blindumpire99

I found this post on "Umpire Shirt Comparison Review" interesting and have nominated it accordingly for "Post Of The Month March, 2009"

Outstanding article! Well written and it's obvious a ton of research work went into this.. I admit to being just like most in that I scour the boards looking for reviews from others on equipment and I have been looking at shirts since mid winter, just hoping an article like this would pop up one day... What timing! Warren, I would like to nominate this post for thread of the month if it's not too late. Thanks again Moump

2 man crews regular HS season through the first round of state playoffs.. Then you get 3 man crews until the finals where they used 4 man crews for the first time ( I think, last year)... On RARE occasions a middle school game and even rarer a JV game might only get one official but never a varsity game... one of my fav comebacks to a smart@$$ coach who criticizes the two man system is " Coach, if you schools would pay for a 4 man crew, this woudn't happen!' Works every time...

Well a couple of years ago the local youth league "assignor" asked me to help him and another umpire to run a clinic for the league's umpires and I readily agreed... But, it just never occured and hasn't since, key words being: "league politics seemingly prevents it from happening..."

Oh it would be outstanding IF you could get the youth league umpires in the same kind of clinic.. But, at least in my local youth league area experience--league politics seemingly prevents it from happening... And it shows on the field, as you would expect...:banghead:

Like MS said, my own association has also done this forever, in ALL the sports we do, stick and ball, football and b'ball... We are actually required to work a minimum of 2 scrimmages per preseason as part of our promotional/ranking points system. As you indicated the attendees are veterans to the newest rookies.. It works.. It's what we refer to in the fire service as OJT (on the job training) for the newer folks and (sometimes as the case may be) Re-training for the older guys as well. And just as you said, JJ, you get critiqued by others and you get to show the rookies the who/what/when/wheres of the job... The teams are out, working out the kinks, so to speak, getting tuned up for the season and the same applies to us as well.. The only diffrence in what your association does is with the moneys paid for the scrimmages. Here, the hosting school is charged a 2 umpire game fee with the money going into the official's association's general fund, designated towards the respective sports officials to be used as they choose in that respective season. For an example, this season, actually LAST season, we voted to buy the NCHSAA special program hat from Honig's with our baseball/softball monies to wear on the field as our "official' hat. We were unable to get them last season, since the assignor said Honig's was out of the hats and by the time of expected delivery, the season would be practically over. So, the association allowed us to carry 08's money over and couple it with 09's money whereas every offcial will be wearing the same logo'ed hat this season. In the past, respective sports in the association has voted to use the money for things such as officials whom had been diagnosed with a serious and/or life threatening and on 2 occasions, terminal illness as gift of appreciation for thier srvice and to help the familys with expenses.

I did a search for this here and came up empty while the search feature on "that other" board was not even working at all when I tried.. But, did I read somewhere that the charcoal pants will be the REQUIRED color beginning in the '10 season?? Thanks in advance

I bought that stuff several years ago and tried it....I tried gluing my numbers onto my mesh shirts..Tried gluing BR patches on my shirts before tournaments.. Didn't work...Shortly after they were exposed to the game, the numbers and patches just fell off..I guess the combination of sweat and the material maybe?? Same thing when I tried it on a jacket...They fell off even quicker...

Better to lose now than when it really counts

I don't use the FYC, per se..I don't play neighborhood or phantom ball. Around in my parts, coaches on both sides of the field expect a base or a runner to be physically tagged and will give you hell if it/they aren't... BUT, I have used a call with a catcher framing a pitch like, "Do you want me to call that a strike on YOU?". Personally, it works every time..

After I had pointedly hinted to "him", I had sorta hoped that Santa would drop of a couple pairs of new charcoal pants and a Wilson Shock HSM, but looks like the DW musta EJ'ed him somewhere along the way...:cheers:

I bought one of these last spring and used it a few times. Overall, not bad.. My cons with it is that the material is a little thin, it's a bi-otch to roll it back into itself sometimes and it's very lightweight, so you gotta be careful in a windy sitch.... http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=414681

