guitarplaya2007

I saw the smitty poly wools in person a couple weeks ago, the color fades very fast so they have a greenish Tint to them. I would never buy a pair of these. The honigs poly wools will continue to get my business... I don't think anyone can make a better pant than hardwicks.

Wish all managers were this attentive and knowledgable to understand and think when you do this "You know i bet he was thinking 'he's getting pretty close to being in an illegal pitching position' i might want to say something to my pitcher and let him know he needs to fix that" Usually it's "What the he!! is he looking at? he's just an a$$"

I do have gear I'm comfortable working the plate with, I just am not quite sure on the traditional mask yet... I love not having all the bulk on my head but am just a little iffy on the trade off between the comfort of a lighter mask over the larger field of vision I get from the hsm. Not to mention the hsm Makes me feel safer.

Well haven't posted on here for a while but jsut figured i would update you all, had a buddy of mine offer a mask to me who said he owuld mail it to me, never got it so needing a mask asap I stopped in at Honigs Fort Lauderdale location and picked up their last Wilson titanium, paid a little more than i would have from Ump Attire but needed the mask then so I guess it was worth it. Only thing is I haven't worn it in a game yet, I just don't feel comfortable wearing a traditional mask yet especially behind high school catchers when they can barely get a glove on a pitched ball, let alone a foul ball directly off the bat. My initial thoughts on it though are that it is comfortable on my face and light. As far as all the guys saying that titanium doesn't dent I have had the exact opposite experience with titanium as far as my Shock FX goes, I've already sent 2 in to Wilson to be replaced due to being bent, however both shots would have probably put me in the hospital if I were wearing any other type of mask.

I've umpired in Canada before, i didn't really notice that much of a "difference" in the interpretations of rules or anything though... then again this league contained teams from both the US and Canada and we played in both countries...

i have had smitty shirts and wore them for one game and gave them away, went back to honigs shirts just because they breathe SO MUCH BETTER! I can't believe that UA is going to be giving MILB Smitty shirts, i bet that only lasts until the next CBA and they demand better shirts.

could you imagine working a game wearing either of those?

honestly... who tucks a jacket period... to each their own i guess...

Missouri is Navy for baseball and I have no clue on softball as I haven't worked softball in 5 + years. Really wish NFHS and the state associations would get with the program and go with black and polo blue shirts for baseball, looks way more professional and the polo blue is exponentially cooler on hot humid days.

My bad, yes nobody should ever under any circumstances work over top of the catcher, you should always be in the slot. I was only voicing what i had been told by mlb and milb guys that working the box reduces your probability of a concussion when hit in the mask as opposed to working the scissors. Both still hurt and both will have you seeing stars for a minute or two but when working the box your whole body can absorb the force of the hit a bit more than when working the scissors.

The scissors has been proven to cause more head and neck injuries than the "box" aka working the slot. When working the scissors you are bracing your head and neck forward and not letting your legs and upper body "flex" backwards when taking a shot to the mask. Where as in the box your upper body and go back with the pitch therefore absorbing some of the impact, not all but some. This is why MLB is trying to convert several of the "scissors umpires" to working the slot. Yes you will get concussions working the slot as well but it has been proven that the chance is greater for concussion from working the scissors. Am I a doctor, no, all of this information has come from former and current minor league umpires. Take that for what it is worth, IMO the occaisional shot to the thigh or groin that may hurt for a day or two is a good trade off for cutting down on the risk of concussion. Just my 2 cents.

oooooohhhhhh i liek the samurai g4, but there has to be a reason why more guys don't wear this...

I don't think i've seen the mizuno, and I don't like the looks of the older all stars mvps rawlings or any of those hsms for that matter. The 2 that i like the looks of are the shock fx and the MVP 4000 i will have to look into the mizuno though

yes if they baclk and do not throw, but we know that the pitcher stepping to first and "double clutching" before throwing is a balk but we can't kill it before he throws the ball, the mechanic is "That's a balk!" then wait for playing action to stop (the pitcher not throwing the ball would be when all playing action has stopped) or wait to see if all runners including the batter runner do not advance a base safely, THEN say "TIME!" and award the balk. I agree you should kill it as soon as possible to prevent the inevitable "$h!t shows" that follow, but you have to allow the opportunity for runners to advance beyond their awards, especially in overthrow situations. Let me give you an example, R1 R3 (under 2013 obr assuming) pitcher steps towards third and realizing the third baseman is not covering hesitates in throwing to third, at this point you would say "That's a balk" and then immediately after hesitating he throws the ball and it glances off the fence behind 3rd and rolls into left field R3 scores easily on the play and R1 attempting to advance the third is thrown out at third. The out stands, the balk WAS for the feint to third but the throw was released. I understand this rarely happens, usually the pitcher just holds onto the ball or falls on his face when he realizes no one is covering, but this situation does happen and you have to be prepared for when it happens.

