MadMax

It was in Texas (TASO) for some time between 2011–2018(?). I was exposed to this at a tournament, and a TASO umpire called it (a Balk), ironclad in the belief it was a Balk, based on his experience in Texas high school baseball that previous spring. The way that he explained it, or the way that TASO rationalized it, the receiving of signs off the rubber was both A) imitating a stance or movement associated with his F1's pitching stance, and B) compelling / influencing a Runner (R1, especially) from departing from the base and taking a lead, thwarting steal attempts. Of course, because of the advent of wrist-cards, and signals coming directly from the dugout, NFHS addressed this in 2021 by codifying that despite how the F1 gets the sign (and it's allowed), the F1 must look in at the F2 prior to coming set.

Is this the s#!tty end o’ the stick?? @834k3r, would that make The Wolf of Wall Street a Leonardo DiCaprio film… … or a Margot Robbie film?? 😍

Is this sarcasm? I think this is sarcasm... ... ... at least I hope it's sarcasm.

Why, because the sofa-cushion foam is rather insulating, and you're kept nice and warm like a blue sea lion on these chilly winter night games? The great big yellow "W" stands for Walrus.

This needs to change. Below Major League Baseball games, the Plate Umpire is the only entity that can make a dead ball Live, and the only way they can do that is to either point and/or (audibly) call "Play". Umpires must understand this is very much a requirement. Exactly. We (umpires) don't call a Balk because we were mistaken, or deceived, or embarrassed for feeling negligent in our job of knowing the location of the ball. For a more thorough discussion of this, check out this topic: To reiterate... you/we/any umpire cannot Balk this. It is simply "No Play". Because the conditions / requirements to make the ball Live were not met, then the act of making the ball Live was never valid.

Lou, you must not know many umpires at all. … … … or you live in a “Navy’s all ya need!” state.

I can see you Happy Gilmore’ing it, and hopping in the first batting cage you can find to take pitches off the chest to test it out. In lieu of that, I think either @acpar72 or @kylejt has a “CP Tester On A Stick!”

In fairness, neoprene isn’t exactly a crude open-cell upholstery foam, which is used on cheap sofas, loungers... and Wilson WestVests. That s#!t holds moisture like a sodden sponge 🧽. Ever dump a gallon of water on a cheap couch? ... ever wait around for it to dry?

I too am... or was... a champion of the Pilot G2’s. I actually would prefer getting them in oddball colors (teal, orange, sky blue)... or pink (memorial to JS; also – “Hey Coach, can I have my pen back?”) because of how well and vibrant they write... Until... I bought a batch of Write-in-the-Rain notebooks for the umpires in my League, since we have to record defensive & offensive conferences, coach challenges, and my boss needs details on any warnings or ejections given. I thought I was being all slick and genius... until the first wet game I encountered... oh sure, the paper held up great! But the writing... just melted and dissolved away! Stupid me, gel pens are water-based! 🤨😰

Do you even need the pectoral wings? Have you determined a method to attach the pauldron (outer shoulder plates) to the shoulder arch plates? This is neoprene, you say? That stuff cauterizes pretty well. Are you committed to jacketing it within a technical mesh fabric, and sewing on Velcro anchor straps? If you are, it’s best to mark where they’ll be by laying the carapace plates over the foam jacket, and then using a chalk marker or tradesman’s pencil (white/yellow/red) to mark through the slots onto the foam beneath. If this was me, I wouldn’t even bother stitching the anchor tabs on. I’d slice / lance / melt slots in the foam jacket, and then loop my own Velcro loops thru both. Here’s your chance to install side release buckles instead of t-hooks. T-hooks corrode and cut shirts when hit. Side release buckles are plastic, and could break, but if installed with Chicago screws, can be easily replaced if one breaks. Thought of that? I commend you you on doing something that Wilson couldn’t even get off their corporate a$$e$ to do in 25+ years.

In both cases, @Richvee, those are incredible examples of out-of-box thinking & design. The roof?! Really?! But in both cases, why’d they ruin a perfectly good baseball field with a football gridiron?? Football’s 🏈 stoopid.

@JSam21, myself, and guys like us do college and higher, where that coach is paid to know to ask us (umpires) about options. For HS, equivalent, and lower, it makes for more… harmonious game management if you at least indicate / inform that an/the option exists. HS coaches are paid, sure, but do I have a Class 6 former-MLB-player-now-coach, or a Class 1 PE-teacher coach that I have to announce / explain the call to? Additionally & mechanically, when enforcing the penalty & awarding bases, always begin with the BR. Award him 1B first, then work “forwards”. Place unforced Runners back at their bases TOP. Often, when you do this, a coach usually gets that inkling that an option is available, and comes to ask you about it.

BU ≠ Banana Umpire?

