MadMax

Are these NFHS (Fed) Rules? If you’re asking about the particulars of what constitutes a “feint” (to 3B), then we must be operating under NFHS Rules, wherein this feint is (still) legal. TLDR → Yes. The act of stepping towards the (occupied) base (alone) is the feint. To illustrate, we use 3B’s neighboring base, 2B. We (baseball participants) see F1’s start-and-perform an “inside move” towards 2B all the time, do we not? They don’t necessarily have to even or ever raise their arm at all, simply pivot and step towards 2B, and that is considered a legal disengagement and feint towards 2B. So why would 3B (again, under NFHS rules) be treated differently? Or, why would a feint be defined any differently? 🤔

Back in Wisconsin, you couldn’t escape “this guy”, even if you willingly took – and were already geared up for – plate! The anecdote is that “plate guy chooses shirt”, right? Nope, not with “this guy”. In one infamous example, I was standing there, fully geared up, ready to finish the ensemble with an umpire shirt (of which, at the time, I had at least 12 different colors/styles) when my BU partner rolled in, parked next to me, got out, made his greeting, “Hrrmph”, and when asked, “Which color ya want me to throw on, Bob?”, replied with, by pulling the faded, salt-encrusted navy shirt out of his trunk, “Navy’s all ya need!”… and started heading to the field!!! This is a direct correlation to the “UIC = PU = god” deification “rule” that NFHS has codified into (their) The Rules. They’ll take PU because they love the power trip they embark on. “My game, my field, growl snarl growl…” They can’t cite or apply a single substantive rule, save the one that enshrines that “UIC’s rulings are final” [paraphrased]. Early in my career, I would be paired with these guys, and it forced me to investigate every positional responsibility, on every play & situation, and be flexible so as to “cover or defer” (explain later). Later in my career, I was purposely paired with these guys, and put on as a BU, expressly to counter-balance their deficiencies. These particular pairings have gotten fewer and rarer… but they do still happen once in a… (oh man, the pun!)… blue moon. 🌙 Ever think this might by design or intention? 🤔 #BlueConspiracies #DogTraining (sorry, couldn’t help it) Here in Arizona, amongst us Vultures (and Friends-of-Vultures), it’s entirely “by feel”. “How ya feelin’ today?” brings an honest answer and assessment. We all know and trust each others’ game management and abilities, almost implicitly. That being said, assigners know this, and will often pair Vultures with either rookies / newbies or “known qualities”, so as to either evaluate & train, or counter-balance said “qualities”. One of my fellow Vultures is known to carry a notebook, recording each time he works with a partner, and what the roles were. He holds guys to it! But, of course, he puts the book away for fellow Vultures. We do have “desert / tournament / tournament-in-the-desert mechanics”, wherein some guys will willingly take plate – either in a one-game “hell stab” or on a 2- to 3- game plate-siege – with the understanding that he won’t be moving much outside of the plate dirt circle. Of course, these aren’t used on sanctioned NFHS, College, or pro games, but I’d be lying if I said we don’t (both U’s) utilize this arrangement on amateur games… when it’s 93° and ↑, or if one umpire has an injury. We get it (down here)… we all need the 💰. Unless my boss has a fixed, specific role assignment, or it’s “my turn”, I usually favor this: If it’s a guy I don’t know, I’ll take Plate because I know and can control the pace of how this game will unfold. If it’s a guy I do know, I’ll take Bases because I really get a chance to “stretch my legs” and move. If doing a multi-game day, I heavily prefer the last game(s) of the day on plate. I can usually “mask” (ha!) the exhaustion, and just focus on the corridor of space between mound & plate circle. I won’t ignore or abort a rotation, but they sure do happen less often than moving about on base, in that context. When partnered with a rookie / newbie, I always dangle the question, “No wrong answer here, which role would you like to do?”, and without fail, the rookie / newbie will light up and reply, “You mean I can work bases??! Oh wow! _X_ number of games, and I haven’t worked bases yet!” … and I know why that is. ‘Cuz all my colleagues see “rookie”, claim seniority, or claim that they’ve been doing nothing but plates, too, and stick the new guy at plate so they can have a “day off” on the bases. 🤨

