don't have jurisdiction beyond the fence, but we do have a game management role. I had it in a JV game with very few around in the stands except for a clearly-close-to-the-team parent who was kinda/sorta coaching the players informally doing this right behind a short cramped backstop, so about 3 feet from me and the players. Isolated, rough and ready city field. Two very rough teams, though with excellent, development-oriented coaches. No admin for miles Ridiculous and distracting. Same as relaying signs by someone in the crowd, and I think appropriate to stop. I did address it. Was going to say something to the coach like "Is that a coach over there? If not, please ask your parent to stop signaling the hitter before we continue" and he would have done it, but I opted for the low-key direct approach. Its a neighborhood where there is a LOT of back and forth at the games. "Hey man, do me a favor, can you not call out the catcher position before the pitch?" "hey I"m I'm being polite!" (which come to think of it is a slightly odd response and indicative of someone who may have had similar discussions before) "You are being polite, and I'm not asking you to move. Calling out positions is a little different and its distracting, and I'd appreciate it if you can stop" He grumbled off and I heard the coach ask him what was going on a little later, parent said "yeah, I get it actually." So, it worked. Which I recognize does NOT mean its the right approach. But I think it was right for this game. My other/next step would have been to go to the coach and say I'm going to treat your guy as a coach since I've seen him interacting with you and the team a lot today, and I need you to tell him to stop this, Or I've gotta restrict both of you. Lets not go there. I'll hold the game till he stops, and you go talk to him. Again, this approach felt right and in keeping with the vibe of the day. Have at it.

It’s called a brace hand, and its misuse in amateur baseball is due to naive or uneducated mimicry of Big League umpires, especially “established”, long-tenured ones. To be fair, these mimics are often told to do so by amateur association heads and “trainers” who are of the opinion that the Big League guys are idols whose methods and practices convey credibility and validation. The brace hand is employed by a PU who may not be as nimble as he once was, and is aware and cognizant of how lightning-fast a professional catcher will rise up to snap off a throw and needs that “tactile alarm” of feeling the catcher suddenly shift. Some select MLBUs do it as well because they get exceptionally low in their compressed stance, and need that hand as a gauge. In amateur circles, at all levels (with, perhaps, NCAA D-1 as an exception), the brace hand isn’t needed, and is, as many colleagues mentioned, discouraged and frowned upon.

Fechheimer and it isn't even close but as MadMax said, if you want to make you're own it certainly possible and none on the market are available in a more suitable summer fabric.

Tangent since it came up: There is a longer version covering all 3 bases that I'll try to find in a shareable form but this is great for those plays Plus a real world application

^^^ This. Study the 'wedge' on tag plays. There are 2 wedges on every tag play. Let's see what is known, everywhere, and relate it to that: First, think of yourself getting to 3rd base line extended on a ball coming from the outfield to the plate. You're off the catchers hip, tracking with him, catching the 'back half' of the wedge. The OTHER wedge on this play, is nearly exactly opposite of where you are tracking this play from. It would be up the 3rd base line just a bit. Now, obviously we don't want to be there with a ball coming in from the outfield, but that's the other side of the wedge. It's the 2nd most ideal position. Inside the 'cutout' inside the line just a bit, so you don't get straightlined by the runner. Now flip everything about that play at home plate, and put it at 2nd base. The first, most idea position for U2, is in a 4 man crew, OUTSIDE of the infield, tracking the steal of a runner at 2nd base by essentially being at 2nd baseline extended (I just made that up), the line from 1st to 2nd extended, working off the fielders hip (the one taking the throw from the catcher on a steal). However, in a 2 man, you don't get the luxury of being there. So you take the inside of that B position, to catch the other half of that wedge. If you're in the Deep C, (relate this to a play at the plate), you'd be somewhere like, 6-10 feet up the first base line. Well, that doesn't make any f'ing sense..... So, why on earth would we want to be in Deep C on a steal at 2nd? Flip everything you know about plate positions on plays at the plate, mirror it, apply it to 2nd base, and you'll see it.

Correct placement, but it's the first *PLAY* by the infielder, not the first throw. Doesn't matter in this situation, but it can make a difference.

Wristwatches were and should be anathema but the current wrist gadgets seem acceptable and I believe I've seen stuff on MLB umps wrists. I was a fill in on an Indy League game a while ago and my crew chief kept asking me the time while we were rubbing up baseballs so I forget to take it off my Casio as we headed out. I'm plate. After the game my partner told me during the game two players asked why I was wearing a watch. He told them I had a hot date that night.

Congrats! Not a LEO here but a first responder. Fire police officer (traffic control at emergencies basically). Stay safe out there!

I am required to bring a time piece on the field with me when I officiate collegiate ball since none of the fields I work have operating clocks when these games are played. In fact, I carry two. I have the timer for pitch clock violations and a stopwatch for between innings and pitching changes.

Ultimately, we all work for our state associations, not NFHS . . . so . . . no issue if that is what they are re-writing the rule to say.