Fall ball under FED rules Had to button hook .. didn't feel like taking one to the noggin on a throw to first.....HTBT sitch...Who sees a runner take off while in B or C ??? Sorry, my peripheral vision can't see that far behind me--hence the entire thread's reason....Besides the F6 was charging in, based on his position at the time before and then after the hit/play..I'm turned for the first play in the INF...Runner was leading off big and it was a failed hit and run, per se, hence the collision. This your partners fault. ANY umpire can call INT or OBS. If it was indeed TEXTBOOK according to your partner then why didn't he call it. I agree that as PU you wait a beat or 2 to see if your partner is going to call it, but once he realized you didn't say anything especially on a TEXTBOOK call, then he should have simply said 1. TIME 2. That's interference 3. R2 is out Partner admitted that he just got "tongue tied" in delaying not calling the INT initially..It still wouldn't have prevented rat's "show" The entire affair was a HTBT sitch.....I don't like pulling the trigger but have never regretted doing it...Like others have said, I have regretted not pulling it sooner, or in a couple of cases over the years-not at all...

The TV announcers "dream team": Joe Morgan, Tim He-who-shall-not-be-named, Tony Cornheiser from ESPN and Dick Vitale as the color analyst..... :)

:clap: My question is: What MILF are YOU picking for your VP??

Saturday HS Fall Ball, game 2 of a triple DH that I agreed to work, (or would it be a double triple header?). I am U2 in position C, R2 who attempts to steal, 2 outs, top of the 5th, score is tied between the top 2 teams in this division.. Batter hits a hard chopper to F6. I have button hooked in towards the mound. I hear some kind of commotion behind me and as turn, I see F6 chasing an errant ball and R2 standing there with his arms up in a WTF? pose. The defensive side (3rd base) fans are screaming for INT and the 3rd base coach is screaming "INT" as well. (OBS, but, as usual, what do rats know?) BR is of course on first. Here comes Rat coach gesturing wildly and yelling at me for "That's interference!"!! and, "You can't block the runner!" and, yadayada ad nauseum.... I call time and go to confer with my partner. He is a new partner whom I had never worked with, but who had umpired HS ball previously in another state before he had moved into God's Country earlier this year. Rat coach is now standing in my face screaming about "interference" and yadayadayada....I tell him to get back and partner and I move off away to re-run the play. Partner informs me that R2 did indeed plow the F6 just as he was about to field the ball. I tell him that I didn't see it with my back towards the play, yep, it happened THAT fast. INT or OBS, I can't call nuthin' I didn't see. Partner says that it was indeed textbook INT. Rat coach is still yelling and "explaining the INT rules to us" ( don't ya just love it when rats explain the "backyard or "cow pasture" rules to you?) and is now back in our faces, yelling how the fielder MUST give way to the runner in the basepaths, ect.... I tell him again to back off and calm down (that's ONCE). I try to explain that my back was turned as I tried to get into position, ect...I tell him we're conferring to make the correct call.... Rat gets in my face again and gets his SECOND warning to calm down and listen to the ruling. Now rat starts about "it's too late to make any call now" and "you can't make a call after it's already happened!":WTF He backs away from me and starts on partner who tries to explain WTF happened to him to no avail. We are now all 3 together and he continues to yell and I tell him to calm down (that's THREE) and partner has no luck in educating Rat Coach either on the ruling. He gets in my face again and I heave him.... Partner apologized profusely for delaying in making the call, telling me that he initially thought that I had seen it and would call it, but, in fact, I had missed it...I told him that I probably got caught flat footed myself.. Rat tells me on the way out that he would "see you in the parking lot after this!" I tell him fine, that that is where I'm parked anyway.....I have all my gear stored in the field's press box but, unfortunately, I had to go to the car to get a pair of gloves after the game never giving it another thought, initially. Rat was conspicously MIA....

After doing it for a couple of seasons previously, I told a couple of cohorts one night who asked me why I didn't work the area adult baseball league anymore: "There's no such thing as "adult" baseball"...(MLB excluded for the most part):cheers:

Hey no worries mate! n' welcome to the "terri-trees" 'ere!

What??? No all expenses paid trip to Lance's winter combine in Hawaii? I'm sure he'll cover stuff like 'How to get the big early season games in mild temperate climates":kissass:, and "Impressing the MILF section--guaranteed mechanics to get the girls!":boohoo:, maybe even Critiquing the Big Boys--breaking down MLB'ers via instant replay":shrug: ect and so forth.. You know Lance and those combines!:wow:

I suggested the same thing Tuesday night as diplomatically as possible... After Tuesday's game, my partner approached me about the sitch, relating to me what happened.. He was professional about it and it was obvious that he didn't overhear the buttmunch's slur initially but "word" had gotten around to him later what was said. He was of the opinion that the punk should have been banned completely from the league. But he was very professional about it and that's why I like working with him, besides being a good official. He even smiled as he just shook his head at the ludicrousness of the sitch...