Handy? Archie… there’s an entire topic on “The @grayhawk Mod”, based around what he did to that very System7 he’s got there. It’s somewhere in the archives. Grayhawk (Steve) installed an outrigger strap from chest plate to pauldron – in front – so as to rein in the shoulder group (pauldron + ailette) that had this propensity to spin to the back and hinder putting on shirts easily.

My (weak) money 💰 is that he is.

… a little crass… a little “blue”… 😏 … but maybe this is the side she likes! 😳

👆🏼 This is one that you – as an umpire, on a crew – must get right. I don’t care if the Crew Chief, or the decade+ guy, insists that he’s “right” in awarding “2 bases, TOT (from the outfield! He threw it from the outfield!)”, this is a Rule (codified Ruling). This isn’t even in some tertiary interpretation manual. If you (now) know this rule, speak up! Counter-insist! Poll the entire crew if you must. Run back to the locker room and consult the Rulebook if you must. ‘Tis better to delay the game and get it right, than get it wrong and “lose” the Protest. Even if you slip it past, unnoticed, if an evaluator or supervisor is viewing or reviewing it, and you – as a crew – boot it, there will be consequences. Of course, the level affects those consequences, but they do manifest from this. If, once settled upon the correct ruling, you need to explain this to the OTHC/Manager, use as much Rulebook terminology as possible, and emphasize that because (his) R1 never achieved his forced-to base, the Rules cannot advance him past (or more than) 2 bases for this errant throw.

I’ll take a stab at it. [credit: Jill Bearup] As always, context is key. The Abandonment rule is a rule seeking an out; conjunctively, it is an out seeking a rule. Its origins lie in “old time” professional baseball, where 9 guys squared off against 9 guys, wherein there weren’t time limits (other than darkness sans lights), gloves were left (generally) in position, and no commercial breaks. Dugouts and bullpens were just “areas”, with loose definitions, and little to no consistency from ballfield to ballpark. Cameramen – press photos and “motion pictures” – were right there on the field. After being retired (ie. an Out), a player would either head back to the bench (dugout), or might go become a base coach (remember, this was the age of player-managers), or might go talk with a reporter on the perimeter. Batters didn’t wear helmets, or any of the elaborate protective equipment, let alone batting gloves. On the third out, the Batter, and any Runners, would simply head to their (next) defensive position, picking up or being brought a glove along the way. Of course, 1919 and Kennesaw Mountain Landis changed all that, but that’s the foundation. So when an Out occurred, it’d be attributed to something. Was the fly ball / liner caught? Yup. Out. Did the ball (and in possession of the Fielder) beat the Runner to the base? Yup. Out. Was he tagged (with the ball)? Yup. Out. Pretty simple! Then it got a little more complex… Did he commit interference? Yes. I judge that he did. Out. Was there a play attempt upon him, and in trying to elude that play/tag, did he exceed the “limits” of a/the basepath? Yes. I judge that he did. Out. The reason for this rule is to alleviate the defense from having to chase a runner throughout the ballpark provided that they had the ball and were in reasonable proximity to attempt a play on him. This is where the Abandonment rule stems from. Its direct sibling is the “Struck Out Batter leaves the plate/dirt circle rule”. On a U3K, and the Batter makes no effort to run to 1B, and concedes that he’s out by leaving the dirt circle so as to return to(wards) the dugout, then it alleviates the defense from having to chase him down, tag him, or throw it to 1B. See how this works? So if a Runner touches his base (BR is 1B), or the base he is forced to, and then leaves that base…. well… what is he? … I mean, he can’t be Out, because he legally touched – and achieved – that base. He’s obviously not Safe, because he's not there… come to think of it… where is he?? Oh there he is! He’s in the dugout / bullpen / over there talking with a reporter / he’s scooped up a glove and is headed to the outfield. Ah! It appears he’s abandoned his base, and concedes he’s Out. The defense doesn’t have to go over and tag him; and, in the case of a DBT dugout or pen, they can’t So… Boom. “Why’s he out?” He abandoned. Here’s the thing – conceding, or concession, is a conscious choice to do so. An adult (pro) is expected to live with the consequences of that choice, whether valid or mistaken. Youth (ie. amateurs) don’t have those expectations placed so heavily upon them! Youth make these choices, often absent any awareness! Granted, as these youth players increase in age and experience, they should be more aware of these choices. However, we’re frequently talking about < 14 year olds, and we (as umpires) jump all over “Abandonment!” far, far too easily and quickly, often lacking any of those criteria so as to call it, and ignorant of context. It smacks of overzealous desire to “get an out”. “I’m calling you out, kid, because… I can! (And I wanna go home, and we need outs!)” To the OP situation, in that context, I really favor @maven’s and @UMP45’s tact on handling this. Did the BR legally touch & achieve 1B? Yes. Did he attempt to go to 2B? No. Are there other Runners present (whose status would be affected by calling Time)? No. “Time! Hey kid… where ya goin’?” “Oh! It wasn’t a foul ball?” “Nope. You hit a real good one. Head back to 1st. Nice job.” Oh, and you can forget it about that crap regarding “Max! He had to return directly and quickly back to 1B!” Hogwash. There’s been plenty of times where a BR had beaten the throw, legally touched and achieved the base, and injured himself at or after the base… and we (umpires) call Time prior to him returning. Don’t give me that grief. Author’s Note: I realize, this is one of my longest posts ever. I had nothing much else to do than dictate and edit while I’m driving up and thru Missouri and Illinois today. Whew! 😤 Life on the Road!