In 2-man, this position is taken primarily due to one of two reasons, lack of training (naïvety) notwithstanding – Over-eagerness on SA at 2B (and likely “burned” or exposed as “slow or lazy”) Fear (of getting hit) Granted, guys who are complete novices to umpiring pick up the bulk of their information from watching TV, where they see an umpire (hey, lookatthatwillya) at 2B… in B-deep. Even if they watch a game in person, and they get the general hint that he needs to be in “B”, as soon as he gets on a 60-90 in person (or worse, a 50-70), and realizes how close that is (to the plate), the Fear kicks in. Little League doesn’t help things, either, because the typical IP for BU with R1, and “closed bases”, is B-beyond. So, there is a quantity of lower-skilled (skilled, not lack of effort) umpires who are muddling around, doing games (50-70, 60-90) and getting the reps in, but without any structure as to why we stand there, or how we move there. And their use of… “improvised” positions come down to self-preservation of some variety (physical, pride, etc.)… except when it blows up, and blows up big. 🤯

Of course it is! Same goes for hats. I can get a plain black ballcap (Richardson, even!), embroidered with a custom set of letters, or vector artwork for less $$$ than these New Era -brand hats we had to purchase for… certain associations.

Which mask is your primary? For us in the amateur ranks, the FM4000 Steel & Magnesium models (as well as the Rampage Magnesium, TBH) present a complication, because their forehead volume is brief. It’s a challenge to wear a 6-stitch cleanly, without contact between frame and hat bill. A 4-stitch is more in order. Well, the All-Star Skully has that briefer bill ideally suited for these magnesium masks. … it just… still… has the con-cushion turned the wrong direction!!! 😫

I concur with @noumpere… by using standard B (in 2-man), your window is much larger, as the thrown ball passing you is your trigger to turn. Drop step (R), cross over step (L), look in at the ideal angle so as to see ball arrive, fielder receive & tag, and R1 begin a slide in. Ideally, we should not be (finally) looking at R1 already at or in close proximity to the bag, nor should we be missing how & where the fielder (F4, especially) has set up to receive. Our window to see it, because of the passing throw, is that much briefer / smaller the further towards B-deep we go, alá 3- (as U3) & 4- man (as U2).

<scsm> Jewelry was… Eye-black now is… Wrist-readers on belt remains… </scsm>

Hint: MLB owns “half” of Rawlings. The MLB guys have access to items you and I commoners never will. And won’t, because no one thinks us a profitable market (at least that’s what Wilson tells ‘em). With that said, I have a hunch that if I asked you, “Why not an All-Star Skully”, or one of the All-Star -made skullcaps / earless batting helmets… I can already anticipate the response. 🫣

Right. However, are you (All-Star) going to make small-batch sky blue pads for a marquee university baseball program with sure-fire TV coverage, shelling out millions of 💸 (hey hey hey! Texas A&M is reportedly going pay Jimbo Fisher $75M not to coach)… … or to sell to an amateur umpire somewhere in Palookaville, USA? Even @Thunderheads doesn’t have that kind of pull.

There’s a structure of tariffs and importation fees already in place, before you/we even get to that point! To illustrate, did you know that there are two legally and financially separate divisions of Mizuno? Mizuno of Japan 🇯🇵 and Mizuno of USA 🇺🇸? And, that they cannot (easily) cross catalogs? If Mizuno JP makes a mask, or a plate shoe, their Mizuno US sibling cannot necessarily offer it in their catalog. That exact product has to clear a whole slew of materials regulations, labor regulations, etc. Then, it has to clear the biggest hurdle of them all (in this case) – the sweetheart, behind-the-scenes tariffs placed on competing products by the established brands/companies in that market so as to handicap, dissuade, or prevent the rival from stocking a potentially superior product. A particular company I rag one consistently has its origins in the States, sure, but did you know they are owned by an international (Finnish) conglomerate? That, with its army of business, commerce, and market lawyers, would certainly do everything to protect its investment and market position? And, without any additional (ie. costly) effort put into the products themselves??

Free App? No need to go down the path of the NFHS and print everything for (albeit meager) profit.

"Them"??! Who's "them"??! I'm not disputing your role or statement. I'm just looking for... clarification.

You really want to make their blood boil (or curdle)? Make the fine check payable to (a) local umpire / officials development program. Or, to fund the procurement of a locker room / change room for officials, so we don't have to be approached by you yokels in the parking lot while we're trying to undress, redress & leave. That'll get 'em squirming.

With a re-read of the OP, there isn’t even an OBS to call. Look, I get it, we extrapolate and expand these “Ask the U” topics into a range of “What ifs” to cover possibilities as thoroughly as any one of us presents yet another “What if?”. However, @maven is on to something in his answer. No OBS to call. This isn’t a “Whether to call OBS or not” question, this is a “Game Management & Situation Mitigation” question. How come? Why’s that? Because there wasn’t a play – ie. a throw from F2 to F3 – upon the Batter-Runner, on a U3K (of all things). Just because there’s a collision does not mean that we must call something official (such as OBS, or INT); instead, we need to see the entirety of the play for what it is, and what it could potentially be. In this case, the catcher (F2) stood there, with the ball in either his vicinity or possession, but didn’t throw it. No throw → no play → nothing to call (OBS, INT, otherwise). BR arrives to a collision at 1B because F3 is being a dumbass. Now, if you (as Umpire) want to or discern to call “Time”, and make sure everyone’s alright, and address the collision, and admonish the F3 for “being a ...” / standing where he shouldn’t, then by all means do so. But again, that’s situation management.