detailshp

I might rephrase this line with something like "Good umpires are the ones who only get noticed when they have to."

Follow with caution. And why would you do that? If your that concerned that a coach has a reason to yell at you because you need to "confirm with your partner" then your putting your ego ahead of getting the play right. Unless you have another reason I can't think of at the moment. But it seems to me that more and more, at all levels, getting the play right trumps over all other reasons. The oaches I work with at the varsity, travel ball, and lower college stuff I do like the fact that I am willing to try and get the play right. If you go to your partner and he says " I got nothin, I didnt see it " then you say no problem and stick with your call. Am I missing something?

I spoke about this earlier, but one of the things I try to do especially on the varsity level is to turn my body in such a way that we are standing side by side facing center field. This obviously doesnt work in all situations, but I have found it to be a good thing to try. I might even take a step or two away from the coach initially to be able to turn my body and face center. A lot of times this will "clue the coach in" that I wanted to step away and have a conversation with him and not a confrontation.

Something I would add. When you have a runners on base situation after a foul ball, and I have not put the ball back into play, I dont even wait for the "play" to happen. As soon as I see a kid starting to make a play I am out from behind the plate hands up yelling " NO Play, I have not put the ball back in play!" An immediate response will save an argument from a coach, and normally get the kids set straight for the remainder of the game.

I had this happen last year. On a BUNT attempt. Ball ended up coming to rest in fair territory. Only thing I would add to the other stuff already said, is don't be afraid to get your partner involved.

See my post from the stinky chest protector, and it certainly applies to hats. However, I wouldn't use anything stronger than laundry soap if your going to wash them. Most laundry soaps have emulsifiers in them to creat lubrication between the cleaning agent and the fabric of the hat. They put this in there so that clothes don't get "washed out" or faded. Quality of the laundry soap will certainly come into play here, and the "no fade" soaps will certainly keep the navy from fading to denim. The cleaning agents of laundry soap work by attaching themselves to the actual stain, altering its chemical structure, and looseing their bonds to the fabric. Agitation and rinsing remove the "suspended" dirt molecule from your clothing. Scotchguard works by "sealing" the fabric from stains. This is normally done by coating the fabric with some sort of PTFE ostensibly called teflon. There are a lot of variations of this formula, and most if them include some sort of flouride and plastic, but the premise is that your sealing the fabric from stain. The practical application of this scotchguard is good, however, like any layer of protection, can be removed with washings and or repeated friction wear ( for example taking your hat on and off a lot, removing protection from the sweat band ) After all of THAT crap, I would suggest that you "re-apply" your scotch guard coatings to your fabrics periodically. ESPECIALLY if you wash them alot. Also, I would suggest that you do not "water down" febreeze. When a manufacturer makes a fabric refresher, they formulate it so that normal contact with your skin would not create any discomfort. Watering it down just makes it less effective, there is no danger of applying too much. The lawsuits would be tremendous for any chemical manufacturer who would make a product in a Ready To Use formula that would potentially make a person break out in a rash or hives. Most people dont want to take the time of mixing chemicals, and Febreeze certainly knows this. So, while it will make your supply last longer, there really is not any practical reason ( other than cost ) to water down febreeze. If the smell is too strong to you by using it straight out of the bottle, change to a version of a smell you can stand. Water based enzyme cleaners ( like febreeze ) need to be concentrated enough to "munch " the bacteria in your sweat molecules. Watering them down will reduce this process.

Was at a camp a couple of weeks ago with a CWS vet and we were walking the line of equipment on sale and he looked at those reeboks and said " who's the dumb ass that would buy those things and spend half and hour cleaning the mud out of this piece of crap?" ( as he held one up ) That pretty much sealed up my decision on wether to buy them.

You guys are forgetting something. The MLB guys are in a UNION. If they want individual cuts of apparel fees, or sponsorship of certain clothing, they already have a forum for that type of discussion. Union contracts don't last forever. Getting free uniforms and or as much gear as they need to perform their job AND a per diem seems like a pretty good concession that the union was able to get put in their latest contract. The days of stealing baseballs from the dugout to get a free meal at the local watering hole after the game are long gone.

Kevin; Nah, that stuff is just in my wheelhouse. I've owned a year round Auto detail shop since 1996. Before that, I worked at a 13 location carwash chain as the equipment repair/quality control manager. I have a lot of useless chemical, cleaning, carwashing, and business operation knowledge floating around in my head. Thanks for the compliment.