I agree with the consensus for Option A. That said, I disagree with MadMax's premise. If the players are 18 and up, yes, it's a ridiculous question. But 13U-17U is not adult baseball. The umps in the video chose A, but the commentator (an umpire trainer) strongly disagreed and said B was correct on game management grounds. The stated rationale was (paraphrasing) "this is still youth baseball; we DON'T want the defense to 'take things into their own hands' and possibly start a sequence of retaliatory HBP. Address it now so it doesn't become a s-t-show later."

My $0.02: do whatever is needed to get the job done, whether that means signals between partners, whoever initiating, whatever the signals are. If you pregame it (or the implicit understanding exists), it's all good. Regardless, if you need them, do them. As I get back into / learn the intricacies of 90ft 4-umpire (R3 Only still getting me to think twice), I do signals for my own benefit. They may not be conventional but they're of value for me (especially last night as U1, R1 being held on with R3/R1 and I grokked that even though I'm in tight I've got CF in to the RF line and reverse rotation). Until I've got it cold I'll do them. If you want mirror for validation, ask for it. I know if I'm having a hard plate game, BU mirroring my signals can help me feel supported and get me out of my own head.

From the set position, the pitcher can do one of 3 things. 1) Deliver a pitch. 2) Step and throw/feint to a base. 3)Disengage. Taking a rocker step isn't one of those three things. If he is delivering a pitch, he has one step to do so.

I'm for option A. It's not my problem. If I'm the defensive coach, I'm working with my catcher to use that. Set up later OR set up early but once she calls out the position, change the setup at the last moment. She'll eventually knock it off once she's repeatedly wrong.

Didja perform your best, booming, “That run scores! That run scores! Score one run!!”? That signal / mechanic is much more important than tapping your wrist repeatedly, growing ever more annoyed with your BU partner because he won’t mirror it back like a good little sidekick peon is supposed to! Why? Because it’s an actual declaration that you know the Rule, instead of a vapid, lemming-esque, compliant obsession with “we must communicate pre-pitch because we’ll get dinged on an evaluation if we don’t!” My fellow Vulture and I did a game once wherein we rarely, if ever, signaled anything pre-pitch. It must have been our 200th game together by that time. It just so happened that a MiLB umpire was included on the payroll on that tournament event by the assigner to act as a roving evaluator. That’s fine, that’s the assigner’s prerogative. After the game, the evaluator approached the two of us, proffering feedback; chief amongst it was, “You guys don’t signal pre-pitch. Do you not know the pre-pitch signals?” My fellow Vulture – and housemate – looked at him, then at me, then back at him, to reply, “Max is my roommate”. If you’re working with guys who are, essentially, interchangeable then sure, pre-pitch signaling is a significant part of effective communication. But if you’re working with guys you’re familiar with, pre-pitch signaling – especially one that has little to no purpose for the recipient – is useless. I’ve witnessed valued and competent colleagues give football play signals between at-bats, just to “liven up” the game.

DO NOTHING. We have no authority outside the fence.

In calling out of the baseline plays, maybe former Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart has the answer. Back in the 60's when asked to define pornography, his reply was: "I may not be able to define it, but I know it when I see it."

That's a fake to first and / or failing to pitch in a direct / continuous motion (whatever the specific wording is).

A. She's only hurting her own kid in the long-run.

I don't know why I'm commenting, because your point is spot on and as somebody who does multiple leagues I couldn't agree more. Just for clarification I guess- that American Legion does follow OBR, but they do indeed have a fake tag clause. It's one of the additional rules. American Legion specifically is a F'in dinosaur.... They used to play 9 innings, no run rule, no re-entry, courtesy runners, a bunch of old boomers that had a hard on for being as much like the MLB as possible..... The game has changed homies....nobody wants to be there for 4 hours any longer. Adapt or die....and American Legion is working on dying.

I have a navy Fechheimer from 20 years ago that looks brand new and has been worn a lot for high school. After about 18 years I needed to have the top button that you button when wearing it re sown. I believe in buying quality. I’d def be fine spending the extra for the black Fechs/Flying Cross now that are used by MLB and MiLB.

Missed this one. The newest version is designed so the G-hooks need to be tilted and then lifted to release. The original design, in some circumstances, allowed the G-hooks to come undone unintentionally during play even if the harness was snug.

You're too kind, @TheRockawayKid. @wolfe_man is quite correct, that the "new stuff" can't beat the "old stuff". OutWest is a copycat company, and really don't invest, properly or fully, into cultivating a top-quality product. Flying Cross, as a brand, is/was a clothier, and thus their plate coats reflect(ed) the attention to those relevant details (fabric quality, sewing robustness, etc.). Honig's achieved its quality because Honig's had first-hand access to all the Major League uniforms as the official outfitter of MLBUs for 20+(?) years. When your staff personally handles these garments, and performs all the tailoring, alterations, and cleaning for a collection of professionals, wherein appearance and presentation is a premium, you learn and infuse how to build your own version. With that said, you can build your own. I did, for a grand total of $80. Here's what it took: A 44L Calvin Klein -brand summer-weight sport coat, black, with a box split – which means a split on either hip, instead of a center-split. Purchased from a Sportcoat & Suit Liquidation Sale for $25. 3 yards of black fabric, type-matched as closely as possible to the sport coat. $15. Velcro, raw 3" wide. $5. A tailor/seamstress willing to accommodate a unique request, and securely design, fabricate, and sew on billowed ball pockets, reinforce the primary button, and sew on: A) a velcro landing patch on the yoke (for a national flag) and B) a velcro landing patch on the right sleeve (for numbers) (optional C) a velcro landing patch on the left chest lapel pocket for league patch; I use magnets for this one) $35. "Recycling" or "upcycling" a sport coat is such a beneficial endeavor, since you can get a well-made sport coat at a tremendous bargain, and keep it from the land-fill, or being shredded into bulk fill.

