T-Rav

Did you sand paper at all before applying LL? I've got the package of LL ordered but I'd like to know any secrets from the man with the shiniest shoes.

I had a fellow umpire tell me this scenario: R1, F1 disengages the rubber and attempts a pick off move to 1st. F1 airmails the ball and it is goes into the offensive team's bullpen and hits a bullpen catcher who isn't paying attention and does not go any farther. If it had not hit the bullpen F2 it would have easily gone out of play. R1 easily reaches and stops at 3rd. A) What would you rule? B) If it had been picked up and subsequently dropped by the bullpen F2 what would you rule? C) Would the ruling be different if it is the defensive teams bullpen?

You'll like it chief, I wasn't a big WVG fan until got mine TW'd and cut the flaps off. I almost like it now more than my UE.... almost. It's now a tie between the two but I am finding the WVG to be more comfortable to wear while on the other hand I realize I am sacrificing abdominal protection for that comfort. You can't go wrong with either CP but you can go wrong with having both.

I have had the UE CP for a year and a half and the shins for almost a year and highly recommend them both. I'd suggest you get both as the shins are widely regarded as the best on the market.

I umpire in Broward and they too recommend the Gerry Davis pants which doesn't make allot of sense since Honig's is not far away, I'm not a fan and only use them for low level games and use my polywools for all my varsity and college games. No one has ever said anything about my lack of conformity and I will continue to wear the Honigs's polywools as it is my belief that they are a far superior pant. Get the polywools and look like a pro.

Welcome, I too live in Fort Lauderdale and umpire in Broward, hopefully I'll get the chance to work with you.

Looking forward to getting it back. Sidebar Isn't softball for really really old guys that cant move much anymore? Sidebar That's the best thing about it, there is very little competition and it is much easier than baseball to advance through the ranks.

I had my gold done back in November. I wore it for the first time for a softball clinic and it was comfortable and everybody mentioned that it look like I lost weight due to the low profile. I'll probably split time between the unequal and the gold. I'll see if I can upload a picture comparing both of their profiles. I know Rolando will really enjoy his retrofit and hopefully the compliments that come with it.

With NASO you receive Referee magazine, I'm always looking forward to my monthly edition coming in the mail.

I have a pair of the McDavid hex pad tights, they were/are the best but they are no longer sold. I only wear the McDavids when I'm doing a plate and if its a DH with a base then I wear the Underarmour Heatgear tights, they work very well but do not have the padded protection.

Just upgrade to a Kevlar lined Force 3 balloon chest protector, it is the slimmest balloon on the market, the only downside is due to the density of the Kevlar it is on the heavy side.

http://www.honigs.com/detail.asp?Item=7&Sub=4 I believe these are what I use and come with honigs masks.

2 Pairs of the NB950's and a pair of the NB460's, 3 used pairs of polywools, a pair of the Wilson memory foam pads.

Rolando, does that mean your retiring?

I have no secrets and they haven't sent me any emails to inform me of this deal. I was just checking out the NB umpire shoes today and saw a coupon code just below the product description for 25% off.

Amazon has 25% shoes using coupon 25OFFSHOES. I just ordered a pair of the NB460's and NB950's.

I'm glad none of you have smaller waists, these should fit me perfectly and no one else bid on them so I got em for a great price.

Agreed. I hang the uniforms unless I have to go on a plane.

This should answer all your questions. http://umpire-empire.com/index.php/topic/47477-team-wendy-west-vest-gold-retrofit/?hl=%2Bteam+%2Bwendy+%2Bgold

Send it to TW, if you like your WVG then you'll like the retrofit.

It's even colder here in Fort Lauderdale at 71. I need to order one of those Magestic cool base jackets, it's too cold to umpire right now.

All of ebags bags have an orange liner, it makes it really easy to find stuff. Great bag.

I wonder why that cheap, maybe they reached an agreement to sell the Force3 brand. I'm curious as well, that's dirt cheap for a good gear bag.

Ebags Mother Loade all the way, it will be your bag for life, that's hard to beat.

I've had the Rawlings TI since February, I love it too. It is a great mask at a great price with the discounts that homerunmoney.com has offered in the past. I wear mine with a 6" TG and TW pads and it has served me well. In-fact, I have two of them, one I had powder-coated gold and I rock that with tan TW pads. After wearing this and taking a couple of shots, I really can't recommend it. It doesn't provide enough protection at the top of the mask to prevent a ball from hitting you on the top of the head, which happened tonight. It pushed the button of my cap into my skull causing bleeding. I think it is more for a catcher wearing a batting helmet. That's alarming, I know this mask is definitely on the smaller size but at-least for my maybe smaller head it fits well enough that I do not foresee an issue.