MadMax

Yeah, wasn't there still a R1? Why would there be a change of positioning? If you Eject someone, you best stand your ground, or at least return to the position you were in. You eject and jog away, somewhere arbitrarily? Bad form. If there aren't any "magic words"* being emitted from the dugout, then there really isn't any reason to address the dugout (yell towards it, whatever... especially calling Time to do so). That whole thing of "Coach that's enough, we're not debating safes and outs" is like spraying bug spray on a hornet's nest. You think you're doing something to squelch them, but all you're doing is pi$$ing them off more. Best to ignore them until a Magic Word is said, or until a/the coach comes out from the dugout. Besides, you didn't say which inning this occurred! If this was an early inning, that's far too early to be giving "death stares"! My Cold Stare of Utter Contempt doesn't show up until at least late in the 5th inning. There's a look that @Jocko has perfected known as the WTHIYFP?**, that I've been working on perfecting. That could certainly be employed far more effectively than dumping the guy that quick. This, this looks like your partner walked into the game with the pin already pulled on the grenade. * - Such words would be "sh!t" "calls" "horse" "your" "are", or words to that effect. May be in a different sequence. ** - What The Hell Is Your F(rea)king Problem?

<sarcastic satire> Oohp! Oohp! That's touching a MLB player! That's a X-game suspension! </sarcastic satire> Watch this again, and then project to yourself, "Hmmm... Maybe Joe West didn't want a hug, or gives very unique hugs. Hmmm..."

At a tournament, there was an intense call at 1B of Safe, based on obstruction. I don't remember the particulars, just remember the fallout – a fan went bonkers. He was seated just behind the backstop on 3BLX. The call in the field was my call. I even checked with PU partner about what he saw, just to make sure the call was right. I even did all the discussion with the coaches, who were questioning, but civil and understanding. All this time, my partner (who is younger and less experienced, which probably fueled this jack@$$'s outburst) is in the vicinity of home plate, trying to ignore this dipsh!t who is going on, and on... and on... and on... and on... And while _most_ of that ranting should be (and usually is) heard as "blah blah blah blah", much like a Charlie Brown adults-are-speaking-now bit, I'm picking up the following magic words – "I've" "been" "umpire" "I" "know" "the" "rules" – coming from that effusive blowhard. My partner is doing the proper thing, and not engaging him, but by being ignored, he's just escalating his volume and frequency. I can see from B position that my partner is having a difficult time getting the ballgame to recommence, so I walk over to the DT's dugout, and summon the HC. I say exactly this, "Coach, this is not on you, because you and I have an understanding. But this game isn't going to resume until your fan is dealt with. Understood?" He nodded, and went and took care of it. My partner gave me the appreciative "Good call" fist bump, and "Play!" There's something in your post, @kufan1978, that perturbs me. I've been sitting here, staring at the screen, for the past 10 minutes, and I'll do my "best" to address it... So if you're a police officer, or a lawyer, or a judge (or any judicial or law-enforcement job... heck, a law clerk), and your kid is in court for a traffic violation, or because they were cited for being at a party with underage drinking (a very interpretive judgement to rule upon), you're going to not only attend the court hearing, but hang on every word and ruling of the lawyers and judge, and say something if you don't agree with it??! If you were to "absolutely say something" (But Judge! You weren't there! My kid didn't drink! That officer didn't administer a breathalyzer! I would have administered one!) in that courtroom, you might find yourself in contempt of court. I grant you, this parallel may be a bit of a reach, but that statement I emboldened in your quote is something that plagues this current culture – we've become helicopter parents, we bubble-wrap our kids, and we convey to them that there is no respect for authority. To a youth baseball player, the umpire is right because he (or she) is the umpire, not because they qualified on an exam, or passed a peer-review board, or they demonstrate hustle and proper positioning on every play of every game for the past six years. Your sitting beyond the fence, griping about that umpire's authority, is not doing anyone – yourself, the umpire, or your kids – any benefit whatsoever. Pardon me, there's more to say on this topic, but I'm pressed for time, and must return to this later.