I’ll let @wolfe_man answer with his own method… but I’m partial to using a vice-grip (long-nosed) to immobilize it while I take a cobalt drill bit to destroy the flared “underside” of the rivet. Careful, they tend to get hot. Then just push ‘em out. Now… IS ANYONE GOING TO ADDRESS THAT WE HAVE A @grayhawk SIGHTING??!!! HI 👋🏼!!!!!

Bring it back to shop-spec (I won’t say “factory”, because Douglas small-batch makes these domestically) quality and fit for expected use, by them, and still supported by them. @wolfe_man, @The Short Umpire, @Umpiresrock74, @Cavalier1948, or I could “refurbish” a Douglas more expressly and likely cheaper, but would it be a Douglas anymore? And, would you be able to send it to Douglas to have them gladly fix anything if it goes wrong? Eh, likely not… at least not without friction. It’s like a (better) car dealership… sure, you can take your car to an independent mechanic, but the dealership shop is going to use maker-authorized parts, and service it with maker-specified practices. Douglas probably uses a die-cutter to punch through webbing, and installs actual rivets. I (infamously) use a blowtorch and Chicago Screws. 😈 I endorse Douglas’s work and craftsmanship, save one critical detail – they (still) will not move away from Qualux upholstery foam. They desperately need to do a laminate foam.

Oh grrrreeeaaat… 🙄… what’r the odds that this will become a “thing” in College baseball to circumvent the 10-second clock for Batters, and avoid a charged Offensive Conference or a Strike? I’ll get my email InBox 📥 ready.