Monday night Fall Ball HS JV level game...I refused to call the game when offered it last week by the Fall Ball assignor because of foreknowledge of both teams' demeanor. After being informed when I arrived for Tuesday night's game by the league admin's, I guessed right, even though I would have liked to have been the proverbial "fly on the wall" for this one.. Story was that one team did not have enough show up to play. So, the two teams decided that they would just play a pick up scrimmage game, having to, literally, pick up a few straggler players and even a couple of fans from other teams who just happened to be hanging out at the field at the time.... Both of the umpires scheduled that night were black, which in itself means absolutely nothing to me, I look at them as quality brother officials whom I work often with and enjoy it, but unfortunately, played into the ensuing festivities. Seems they both begrudingly, agreed to stay around and call the pickup game. ( I don't blame them for not wanting to "work it" - I wouldn't have either) The league's division admins hung around too and probably a good thing too. The action started when one punk was rung up for K3C. He got immediately frustrated and yelled to the HP " That's only 2 blue!". Quickly corrected and verified by his own scorekeeper and a couple of his own team mates, he stomps off, tosses the bat and helmet against the dugout fence and gets thumbed immediately. His tirade continues in the dugout while he gathers his stuff up. In a pick up scrimmage game..... So, here comes Mommy down to the fenceline and dugout followed by big mouth Dad. Story is Mom is apologizing profusely to anyone who will listen -she really IS a sweet lady-I know actually ALL of the family- while Dad picks up "Junior's" tirade and starts his own grumblings...he pretty much IS a d**k.. League officials direct Dad and Junior out and they start up the hill towards the parking lot when Little Junior yells out, " You stupid n****r!" towards the HP umpire, who actually did not even hear this, according to the league admininstrator who told me the story before Tuesday night's game which I work with the same official. League admin also informed me that he had been in phone convo with both the kids head coach AND the Dad and was informed not to come back the rest of the week and when he did next week to apologize to the official involved. He was also warned he risked permenant banishment from the entire league throughout his HS career if he ever used the word again..

Wow, I concur.....Most toddlers that age can barely even count to 9..LOL

At the last clinic, Lance highly recommended this chair: http://www.picnicfun.com/products/radio-cooler-chair?utm_campaign=Product-Datafeeds&utm_medium=datafeed&utm_source=Google-Base His reasons were so blatantly obvious.....comfortable folding chair with BOTH a built in cooler AND an am/fm radio capability which, as you well know since you are undoubtedly working The Big Game of course, you can tune into the live radio broadcast. ( Or your favorite disco oldie station) The advantage, Lance says to the radio capability, is that you can clean out any necessary motormouths in the pressbox who may disagree with a call you make or generally portray you in a bad way to the listening audience.. Room enough for an entire case of your fav frosty beverage and VERY advantageous for any ump possessing a face made only for radio---like Lance....

After running into several of these being used by players in the fall ball league, I began to wonder how widespread or popular they might have become? The contacts made with these by HS kids have been impressive. But what is surprising to me is that the new bamboo bats are the ONLY wooden bats that come with a BESR imprint--the same type embossing applied to aluminum bats... Their performance equals an aluminum, IMHO.. I haven't seen any break yet, unlike the maple that exploded the other night and the barrel bounced off my partners left knee behind the dish...

Kinda reminds me of the terrible day that I had to endure at Myrtle Beach a couple of years ago, having to bask with my golden tan whilst sitting in my beach chair, refreshing frosty beverageS in hand, with a great turnout of MILF Angels that day, binoculars fully functional while watch the BLUE Angels practice for their show there! The things we force ourselves to endure in order to preserve our way of life---all in the name of truth, justice and the American Way! Warren, my question for you is, with your important job as a hole spotter (did it ever move?? Sorry, couldn't resist..Why do I keep envisioning Bill Murray in Caddyshack?) do you feel that the mechanics learned at one of Lance's combines served to enhance your capabilities in your endeavor??;)