Rook23

My turn - Diamond frame, harness, throat guard. Team Wendy pads So far I think Thunder is still the leader in the clubhouse.

So I broke down and bought a set that arrived yesterday. Out of the box, I gotta say I expected them to be a little more "cushiony." Perhaps it was my fault - after reading all the posts on here I expected them to feel like a cloud from Heaven tickling my face. They seem a little stiff and I'm having a hard time getting the bottom of the chin pad to stay down and not push up against my jaw, which is promblimatic but I think I can fix that with experimenting with the Velcro configuration. Like any sane person would do, I put them on and then proceeded to face palm myself to see what a shot would feel like. I wasn't blown away - granted this wasn't exactly an episode of Sports Science. Have you guys found that they break-in and form to your face a little bit? Anyone else feel the same way I did out of the box? I'm replacing the Diamond stocks in my Ix3 that felt much more comfortable so far, but I know I'll explode if I take another face shot with those on.

I read all of these posts where guys talk about the mask set-up they use. I read about different cages, pads, sun visors, throat guards, colors, harnesses, ect. Post a pic of your rig and lets get a thread going to show off your creations! I have a new one coming in the mail so I'll join the party on Friday.

i realize I'm in the minority, but I don't get the issue. I feel like most, not all, umpires have a background playing and/or coaching baseball before they got into umping; I know I do. On a baseball field, a long sleeve shirt under a short sleeve shirt is about as common as buttons on a jersey. I see the need for the undershirt to be the same color as the shirt, unlike players and coaches using contrasting colors, but as long as that happens, what's the big deal? As many years as I've spent on a baseball field, it's actually really comfortable for me to put a LS base layer under an athletic shirt anytime I do anything active and it's under 65. That's the way I was brought up as player, and as a coach I enforced it so I had to abide by it as well. It just feels natural at this point. I get the standard that an umpire should always look professional - pressed clothes, clean shoes, matching, proper hat wear, ect. I just don't see how this violates that criteria. For the record, I've yet to sport that look, against my desire to do so.

I kept waiting it out but got bored. Only so much I can read about IFF rules.

DeMuth is going with the same look tonight in Game 3 of the ALDS. I guess he doesn't visit this board enough! :)

PLEASE tell me you used this solely for T-ball! Never too early to start teaching the birds and bees while also officiating baseball games.

I found some Eisenhower dollar pieces. I got 10 of them for $12.50 at some random coin store. They work great!

I got the NB NU460s from Shoebuy.com. They were full price but they always have either $25 off the purchase or 20-25% off the entire deal. I hit them with the % off and picked up both plate and base shoes. One of the older guys gave me some POS+ to start me out. I like my NBs much much better. Not as heavy but feel more sturdy if that makes any sense. I think NB will have me hooked for as long as I do this.

Thanks guys. Thunder - I've been doing mostly 12U and lower with just a few 14U sprinkled in. I've taken some shots this year but nothing more then a stinger or two. I realize that a hard shell CP is the way to go, but my Diamond has really done a good job this year. I think it actually has a hard piece built-in the sternum area, but I could be wrong. I just know that it's much harder in that spot than the others. Sounds like it's up between WV Gold and Douglas, as I suspected. All things the same, I guess I would lean more towards the Douglas as "The Cowboy" is one of my least favorite umps in the game. It's like wearing Lebron sneakers!!! I'm kidding....kinda. More logically, I've read that the WV isn't ideal for smaller frame guys. I'm 5'11 and a lean 185 - only good thing about having heart surgery before you 30 is it makes you stay in shape! Fittske - How much would it set me back to have TW retro-fit with the Zorbium padding you were talking about?

After my first year of youth ball, I'm going to jump into the world of HS baseball this coming spring. To get started, I bought everything Diamond because it seemed to be good intermediate stuff, and it has been. I know I'll need to get a hard plastic CP for HS ball this spring. I've read all the threads about the fits, sizing, ribs, heat, shoulder gaps, what's "cool," ect. My situation is a little more specific - I had open heart surgery a few years back. I'm a fit/slender guy so I don't have any additional padding and my sternum is still somewhat fragile. I think I've narrowed my search between the WV Gold and Douglas. Although I wore nothing but All-Star as a catcher, the reviews of the System 7 fit makes me nervous. My question is to those of you that have worn multiple "pro" CPs, which of these do you feel gave the best chest protection? Specifically, the middle chest/sternum area.

Fellas, I've read a few topics on this but I wanted to try to get a more exact answer. I've been wearing the Majestic MLB polos in both carolina blue and black. I LOVE the fit of this shirt as I have a lean athletic build. Well now I have to grab some cream, scarlet, and navy polos and of course they don't offer these colors in the Majestics. My question is, can anyone tell me which polos have a comprable fit to the MLB Majestic polo? I HATE having a polo that fits too big. I feel sloppy, like I have my old man's shirt on or something. I know a lot of polos come roomy to accommodate a CP but I need something with a more athletic cut. I hope that makes sense. I just don't feel like ordering 6 diff polos in diff sizes and going broke sending stuff back that doesn't work. Thanks all!

First post! Love the site and I've been here everyday for the past month gathering rules, mechanics, ect. This is awesome. Back to the OP, I had a similar situation today. I'm fairly new to the umpiring side of baseball so I wanted to make sure I know this situation inside and out for the next time this comes up. I looked in my rulebooks/casebooks and could't find anything. Same situation - Ball hit to F8, BR is obstructed by F3 to which I make the call and let play continue. BR glides into second as the ball arrives shortly after. Seeing/hearing my signal, third base coach waved the BR to 3rd, which he would have never made with or without obstruction. He's promptly banged and we stuck with the out call. My understanding is that BR gets the base to which the umpire feels he would have reached had their been no OBS. Anything past that is the BR advancing at his own risk. If I'm an idiot, I can take it - just help me out with where to find the correct ruling.