You would be a fan of that song; David Lee goes on to bemuse… doing something that is much more in ThighPro’s wheelhouse than ever this here – or any – vintage CP. 🥵 Just as effective as a Gold, yet easily half the thickness / raw bulk. They’re dense, granted. Solid. Ya know how Carlucci’s have that bespoke, tailored quality to them, like a Ferrari or Maserati? The UMP is like a truly American car from that classic time period, like a Buick, or Ford. Maybe that’s why they’re (navy) blue. 🤔 Lookatthat main torso piece. I can’t unsee a recycling bin lid. A big part of that is that oversized rectangular relief, looking for a purpose… I believe, wholeheartedly, that that was where the MLB logo was going to be placed. “Oh, yah think yer sooooo special, Willy, fer ya little logo right there? Feast yer eyes, on this!!” I love it. You’ve done an absolute smashing job with it. Bravo! … now, I think Jeff @Thunderheads should wear it, at least once, on his farewell tour!

🥱 Oh yeah? If you ever top that by calling three… let us know.

It’s why 3-X on a RHB with R2 (no R3) is such a High Pressure pitch for all the participants (including the umpires).

Here’s what I think of pitchers… Meat.

Rich, I’m going to use your post to comment on, but there are several others in this entire topic upon which I can overturn my bucket 🪣 and step onto… We, as PUs, must get past this urge and compulsion to watch what goes on at 2B (or at any other base being thrown to by F2). It’s likely from working with weak BU partners – or, worse, no partners at all – but we tend to overlook or miss what goes on “right in front of our mask”. None of us here will work a MLB game (at least not yet… YKWYA), so the threshold for us (as PUs) is much, much lower. So, if you’ve got a Batter who hinders, impedes, affects the catcher’s throw upon a Runner, zero in on it! What happens at that base is absolutely secondary (or even tertiary!) to what occurred in front of you. Remember… it is Batter Interference, not Batter-Runner Interference. On a 4th Ball, the Batter becomes a Runner. On a 3rd Strike, he becomes either a Runner… or… a Retired Batter. So just leaning over the plate, and stuttering his feet because he thought it was Ball 4 (instead of K3)? At the amateur level? I don’t see that as Batter Interference. 3-1 count, R1 stealing, and Batter thinks this is Ball 4, and steps across plate, and PU calls K? Oh yeah, that’s BI. Now, on the OP video clip – specifically – I’m in agreement with you. It was a 3-2 count, and… it’s a ~suspect~ outside strike. Nearly all of the (Retired) Batter’s movements are in the batter’s box, or at least on the 3B side of the plate. The F2’s throwing corridor is exclusively on the 1B side of the plate. No contact is made between RB and F2, so we can’t label that as the culprit. Instead, this is a case of a PU losing focus, and letting a HC (who has a “right” to ask, granted) strong-arm the PU into “going for help”. A good PU will defeat a HC’s question (I cringe at the phrase “shut him down”) before it’s even asked in its entirety, and a lot of that is body posture/language, “plate” demeanor, and “approachability”/rapport. Should the call have been overturned? No. By the same token, though, could the PU have called INT, in/@ the moment? Yes. It’s ultimately judgement, and while I’ve presented the factors that comprise it, I’ll concede that we can’t tell a PU to “get it (every time)” (like I’ve heard some college guys direct (dictate)). What erodes that judgement, though, is letting a HC “talk you into questioning your own judgement”.

Won’t make it out of committee. … … … and according to that same committee, God “shall” wear navy.

By your command…

Can ya blame him? That’s 1977-edition genuine AstroTurf! Outdoor! Which was equivalent to a Brillo scratch pad, laid over concrete. That stuff hurts! Nettles didn’t want the rug rash! Sports?! Hell, I love the old school umpires! Why? Because here they are, in a LCS, doing things that would get their a$$ chewed at school / clinic / camp!! Maroon blazers (Demerit! Black is the only color!), outside positioning at 2B (yes, I know Jim Wolf brought it back in vogue, but there are still PTB that will chew your a$$ to even suggest it), and flyaway-bird-safe mechanic by U1 – while moving!!! 😬 Where’s the evaluator climbing down his collar to give him grief over it??? “I’m Chevy Chase, and you’re not.”