Lysol ( or generics ) is a bacteria killer that uses an airborne ammonia chloride as its disinfectant. It usually uses some sort of ethyl chloride propellant, and leaves a distinctive smell that regardless of what flavor you get, will linger after it dries. It literally disintegrates any living organism it finds. Dont believe me? Spray a little on your hand that has a small cut or not fully healed wound. Febreeze ( and its generics ) uses an enzyme to attact the living organism embedded in your sweat molecules and basically "munches" them to render them odorless. Thats why when you get pet stain cleaner, they tell you to soak the area and let air dry, do not suck up the excess in an extractor or rub dry, and also tell you that the smell might actually be worse while the enzyme breaks down the molecules. Enzyme cleaners do not have a smell. Febreeze actually adds fragrance to their product, and that is what you smell after the enzyme does it work. The guys that clean hockey gear and football gear use Ozone machines. They are not nearly as expensive as they used to be. You can get a nice small machine online from a hydroponics grower for around 75 -125 bucks, and basically they will never go bad, unless you mistreat them. I use my ozone machine here at work and just stick it in my vehicle during the day while I am at work with my gear in the back. By the end of the day, voila! Ozone works by starving the living organism of oxygen, ( on in hydroponics, starting the catalyst reaction ) thereby killing the bacteria. Dead bacteria tell no tales, or in this case, smell no more. Ozone leaves a distinct odor also, and attaches itself to the fabrics of the whatever you are cleaning. ALL that crap being said, for a stinky CP I would use the ozone machine. Once its NOT stinky, maintenance sprays with a fabreeze fragrance you can stand is probably enough to keep the daily stink off. Lysol can irritate your skin if your not careful, ( like if its still damp the next day or that afternoon from an earlier plate game ) because ammonia and ethyl chloride ( alcohol ) dry out skin and cause chafing. Hope this helps.

Thats a good little ditty but one from the rubber has nothing to do with this play because its not the pitcher and you have it wrong because its not always two bases from time of throw. Other than that though you got it right. Its easier for me to remember the ditty and the couple of execptions to the ditty, even though I know them. Just a nmenoic ( sic ) to help me, thats all.

Nothing like the batter calling the pitch for you.

A Gerry Davis classic, and the same stance I have used for the last 6 years. Only difference I do is I curl my fingers around my knee guards. Keep the crook of my elbow out towards the pitcher, just like in this stance. Love it!

This is a modification of the old "one if by land, two if by sea" saying I keep in my head. Pitcher on rubber, one base, pitcher off rubber, or any other "sea" ( fielder ) two bases from time of throw. Just a little thing I keep in my head to remind me of the rule.

Dave; As a long-time migraine sufferer, I can assure you, they have meds for that.

We all agree that when a coach argues balls and strikes, he doesnt even have to leave the dougout to get dumped. ( I hope ) Are there really that many more things out there other than foul language that would result in an auto dump? Sure, and the original question was is a statement " you need to read the rules" an auto dump. I would think that this is kinda like the Supreme Court's definition of Pornography. You can't define it, but I know it when I see it. In my career every time I have heard that statement, it has been either from an idiot fan or a coach in anger shouting it at me cause I missed a call, in his opinion. If a coach waited till a play was over, came out to me, and I turned and faced center field ( like I normally do ) and we stood side by side and talked about the play, and at the end of the conversation he said to me " you need to read the rules" I doubt I would dump him. If he went face to face, and got animated, then yes, I would dump him.

Very Dangerous? Hardly. Keeping your arm pressed against your side exposes your elbow to the pitch. In my stance, with the crook of my arm facing the pitch, my elbow is not exposed at all. I have taken quite a few shots there and trust me, shot to the bone on the outside of your elbow hurts a hell of a lot worse than a pitch hitting my bicep or the meat part of my forearm. Not being able to umpire as much as I want because my knees give out is a hell of a lot more dangerous to my family and mental health than my plate stance.

I use the neoprene sleeves when I get a little sore. This is not really medical advice and probably something you have already considered, but I altered my plate stance and "ready position" when on the bases, and helped my knees alot. A few years back, I went to the "hands on knees" plate stance or in reality, hands just above the knees behind your shin guards. turn your elbows so that the "crook" is facing forward , not to the side, and lock your arms. Adjust your head height by how far you stick your rear end out, or how wide your base is. The key is to lock your arms and rest your weight on them, NOT on your knees. A crouch stance with your arms hanging loose, or the typical Wendlestedt stance with one behind your leg and the other once across your waist puts a TON of pressure on your knees. Just throwing that out there, not trying to change anyone's opinion or stance. On the bases I do the same thing. If I am not in my locked stance ( like sometimes in the A position to change things up ) I "walk" towards the batter one or two steps at the time of pitch and lean in a bit. That keeps my legs moving, the blood flowing, and I dont tighten up. Again, not trying to start an argument about proper mechanics. I just got back from a camp this weekend and had 2 AAA umpires dissect my stance and ready position mechanics and said that what I was doing was perfectly fine, in fact, one of them asked me if I had problems with my knees. I said not since I went to this stance and he said its pretty common to see guys move to this stance because of knee problems.

