Sayhey

Touching story. Good man. Fine umpire. I was in row 11 behind home plate when Barry broke Hammering Hank's home run record. Mr. Hirsbeck was doing an exceptional job working home plate. The game was stopped for 10 minutes. Great baseball moment and John was a part of it

Every time you dress in a parking lot you are being disrespected. Enough said.

How about a Honigs k-1 for youth ball? Light weight and breathable. Very comfortable. Soft shell protector but adequate for youth ball in hot weather

I kinda liked the gray with the black and white trim. To go retro to the 60''s and 70's, how about a maroon or wine colored shirt. Navy blue pants and burgundy was the American League back in the day. How about a pea green shirt? Just sayin. I refuse to wear an American Flag shirt. I also refuse to wear camo. Any thoughts?

Oh, ok. Makes sense. Would being a "pitcher's umpire" or a "batter's" umpire fall into this category? I was a lead of hitter bunting and hitting singles. I have a tendency to call all shots down a line fair. As a hitter, I wanted that call. By calling most screamers down the lines fair, am I biased? Is that the player in me? Is that what Ted was saying? Or, what U r saying?

I misspoke too. Ted Barrett did mention being a fan. He wants us to get the player out of us and the fan. Players want to win. Umpires want to be fair and successful at the craft. By success I mean competent or skilled. I guess Ted's comment caught me by surprise. I had never thought about it.

I'm not sure why I am confused either. I did just read Big Umpires post and that turned a light bulb on. His post about a former college player at Harry's school watching a fly ball instead of reading the fielder is helpful. Thanks for your patience. Still don't understand why being a fan is detrimental to being a good umpire. Thanks for the respect comment. I certainly need to be more respectful to others on this site. We need to support each other.

I have read every post and I saw Third team and I still don't understand what Ted means. My apologies for being dense It sounds like a profound statement but I'm not sure what the meaning is. Ted didn't say anything about being a fan. He said get the player out of you. If there is a bigger Giants fan in America I would like to meet him. I'm kinda like Jimmy Fallon in the movie Fever Pitch. Passion for the game makes me a better umpire. Any deeper thoughts or clarification?

Ask the catcher to show you the ball and then call the runner safe. Classic. I like the teradactyl arm safe call.

I had the privilege of having Ted Barrett work in the cage with me in Tucson. A gentle giant with a wonderful sense of humor. Happy to see him get another World Series. My apologies if I elevated Jim Evans to a God like figure. I was really impressed with Jim. A warm hearted Texan that deserved better than what happened. Hope you have a fun season

There was no rotation. It was a plate umpire asking a 1st base umpire if the batter swung at a pitch. The question was non sensical since the batter hit the ball. The question made sense to Jerry but not really to Cooper. Cooper doesn't want Meals to look silly. He wants to support his partner. All I am saying is Eric Coper still had a question in his mind about the mechanic and so did Ted Barrett. I wish the editor of the documentary would have stayed with the question until we had an answer. They may have postgamed it and that would have been good to hear.

Kstrunk - Great question for a 2nd year umpire. In 2-man, remember that you also have the call at 3rd base when R-1 goes half way and R-2 tags and runs to 3rd base. Soooo, not just on an Uncaught fly ball, but a caught fly ball and a tag. 1st responsibility is read the ball. 2nd responsibility is read your partner if possible. Head on a swivel. 3rd responsibility is verbal communication. 4th responsibility is fair/foul. 5th responsibility is catch/no catch. 6th responsibility is a play at 3rd base. 7th responsibility is dead ball on an overthrow. 8th responsibility is go home if necessary. If I have left anything out the fine umpires on this site will fill in.

Hey, hide the Salammi, we have had our differences. My apologies sir. What do you say we put the past in the past and move forward as colleagues. Let's suport each other with respect. You have good knowledge and I learn from your posts. My only reference was Jim' s school down in Tuscon. Jim wasn't even able to make it. We got "sarge", Dick Nelson and Ted Barrett and my favorite umpire, #77, Jim Reynolds. We drilled on this mechanic. It was a great camp. Sarge was really funny and a joy to be around. I hope you have a fun season

' if smothered against his chest or protector it is a catch, provided it hit his glove or hand first'. 6.05 (B) final line in rule. There is no mention of face mask or shin guard. So, maybe there is a need for further analysis. If I have the question, others will also have questions. That's what this site is about.

The dropped third strike rule was instituted in 1888 when strikes were reduced from 4 to 3. In 1942 it was stated in the rule book that the rule was instituted to prevent catcher's from purposely dropping strike 3 to get a double or triple play.

Rich Ives- thank you for the clarification. That was quick. It could of been done without the condescending W.T.F. Remark. What is the RT.F.M. : mean? Is that like J/R? Is it a reference to a manual. "If a foul tip first strikes a catcher's glove and then goes on through and is caught by both hands against his body or protector, it is a strike, and if the third strike,the batter is out. 6.05 ©. That's from the MLB website. There is no mention of mask or shinguard. I believe it is inferred, rather than stated. I was looking for stronger evidence than inference.