Nope. He started his motion and aborted it, ie. a Start/Stop Balk. Sure. He could have come set and picked (with throw) to any base (the throw satisfies a Reset without charge), regardless of the batter being alert. He could have started his motion, and pick-thrown to a base, again, thus satisfying the Reset. He could have come set and held it for 15 seconds, perfectly still. He cannot pitch until the batter is alert, which in NCAA, is under a 10-second window (or limit, or allowance, etc.). A NCAA umpire is not going to “bail him out” (with a “free” call of Time) unless there are extreme circumstances (eg. earthquake tremor, paraglider drops into the stadium, s#!t-ton of bees 🐝, etc).

[as a career-long Catcher] “Whoa. Who ya callin’ “infielder”, bub? I’m not one of them. I start in foul territory, TYVM.”

Breaker, breaker, Johnny Snowman ⛄️. Are ya there, good buddy? Oh sure… why can’t they “accidentally omit” the “shirt shall be navy” line/clause, huh??

No NCAA/NAIA/NJCAA umpire ever would do that. If they did, there’d be hell to pay. Under NCAA rules, pitchers (F1) are under a 20-second action clock. They must pitch, or otherwise pickoff to a base with Runner (whether that be via throw or run-down; there are further details) within that 20 seconds. Barring that, if they legally disengage without throwing or retiring the Runner via chase-down, they are charged a Reset. F1’s are allowed 1 Reset per at-bat. A second Reset with the same Runner configuration (no Runners advanced or retired) and At-Bat is penalized with a Ball added to the count. In the same way, a violation / expiration of the 20-second clock is a penalty of a Ball added to the count. Now, with that said, the presence of the 20-second clock does not absolve the pitcher the legal pitching requirements of foot position, stepping, engagement/ disengagement, set position, “coming set”, start/stop, etc. What your example committed was a start/stop Balk, and would have been called the same as if it was pre-Rule. The only legal recourse he had was to complete coming set, then stepped off legally, and either “accept” the Reset, or request Time from an Umpire. If an umpire warrants it, he can waive the Reset (eg. ball change?, etc), or at the “worst” charge his club with a charged defensive conference. However, with the ball Live, he still has to satisfy the legal pitching (positioning, movements, etc.) requirements, clock or not.

No, the Icon is the traditional, “old way” mask shape. The Force3 Defender is indeed a different shape, because of the different pad tab locations, and the deeper dimensions. The other significantly different shape is the All-Star FM4000 (Mag or Steel), where the visor is reduced to a slit because the forehead section is slanted and shallow. Your best bet is going to be All-Star (the old one, for the FM25), Champro, or Diamond – https://www.diamondsportgear.com/products/diamond-sun-visor-for-umpire-masks-fm-visor to reiterate – Force3 will not work.

That ain’t Ray ( @Razzer ). https://www.baseballbucketus.com/about-us/ This claims that they started the company 10 years ago, after traveling the world, and established it in Los Angeles. I didn’t know SoCal was so well known for maple trees. Ray’s never lived in Los Angeles, and he’s been around for well, well past 10 years. Besides, Ray doesn’t sell other gear (yet), and certainly wouldn’t lift images from UmpAttire – directly – to show gear off. I recognize Ty Uthank anywhere. ( @JimKirk ! They’re stealing your images!! ). This is the other “UmpLife” out there, profiting off Ray’s name recognition. EDIT: oh, and checking their “Contact Us” – I know Ray doesn’t live in Minnesota. If he did, I’d be pestering the s#!t outta him, weekly.

Is a tag attempt (and subsequent fumble) “voluntary release”? That’s what we’re essentially discussing / interpreting. Let’s say we have a R1 stealing, and a line drive at F4. F4 gloves the line drive, and as R1 is in close proximity, makes the tag attempt… … do you have a catch (for an Out)? … and during the tag attempt, the ball pops out… … obviously, no tag… but do you still have a catch?