This is interesting. I was also taught to move up, and not down. I always wondered about that, because I see a lot of MLB guys doing exactly what C.brown described, moving down and "tucking into" the slot. I have never done this. Never had a camp instructor tell me to do this. For those of you that do, when you do that, if someone held the ball over the plate on the outside low corner, can you still see it? or are you relying on the the catcher to help you with where he catches it?

In my experience, Bicep extensions are a sore spot with a lot of umpires. And, those same umpires will give you the standard line about looking like a linebacker, herman munster, and so forth. I used to be one of those guys until one year I got whacked about 4 times on the left bicep. Personally, after not having them, and then having them, I think a lot of it has to do with your arm positioning when you drop down into your stance. I am an "old school" box stance hands on legs ( fingers tucked just underneath my double knee guards- to keep from getting a broken finger ) guy. It just helps me "lock in" and keep my head still and track the ball with my eyes into the mitt. This more than likely has something to do with me getting a few more arm shots. I am not umpiring to win any fashion contests, or figure out if my 40 year old + body can still absorb needless punishment. but I do keep my uniforms clean and neat. I have never once had a coach or evaluator tell me to lose the bicep extensions. But, then again, I have never had them hang out from under my shirt either.

Please don't tell me your one of those guys that lets the extensions hang out outside of the shirt. We had a guy at CDP last year do that and he looked ridiculous! LOL- NO. Funny, thats a pretty easily solved problem. The extensions are attached with a looped velcro strap. Ummmm, tighten the strap? I just included that in there for him because the Charcoal comes standard with the bicep extensions, at least mine did.

The experienced guys will tell you not to use an indicator....suprised they haven't said something by now. I have been using the Markwort Stainless for 5 years now ( by the way, if you have kids, a GREAT christmas present from them to you ) that is a fine indicator. If you do JV or Varsity ball, you might consider the hard shell upgrade for the Champro. Its price competitive to the Charcoal, and after using both I use almost exclusively the Champro hard shell. I have added the bicep extensions to mine, and I enjoy it.

I see, ok, thanks for that, ....that's a different story being hardshell outside. It has lots of gaps, but it's hardshell nonetheless.... I worried about the gaps too when I bought it. But, I haven't had any issues. It might be my stance, I am a box stance guy, hands on legs, with the fingers tucked just behind my double knee shin guards. At 6 ft, this stance means I "lean in" pretty good to get into the slot. Taken lots of shots on the shoulder caps, and that area on the protector is as tough as any ( in my opinion ) I really like the fact ( and it was proven last year ) and feature of the extra padding around the bottom of neck. When I busted my throat guard last year, the guard smashed against the front of the protector and that lip , and I think I felt the shot more on the chin than I did on the chest. Suprised the heck out of me, I think I was more stunned than hurt. Never had a throat guard shot like that before. Varsity game, and the kid was throwing BB's and the other team was totally overmatched. They were just barely tickiling the fastball, and of course that means I took a beating. I'd say conservatively I have got over 200 games with the protector and have been highly satisfied with the quality.

Jeff; I am talking about the newer "pro plus armor" CP that has hard plastic shell on the outside. the older model is first picture on this thread, thats actually a CP135 soft shell., I use that one too, but only for small diamond work. The second picture on this thread is the actual picture of the pro plus armor version.

Another line of thought. Lots of guys like the DIamond ultralight mask ( in silver or black ) and you can normally find one somewhere on the net for about 50-60 bucks shipped to you. A good set of replacement pads will cost you about $30. Just about EVERYONE recommends you change your pads after 2 years of use. So , if it was me, I would buy the Diamond unit this year, and next year get a set of pads on your old mask for $30 bucks. then you will only be spending about 30 bucks a year( over a 3 year period ) , and you will have a decent backup. I switched to the Diamond ( from an older Honigs mask ) and am totally amazed at how much difference the weight of the mask on your neck makes. Youd be hard pressed to get a guy to complain about the Diamond unltralight who has actually used it. Its one of the more popular masks on the market.