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BretMan

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Everything posted by BretMan

  1. BretMan

    Base Runner

    I’ll answer for USA softball and NFHS, since those are the two sanctions I currently work. For others...you’re on your own! If a fair batted ball hits a runner who is in foul ground, the runner is not out, unless the contact prevented a fielder from making a play on the ball.
  2. BretMan

    Base Runner

    The answer to this one depends on the rule set. There are variations to this rule for different sanctioning bodies. Heck, it could even ruled differently depending on if it's slow pitch or fastpitch! Generally, in softball a runner hit by a fair batted ball while in contact with a base, who did not interfere intentionally, is not out. Since the field is smaller and runners can't lead off, softball recognizes a that a runner will be restricted to that spot with less chance to avoid the ball. So they cut the runners some slack if they're hit while touching a base. Where some sanctioning bodies differ is what happens after the runner is hit. Some say that the ball is immediately dead, some say that it remains live, and some call it live or dead based on the position of the closest fielder. You need to know which rules you're playing under to know which one applies. When a runner is hit by a fair batted ball while off the base, if the ball has passed a fielder, then the ball remains live and the runner is not out. If the ball hasn't passed a fielder, then the ball is dead and the runner is out. Note that I said the runner had to be hit by a FAIR batted ball. If it hit them in foul territory, then it's just a foul ball.
  3. Lots of talk about the new Cobalt...but I see that there’s another new CP from All Star on the Ump Attire website. How about that F3 clone-looking soft cover hard shell? Looks interesting. Has it been out for awhile or is it as new as the Cobalt?
  4. One that I had... Runner on second base. Batter hits a line drive right up the middle, over the pitcher’s head. R2 takes a few steps toward third. F6 takes a few steps toward second. BOOM! They collide! Freeze frame it right there. At the instant the two collided, the ball was about ten feet off the ground, directly over second base, and exiting the infield. i called obstruction. The offensive coach argued that it should have been interference. I noted where the ball was and told him that, in my judgment, F6 could not have fielded the ball. He argued, “But my shortstop is really good!”. Sorry...it wasn’t humanly possible for any shortstop to get that ball...unless they could fly!
  5. Same here. I had just decided to send my Platinum to TW when they announced that they were no longer taking orders.
  6. I think that you misread what I wrote, and what Max wrote (and, yes, I had already read Max's post before posting). I said "Smitty". Max's post doesn't mention the Smitty brand at all. Smitty is the brand that sells umpire and sports official uniforms. Didn't they start out as a division of Adams?
  7. And isn't Smitty a subsidiary of Adams? Keeping it all in the family!
  8. A strange thing about that website...It lists an address in California, but the phone number has an area code (740) for southeastern Ohio.
  9. My solution might not be for everybody. I just took those pads out and left them out. My Platinum fits me so that my shoulders are well covered. The actual shoulder cups hit more at my triceps/biceps area. So, now that area only has the plastic shell of the shoulder cap, minus the padding. I made this change at the suggestion of another umpire years ago. In all those years, I've never taken a hit in this area that caused a problem. The protector is so much more comfortable! It almost feels low profile...or, at least it doesn't feel like Franken-ump anymore!
  10. The System Seven harness is a quality product, it just isn't sized to fit some protectors. If your existing harness clips are on the side it might be long enough. But if the clips are on the front of your protector, it might not be. I bought one to use on my Platinum. It was so tight that it pressed into my diaphragm and made it feel like I couldnt breathe. If only the straps were a little bit longer...
  11. I’ve see this same exact question pop up on various discussion boards and forums at least a dozen times. And the answer is still the same... This is a time play. If the run scores before the appeal, count the run. If the appeal was made before the run scores, then the run does not count.
  12. 3- Use your eyes and ears to gather as much input as you can, then make the best call possible. They’re always going to be second guessing you, don’t take their word as fact. On this one, your best response was probably, “That's not what I had”. And leave it at that. Walk away and return to your position.
  13. 1- Stick to your fundamentals. Before the pitch, get your reference points to judge your boundaries of the strike zone. Use good timing. Wait for the pitch to hit the mitt, take a half second to replay it in your head, make a decision, then call it. 2- There’s a reason that they call the side opposite the slot “the kill zone”! Your chance of getting nailed by a foul ball is much greater there. Stay in the slot, raise higher, go lower, adjust, so what it takes to see the pitch and the pitcher.
  14. BretMan