Another formula (I find easier) If the total runners (including batter) is more than outs to get, it’s a time play. In your situation, 2 runners and a batter is 3, which is more than the 2 outs needed, so time play. I always find it humorous when time is signaled with r3 only and 2 outs. It technically is but only situation it could happen is if r3 blew a hammy and crawled to plate as batter is tagged out after acquiring first and going to second. But alas, it isn’t wrong to signal it

Son was a catcher. Can confirm.

I have no personal experience with them, but I had a friend with a lot of experience buy one from Out West and he hated it. He's had other plate coats and this was the worst he had tried yet he said. YMMV Flying Cross would be from Fechheimer and should be a superb coat. I've personally had Honig's and Fechheimer and found them to be very high quality and the fit was very good. They will last forever and clean up nicely when you take simple care of them.

So they can feel the catcher move to get out of the way. Generally discouraged

Whenever I see something like this, I wonder if the person thinks that mechanics manuals were written on the back of a napkin after a night out and not something that has evolved over years of experience by umpires. Any mechanics for less than 4 umpires is all about positioning to put the umpires in the best location for the most likely of plays. In this case, with R1 we have: 1. Steal of second (best IP is deep B). 2. Ground ball to the infield, start of a double play (best IP is deep B). 3. Fly ball to right field and U1 goes out (best IP is B for the tag up at 1st). 4. Fly ball to the 'V' (either B or C are about equal as an IP because you will be adjusting to the fielders) 5. Fly ball to left field (best IP is B for the advance on the tag up) 6. Hit to the outfield (best IP is B for the play behind R1 or on the BR) and all the way down here: 7. Check swing appeal for a lefty (best IP would be C) So, this person wants to dictate the inferior IP for 5.5 of the 7 possible plays with R1 to be in the best position for 1 very rare instance of a check swing appeal for a LH batter? I'm just going to ignore that "advice".

Quit barking at the umpires.

You should have restricted him to the dog-out. I'm sorry. I'll let myself out.

It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so

I don't know where that Google link has been. I'm not putting it in my mouth, and I'm certainly not kissing my mother with it

Advice? This ain't advice. It's an official edict, especially when using the words "mandatory" and "only... acceptable". This reeks of assumed tyranny, justified through a whole bunch of whimsical obfuscation ("in this combination, do it this way, but in this other combination, do it this other way, but if this other component changes, stand on your head... "). I can assure you – MiLBUs don't (over)think this. We teach our guys to set IP in B-deep each time, every time, with a single alteration to "C-deep" if-and-only-if the count goes to 3-2 with 2 outs. And, in all leagues and conferences I've worked, including Arizona High School, we are compelled / obliged to make a check swing appeal, so it doesn't matter a high hill of jalapeños whether U3 is in B-deep or C-deep, or at D, or scaling the fence in left center field... PU allows/makes the appeal, and the U3 gives what he's got (yes/no on swing attempt). (To the guy issuing this edict – ) Stop building paper crutches, and your umpires will be (forced to be) more aware, alert, and focused on their responsibilities, regardless of where they're standing, instead of fretting about where... they're standing.

So I'm looking at getting a plate coat. Living in cold weather northeast. What would you recommend? Which one is better? I assume someone like @MadMax would be an expert in this, as he is in all things equipment.

https://ua.musco.cloud/landing?fieldId=yd7omf https://ua.musco.cloud/quick-guide?fieldId=yd7omf Direct quote from their own video: "Umpire assist is designed to assist -- NOT REPLACE the human umpire working the game. It's a tool for making consistent ball and strike calls so games can be played with a single on field umpire." Umm . . . tell me you are lying without telling me you are lying.

If you want to feel good about calling it as PIAA wants, just perceive the pivot foot 1 degree off from parallel. Does anyone not know how this pitcher will deliver based on runner config and address to rubber?

I'm sure that is not what I meant by any stretch of the imagination.

Which is why I rarely give it. There is no reason to remind my partner who has no responsibility on a time play that there is a possibility of a time play.

I just posted the two parts you needed. He cannot set, and then go into a windup. If he chooses to change, he must properly step off with his back foot. Once he comes set, any lifting of the foot must go directly into a throw to a base or a pitch. He cannot lift, step somewhere, set the foot down, and then lift again to go into a pitch.

I'll let Max and others pipe in when they're available, but I know several folks on here have had success basically making their own (knowing a seamstress or knowing how to sew is key, of course). Can be done for a fraction of the cost of a pre-made from what I understand.

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