Lefty

Using a Balloon is really simple. Put one arm through each strap. Once you have your arms through the straps place both of your hands under the bottom of the balloon. Then raise the balloon up with your hands and hold it up against the bottom of your chin. Don't forget to tuck your elbows behind the balloon. When it is time to remove your mask use your lefty hand to remove it like you always do. Next place the mask against the bottom lefty side of the balloon while you remove your right arm from the strap. This action will cause the balloon to swing to your left side where you can hold it secure by applying pressure with your mask. If the balloon is not moving fast enough when place your mask on it you can use your right hand to give it push to help it swing around on your left shoulder to your left side. As far as where to stand let the catcher set up first and then assume a position that leaves enough space so the catcher does not hit the balloon if he moves backward. Your head height should be same as when using a inside protector. Hope this helps Lefty

Where is the post on this subject? Date and forum location please. I was unable to find it. Thanks Lefty

I wear mine with the bill facing forward. I have the straps that hold the mask on loose. The mask goes on and comes off with no problem. If I get hit in the mask, the mask will turn or come off. Thus reducing the force that is applied to my head by the impact.

Does anyone know what kind of plastic a chest protector is made of? I thought it was polycarbonate but I was told it is not. Lefty

I wear a catcher's skull type helmet. It works really well. I do not have to worry about getting hit in the head by baseballs that bounce off the close backstop or a low top screen. However, some people do not like that I wear a helmet.

I have one Carlucci model ball bag. It is navy blue and I believe it is in better condition than the ones in your picture. Yours for $10 plus about $5 for shipping. Lefty

Is the Douglas force 3 mask the same mask as the Defender force 3? They look like the same mask to me. Lefty

Has anyone used the new force 3 mask? If so what is your feeling about it. Thanks Lefty

The letters BBUC Stand for Back and Blue Umpire Camps. They have a web page under that name. They put on camps for umpires. They put on a two man camp and a three man advanced camp.

I went to the Inland Empire Umpire Clinic again this year. It was Held at Ramona High School in Riverside, Ca. on 12/5/15. It was a one day camp and the cost was $55. The instructors for the clinic were provided by BBCU. They donated their services , so that all the fees could go to help the high school baseball program. This was a great clinic and alot useful was given by the BBCU instructors. Lefty

Last Saturday I went to a one day clinic at Ramona High school in Riverside Ca. The cost of the clinic was only $55. Dave Mills had Billy Haze and members of Black and Blue Umpire camps doing all of the instructing. This was a great clinic. There was not a bunch of time spent sitting and listening to a lecture. It was only field exercises with on the field instruction explaining what was the proper way to do something. When it was your turn to do a drill the instructors gave immediate feed back after you finished the drill. If you can I would recommend going to this clinic next year. Lefty

I do a lot of men's league recreation ball. They like to cry about balls and strikes. In one major league baseball game I heard the plate umpire calling the position of the ball so I decided to try it. Well I must say it cut out most of the crying. Plus at times the catcher will tell the coach or the pitcher where I said the ball was. And then the catcher will say to the pitcher bring it up or in or get it down depending on the situation. This voicing of the position of the has worked for me

C. Brown Hi C. Brown Brent Rice, Adam Swartz, and Alex Ortiz were the instructors. All three are regular instructors at the school. Brent was the head instructor for the clinic. Adam and Alex did alot of the demonstrations for us. This clinic was limited to about 25 students. Having a small class ment each student got more attention. Lefty

Hi Everyone, I went to the Wendelstedt Umpire Clinic last Friday ,Saturday, and Sunday. I really enjoyed the clinic. It was money well spent. The rain forced us to stay inside Saturday but Sunday we were able to work outside. The instructors did a great job in presenting and teaching material on the two man system. If you get a chance to attend a Wendelstedt clinic I highly recommend that you go. Lefty

Does anyone use this chest protector? If so up to what level is it safe to be used? I know that Midwest Ump did a review of it but I can no longer access his page. I would appreciate information about this chest protector from some who has used it. Also this is the Champro hard shell protector. Thanks Lefty

Sorry for the slow reply. The runner in this situation was right behind the fielder, In fact he was so close I did not see the ball hit him. When my partner came over to see me after he called the runner out. He told me the ball had hit the runner, He wanted my opinion on the play. I seem to remember yelling from both managers. One wanted an out and the other a foul ball I think. Lefty

Had this situation come up today. I was the base umpire for the game. There were runners on first and third. I was in the B position. The batter hits a very slow roller down the third base line. The ball goes into foul territory and passes the third baseman. The runner from third is behind the fielder closer to third base. Once the ball is past the third baseman it takes a strange bounce and hits the runner who had moved into fair territory to avoid being hit by the foul ball. My partner called the runner from third out and a dead ball. He came to me for help and I told him if the runner was in foul territory it would be a foul ball and if he was in fair territory he would be out. However, something that i did not think about was that the ball had passed the fielder and hit the runner who was standing right behind him. Now that I think about it maybe the ball should have been left in play because the third baseman had a chance to field the ball and did not. An opinions. Lefty

I have worn Cliff Keen combo charcoal gray pants for over two years now. These pants still look good. I like them a lot. Lefty

Hi Everyone, I went to a Umpire Clinic today at Ramona High School in Riverside Calif. This was a very good clinic . It was limited to about 40 Umpires so you would get more attention. I met some new Umpires today and saw some others I have known for a while. One of the instructors was Angel Campos. Angel is a AAA and Big League Umpire. I have known Angel for a while. He is a real nice guy and very knowledgeable. Lefty

Hi Everyone, I went to the MLB Umpire clinic last Saturday . It was held In Compton Calif. It was a great clinic. I enjoyed the day and learned some new things that will help me in the future. If you every have a chance to go to one of these clinics I suggest that you go. Lefty

I wear glasses and use a traditional mask. I use a strap to hold them on. I have had my mask hit numerous times. My glasses have not been knocked off due to the strap. I have even had my mask knocked off but the glasses stayed in place. Wearing the traditional mask with glasses should not be a problem. Lefty

Those are the ones. I had two pair of them. The first pair dented when I got hit on the knee cap by a foul ball. I am using the second pair now. They cracked when I got hit on the knee by a foul ball. Lefty

I wrote once before about these shin guards. The first pair I had dented when i got hit by a foul ball. I got a nice big bruise on my knee.I got rid of those shin guards. The other night I was wearing my other pair of Wilson charcoal shin guards. I took another foul ball off my knee. This time the shin shin guard cracked . I am just giving a heads up about these shin guards, buyer beware. I think I will buy the new All Star shin guards next. Lefty

When I was working a men's league game this year I took a foul ball on the shoulder cap of my chest protector. At the time it hurt like crazy. After that night game I just took my gear off and went home. A few days later I was putting my gear on for a game and my partner said hey did you know your chest protector has a big crack. I looked at it and the shoulder cap had a crack that covered half of its width. Needless to say I did not use it for the game. The chest protector was a Champion Hard shell. Lefty

I numbered the questions so as to make the answers reference them, and the answers depend on the rules being used. 1. Ball in HS and pro (you are correct) 2. Ball in HS and pro (you are correct) 3. Ball and not a balk in pro, but a balk and not a ball in HS 4. Ball in HS and pro Thanks Noumpere, This was the information I was looking for. Lefty