    Tipped Ball

    In order to answer this question, we have to assume what “tipped back to the catcher” means. Was it in a sharp and direct line, or was there some perceptible arc on the ball? It does matter and the question isn’t specific.
  15. Ya know... In FED you can get two strikes on one pitch. Does that mean the entire rest of your analysis is suspect?
  16. The wolfe_man's a good guy! I've bought a couple of things from him, and get this... He just happens to work a few minutes from my house. On his lunch hour he personally delivered what I bought right to my door. You can't beat customer service like that!
  17. That "delay or hasten" rule works great for the situations where it was intended: Games that might involve approaching bad weather or darkness. Stalling with darkness coming, when the home team is threatening to take the lead, or purposely making outs to end the fifth inning and make the game official when you have the lead and it's about to rain are good examples of either delaying or hastening the game. But when you throw in a game clock- which is NOT what this rule was meant to address- then things get a little stickier. On this one, does intentionally walking four batters delay the game? No, it does not. The game would still progress at a normal pace expected for typical game play. Nothing is being stalled or delayed. Then does it hasten the game? That is, does it cause the game to come to a conclusion sooner than it would under normal game play. No, it actually will make another inning be played. How can you say that is ending the game sooner than normal? It not hastening the game. It's lengthening it!
  18. BretMan

    Hit By Pitch

    That’s the way I always looked at it. The batter has an obligation to avoid the pitch- if it is indeed avoidable. Many times it’s not.
  19. BretMan

    Hit By Pitch

    Yeah, but, but... If it’s rec league softball, they might very well have the rule that a batter does NOT need to avoid a pitch if it’s completely inside of the batter’s box. That’s the rule that was first created by NCAA baseball, then NCAA softball adopted it, then it trickles down to many other amateur softball rule sets.
  20. Thunderheads, that makes perfect sense to me because it’s how I solved the same problem on my old Reebok Magistrates. Lace then up just like you’d normally lace up a pair of shoes, totally leaving the top plate out of it. Then when the shoe is laced up run each lace straight up through the holes in the plate, pull tight, and tie. I have a brand new pair of V3 low tops that haven’t seen the field yet and it’s good to know this same trick will work for them!
  21. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Power-Riddell-Umpire-Chest-Protector/173789623251?hash=item2876ab33d3:g:JGoAAOSw3bBcYeZB&redirect=mobile I don't know if this one has been posted yet. That sure is...orange???
  22. With respect to the Ohio uniform requirements... I first joined the OHSAA in 2000. Their uniforms do need to have a specific logo that has to be embroidered on shirts and hats. But they never had a logo with a specific date embroidered on it, as part of the logo itself, that changed year to year. They had one logo when I started, no date on it, that was good for the first decade or so that I umpired. Then they redesigned the logo. Umpires were given a three year advance notice that the change was coming. That newer logo has been in effect for about five years. Again, no numbers or dates on the logo. It can be used every year into the future (until some point where it might change again). The good news is that our official shirts and hats can be used from year to year going forward. The bad news is...they're blue! So, Ohio is kind of Draconian...but they're not THAT Draconian!
  23. I really don't think that it's a matter of managers "being afraid to protest". I think it's a combination of: 1) Not knowing how the protest procedure is supposed to work, and; 2) Not being 100% sure of the rule themselves. Then throw in all the leagues that don't allow protests, and all the tournaments that charge an exorbitant fee to lodge one, and it's no surprise that protests aren't correctly used more often.
  24. I'm guessing that your question involves the fact that in slow pitch softball bunting is illegal. The definition of a bunt (to paraphrase) is when the ball is "intentionally tapped slowly within the infield". So the umpire here has a decision to make. Was it the batter's intent to tap the ball slowly? If yes, then it's a bunt and the batter is out. If not, then it's just a plain old batted ball.
  25. Well, that definitely confirms that these trilocs were supposed to be there and were missing on the CP that I bought. Good customer service is nice, but getting a product that's right the first time is even nicer. These missing parts rendered my CP unusable and fostered a negative image of this company. All over a $1.50 piece of plastic. (If that seems harsh, it's coming from someone with decades of experience in manufacturing. I have lots of first-hand experience where "mistakes = lost customers".)
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