Ump it UP

Cool I just loaded it.

Good info thanks. I crease but never tried ironing. I'm honestly not trying to be a jerk here, but first I wouldn't try it on mesh. But mesh isn't suitable for any level of organized baseball. The cost isn't that different from the wool, and for all the effort umpires go through to look the part, a mesh cap would ruin all of that effort. Usually when people start their sentances with things like I'm not trying to be a jerk, means they actually are LOL I agree promesh doesn't give the best look. He's a player in a BP uniform. Apples to oranges. If umps had a BP uniform maybe they would allow mesh. Have a great day. It's almost baseball season!

And people say umpiring is easy. A complex play, that requires skill and concentration, and most of all good timing. It was said this could be the best call of the postseason, it also could have been the worst if his timing and focus were off. I like Hernandez and never understood why he gets such a bad rap, but maybe this will up his rep.

That was pretty quick for my Rangers soooo.... I'm looking for another team to throw my support behind. I love an underdog so the A's look good. Kills me to say that. I like seeing the O's and Nats in too. Cant be the evil empire so anybody they play I'll be pulling for.

Tx guys!

Didn't know that but makes some since... I think. :HS

Im an Android guy and I didn't see it in the Play Store.

I don't think a ball could go that far off the wrist. It had to hit something hard. Good call.

I've always been a Rangers fan, I've been so happy that for the last few years they have been contenders. They had some dark days in their past. The AL side looks incredibly competitive. I'm not so sure I can say the same for the NL. I would say the NL side will come down to the Nationals and Giants.

This seems cool when is the next one?

I've seen this one, but haven't worn it or a gold or a platinum for that matter, but it is on my short list for my next CP.

When will next years rules books be available. I have a used one from 2010 I'm using now but I only just started doing HS fall ball. The group I'm currently with doesn't do their regular season, but I'm joining the state association in the spring. I know you cant download the HS rule book and I'm not a member of NFHS yet to get it from them. I want to start studying up so I can feel prepared when I go to their training in Feb.

I'm a newbie but have read enough to know some of you guy go crazy for this one and wanted to share. http://www.ebay.com/itm/POS-Umpire-Mask-SUL200-5237-/160895429385?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item25761d6b09

I think this must be somebody associated with Unequal, they are now selling another, how would somebody have 2 this early out after you guys waited so long? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Unequal-Technologies-Umpire-Chest-Protector-/180989091734?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a23ca5f96 The description says new, unused and unworn so it shouldn't be a returned item. I'm looking at new CPs as I transition into higher level ball, but not interested in the unequal chest protector as I haven't seen anybody say that this is the best thing ever.

Hello my name is Billy, and thanks to many of you I'm becoming an umpiring addict. I started umpiring almost involuntarily. At that time I was in college and spent a summer living with my older sister. Her husband got deployed and I moved in to help her out --and live rent free if I'm being honest. That summer turned into 3 years of living with them as they were close enough to my school I could commute and as long as I helped around the house and with my nephew I could stay. I took my nephew to his LL games and honestly without trying to put anybody down the umpiring was constantly beyond awful. I've been visiting here for a while and have seen some of the photos you guys put up of umpires out of uniform, wearing jeans, caps turned around, shins over the jeans and everything and see how you scorn those guys. This league would have been lucky to get those type of umps. The umps were all over the place from age to weight to attitude the only constant was how bad they were. After a few beyond ridiculous calls even some to my nephew's team's benefit, I went to complain to the leagues UIC. He went on with the sob story of how they don't get many people to volunteer and they don't have any money for training, blah, blah, blah. He then said he had 2 games next week he didn't have an ump for and didn't even ask if I would work them, more or less he just told me the times and then showed me the umpires closet where they kept the umpire's gear. OMG this stuff was disgusting! Everything was old, dirty and STUNK! Had they not even heard of Lysol???? But being shown the umpire's closet was the complete extent of my training. I reluctantly showed up for the games I was "told" to do. As bad as their umpires were after those two games I felt like they were pros compared to me. I was the worse umpire on the planet earth that day and it got under my skin. So being the hard headed glutton for punishment I am I went back to the UIC, who said I did a great job - that shows how far up his ass his head was- and told him to give me some more games. I wasn't going to be worse than the clowns I was complaining about. I felt I was getting better and actually got given a lot of playoff games that first year. But I was still umpiring without training, not knowing the rules and actually still enforcing BS rules I now know are myths. In the off season I just so happen to find a LL rules book and a MLB rule book at a yard sale and picked it up for like $0.50. SCORE!!! Yeah it was already 5-6 years old at that time, but how much do the rules change???? I read through those and while I didn't fully understand everything I was still like holy excrement!!! I didn't know jack and I played up through HS. I came back for a second year, after the first game that year and wearing that nasty equipment I hit ebay and got some decent gear for little league level of my own. I even got a uniform, but still wore my cap backwards under the mask. Hey, Baby steps people and I had to work within the budget of a starving college student so ebay was my friend. At the end of year #2 the UIC quit and I was asked to take the position. I eagerly said yes. I was going to change the world. I put together a whopping 2 day training clinic at the beginning of the next year, sharing all of my what I thought was knowledge. I sent regular emails with tips to the umps to help them improve. Unfortunately there was an epidemic of dont-give-a-damn-itis. Add to that I was just a college kid and many of the umps were older than my dad and didn't seem to care too much for me and any of the improvements I was trying to make. I asked the board for some money to get rid of all the old stuff in the closet and get new gear. They gave me a whopping $75 - really??? I used that and even put in my own money -once again I was a poor college student who worked a few hours a week at Home Depot at the time so the little I did put in of my own was huge to me. But I found deals on ebay and craigslist and got it resupplied over the course of the year. But over that year I was also exposed to the evil underside of LL or at least in our program, politics. My God who knew how political LL was. And I as the youngest on the board as the UIC thought it was all incredibly childish. I intended to stay longer, but my brother in law got transferred, and my free ride in that town was over. I found a house close to campus with a room to rent pretty cheap, and I joined up with their local LL. Here I only umpired, I decided not to get involved any higher. This group was better, they even gave their umps a tshirt for a uniform, but better was a relative term. Well I graduated from college and didn't have a job. I moved to a town pretty close to 2 cities where I was hoping to find a job in one of them, but we all know how the economy is. ANYBODY OUT THERE LOOKING FOR A RECENT GRAD WITH AN ARCHITECTURE DEGREE AND 3.3 GPA??? Hey, I've got to try. I'm now doing construction work with a custom home builder much to my dad's scorn, "you're the first in the family with a college degree and your pounding nails? I hope you enjoy all those student loan payments." But this work does well with umpiring. I work from 5 am to 3pm or so and can make it to almost any game. I joined a local group here that does all sorts of youth ball in the area, and guess what we get paid! I never thought amateur umpires got paid. They also have some basic type training. I was introduced to a new term umpire mechanics. Then I stumbled upon the umpiring forums. And umpire empire became my favorite. I'll say just lurking and reading alone improved my skills and understanding. Over the time I've been lurking I feel like I already know a bunch of you. This fall I've been doing some HS fall ball and am enjoying it and will be joining the group that does their regular season games. Sorry for the novel of an intro, but I'm home sick today, bored to tears and daytime TV completely blows. I better be well for Monday.