good ole earl weaver... anyone know of the video where ken kaiser gets hit in the mask first pitch of the game then calls the next 3 pitches balls and yells in the dugout "You better get another pitcher warm, he's not gonna last long" I would love to find that online, it is classic

This is wrong in a few ways. 1. A throw from the rubber is one base. This is irrelevant, because 2. An illegal feint from the rubber is an immediate dead ball. Ok 1.) The 2 base award is assuming the pitcher did a complete 3rd to first move and for whatever reason we as umpires have a brain fart making the call immediately and don't make him fall on his face by us calling balk 2.) An illegal feint from the rubber is NOT an immediate dead ball, let's say F1 double clutches to first because the first baseman is playing his position and not holding the runner on, then the pitcher throws the ball away. You have to wait to kill the ball until all playing action ceases (in OBR, I need to make that point clear) because runners may advance beyond their award at their own peril. The rule book does not specify that in a step balk or no stop balk you wait to kill it and on a feint you kill it immediately, yes sure if you can stop the pitcher from throwing the ball with your initial call of balk by all means do so, it makes our job 100 times easier, but there are some times you can't stop them by saying balk this is where you have to let all playing action cease before killing the ball.

i wear compression shorts, then the NB then a McDavid jock (didn't have the luxury of the jock included with my NB purchase) then i wear tights over top of it all just to make sure it doesn't shift during a First to Third rotation (had that happen when i was just wearing the tights under the NB and jock.

I think i'll just go with a wilson TI with the doeskin pads, i don't know i just don't like the feel of synthetic pads . Plus I am converting back from a HSM to a Traditional mask. The diamond is why i started wearing a HSM (2 concussions, broke the first frame sent it in to have replaced and the second time was the straw that broke the camel's back). Which is why I am going away from the diamond but for one I need a reliable backup for 90+ mph pitching and 2 I would really like to go back to Hat and mask just because it is much more comfortable to work in than a bucket.

Hey i'm looking into a new mask, already have a diamond featherweight but just don't trust it for 90+ mph pitching, I've looked into the wilson titanium and like what I see but am wondering if anyone else has any suggestions. Caveat: I like the nike but cannot afford 500 bucks for a mask right now so that one is out...

Honestly, the shoes do look pretty awesome, but I don't think i'll be buying them anytime soon just because they are a little too "big league" had a few conversations with some MiLB guys and they even discourage wearing the black and white zigs, the way they put it is that when you draw attention to yourself like that you are only asking for trouble which makes a lot of sense, i'm honestly starting to see everyone's hatred of the black and white zigs, i'll probably just wear the reebok field mags and the older style new balance base shoes that I have.

bob i came to your camp twice.... although the second time i went i didn't go to umpire school though, and johnny it's not so much that we went to bob's camp even though I have to credit him with the majority of where I am as an umpire today, but I would say that what really helped me to make it to PBUC this time was my experience i gained employing Bob's and Wendelstedt's instruction into real life situations in the NWL

come on jocko, that's not cool, but ya i forgot to throw in the fed interp on there... i've had obr drilled in my head for 5 weeks straight fed has kind of slipped to the back of my mind... i better get a refresher on em though... No offense intended. Since a majority of us call HS ball, I was reminding others about the proper base awards. BTW, good luck at PBUC Evals! Hope your dreams come true! Thanks a lot jocko

yes the mizunos with the velcro straps... i don't know theres something about them that really attracts me to them, will definitely be getting a pair of the mizunos in the next couple of weeks so long as SWMBO says it's ok

come on jocko, that's not cool, but ya i forgot to throw in the fed interp on there... i've had obr drilled in my head for 5 weeks straight fed has kind of slipped to the back of my mind... i better get a refresher on em though...

We will know after Pbuc which ends on march 17 I know that, ..... what about years past? sorry, pretty sure everyone who has been through bob's camp that went back to school and made it to pbuc are in the game now... bob should be able to answer that with better numbers though.... he's the statistician lol