Rotating from 3rd base to 2nd base is a basic mechanic that Hunter has performed well or poorly almost countless times. To be asked your opinion on a check swing when you know the batter struck the ball is so rare that I can say that I have never seen it happen. I don't think Eric Cooper had ever seen it happen. I don't think Ted Barrett ever saw it happen. We were screwed by The Third Team editing. We didn't hear Kellogg's or Reynold's response to Eric, nor did we hear Hunter's response to Mr. Barrett's question. If the mechanic is so easy why are World Series umpires asking their partners for insight? Umpiring is always evolving. I believe we were witnesses to evolution. Unfortunately, we didn't hear the answer. My friend is sitting under 40 hours of instruction from Mike Winters in San Diego. I will have him ask Mr. winters what the mechanic is.

Since Rick Roder is used by MLB and the plate umpire for game 7, Jeff Nelson, uses his book to teach, who is anyone on this site to criticize J/R? 3 of 7 World Series umpires are quoted in the front of J/R saying the manual is the book they use. " ... It is still the one I use when I need clarification on a tricky play. It is what many MLB umpires use when they need to know how to rule on a play'. - Ted Barrett. "There's no better baseball rules manual anywhere.'- Jeff Nelson

Noumpere. I can clear up your confusion. Your fellow umpire is confused because he is an imperfect human being. He is suppose to be your brother. Stop the condescending remarks. Every winter we break out our books and every winter we all have a brain lapse on a rule that we have known, or we thought we knew. My brain lapse this year is on foul tip. The MLB manual is clear that a foul tip can first hit the catcher's glove sharply and directly and then hit his chest protector and then be caught for a strike and if it's the 3rd strike the batter is out. The manual is silent about the mask. I started to question whether a foul tip can go directly to glove and then mask and be caught. I don't have casebook I think the same principle applies. If the pitch is nicked and goes directly to the catcher's glove and then bounces off any part of his gear, I think we have a catch. I would appreciate knowing for sure. I am embarrassed that I don't know for sure. I would rather be embarrassed on this site rather than the diamond.

If it is so 'easy', as you say, why did Ted Barrett, in his 3rd World Series ask Hunter if Cooper could have handled it differently. Why did Cooper himself ask Kellogg, in his 5th World Series if he could have handled it better? Cooper knew the pitch was hit by the bat. Cooper wasn't 100 % sure that the ball was going to be foul. When Meals asked him,' did he go'? Cooper responded to the question even though he knew the pitch was a batted ball. The crew was working on mechanics and learning during the World Series. It was not 'easy' they want perfect mechanics.

When you build a house you need a good foundation. If it's 100 degrees and you are working the plate in the 11th inning your good foundation may really help. Build a good foundation with mechanics and verbal communication with your partner. It's hard to over communicate. It doesn't hurt to say, ' I have the ball. I'm on the line". It may seem anal and be frustrating, but there is a reason Jim Evans teaches this verbal communication. Evans will also have your partner fall down on purpose to see if you glanced at your partner. If I have fair/foul, catch/ no catch down the right field line and I communicate to my partner that I am camped out on the line, I am still going to glance at my partner after I have done my job and if he is focussed on 2nd base or 1st base, I am going to move up the 3rd base line and make a call after making eye contact with him. I am only going to get 1 or two steps toward third base but at least Someone has the call. Your field umpire may read back pick into 1st base and over commit to 1st base, forgetting that he has responsibility for third base.

Wow. Such a smart ass comment. We gave him some help while he orders his manual

Jerry Meals does not see Perez tap ball foul with 2 strikes because Peavy threw a one hop pitch to home and Posey came straight up and blocked Meals. Meals thought the pitch was off Posey's shin guard. Meals points at Cooper and asks him if he went. Cooper, 1st base umpire, says yes, but does not say foul. Ball rolled foul by 10 feet about 10 feet up third base line. Cooper asks Crew chief Kellogg and the best umpire in baseball, #77, Jim Reynolds, if he could have done it differently. Ted Barrett asked Hunter Wendlestadt if Eric Cooper could have handled it differently. Unfortunately, the film crew cut the audio before either question could be answered. Interesting to see World Series umpires working on mechanics. Crew got together and called a foul ball. If you taught umpire school how would you advise?

Sounds like you are an excellent umpire and the crew got the call right. I would have got together with him and based upon the evidence that he gave me I would have made the call. Great advice here, especially Maven. I can't add much. Just do whatever you have to do to keep your eyes on the ball. Challenging scenario. R-2 must have been stealing and the ball must have been hit hard. Read the ball and be athletic. Hope you have a great season

Maven is correct. Get a manual and study. I paid $80 for Ump Hub. You can watch training videos. The site is well worth it and we'll maintained. I had a problem and it was fixed in minutes. Use umpire wmpire as a source. Maven is a consistent poster and the best in my opinion. Use his knowledge. Hope you have a great season. Work as many games as possible. Remember, we earn the rules more than we learn the rules. Same with mechanics. When learning 3- man I forgot to rotate down to home plate on a base hit. There was a close play at home and no umpire. I screwed up. Thats when you buy beer for the crew. We learn by making mistakes. Failure is not a bad thing. Start a beer buying fund. Hope you have a great season