Guys, there are two things that immediately struck me (pun not intended) about this: 1) That's (more than likely) Wilson's top-of-the-line Shock FX 2.0 HSM that Danley's wearing. The foul ball (not tip) glanced off Chirinos's All-Star MVP4000 crown and hit Danley right in the cheek of his mask. That's a whallop. It hit right where it "should" hit so as to be absorbed by the most amount of protective measures... and Kerwin still got concussed. I suppose once you've been concussed severely enough before, or repetitively, you're much more susceptible to it. 2) The reason Danley wears an HSM is the same reason schools mandate HSM use for catchers – to prevent head injuries, not explicitly concussions. Back in 2009, Danley got hit in the side of the head by a shattered bat barrel, and while he was reported to have incurred a mild concussion, I believe he also had lacerations and was told it would have been less severe if the flank (side) of his head was more protected. I don't blame him for remaining resolute about wearing an HSM. I'm sure that any time he hears the crunch of a bat breaking, he feels a twinge, wondering in that split second where those bat fragments are going. Perhaps a TM would have absorbed the energy more on this latest shot, Jeff (@Thunderheads), but it's hard to convince someone who's walked through the fire to change his shoes. I really liked Mark Reppinger's approach – stride out, throw the (blacked-out Mizuno) mask on in one of the smoothest moves I've seen, and game-on. I very much want(ed) to see the rest of this game, just to see how a MLB crew does 3-man.

@FleasOf1000Camels, what you just conveyed is the PooOf1000Camels. Sucks, man. I feel for ya... But I don't golf. :/

They must have known you're a rancher, @Tksjewelry, or at least live in ranch-land. Aside from @acpar72's offer, straps like that also are at Home Depot or Office Max (I recommend Office Max... I get royalties) as "cord-binding" or "cable organization" straps. I've also been known to make functional, yet elegant, fasteners like this with zip-ties.

So what _would_ his ruling be?

What the hell heck is Billy Ripken talking about??!! As umpires, we are the Guardians of The Game. I don't have to write a whole novel about the honor and sanctity of Baseball... what that Preppybrat (Papelbon, I know who) did is lewd, crude, and has no business being on display in baseball. Rule 9.01d is in the OBR book for a reason. West didn't "insert himself into the situation" just because he wanted to "make it about himself". West conducted it succinctly and directly, and as discreetly as possible. "Hey. John. Get out." (Or "You're done." or "You're gone.") West was well within his rights to move Papelbon out of the way. Papelbon has already been ejected, and not only has Papelbon chased down West to confront him, but no-one else is coming in to intervene (especially off the Phillies). Pap's on his own on this one, and no apologies, Mr. West has a game to get back to... which Jonathan obviously doesn't want to be a part of any more. Most of today's culture has lost respect for authority, and for consequences. It would seem that Billy Ripken still thinks himself a young man, impervious to consequences. Or, he still is fostering the "Us (players and coaches) versus Them (Umpires)" stigma that continues to hide in dark corners of baseball. Bravo Harold Reynolds. Bravo. I will be severely disappointed in MLB if West is punished in any way... and that's my sentiment as a fan and human being, not an umpire.

"Put their hands up" – My guess is that the universal mechanic for "Time!" is the Hands-Up, and this has been drilled into them. They probably have a FED background. "Pointed to the Pitcher" – My guess is that they, like me, have been ingrained to "point at the infraction" or "point at the problem". Early in my umpire days, I pointed at everything. That is, until I worked a NAIA game with a regional umpire-trainer. After the first half-inning, I summarize the conversation like this: "Yes sir?" "The pointing... Why are you doing it?" "Uhm, habit?" "_Stop it_. You only point at atypical things, things that don't normally occur during a routine play. Pulled foot, a tag, the ball rolling across the ground... Got it?" "Yes sir". In discussions I've had with other umpires since, a Balk is an atypical thing. It's not normal. Thus, you point at it. "Raised one hand" – Do they have a question? I think they have a question. "No mechanic, just verbal" – My guess is this is an OBR -trained / experienced umpire, since if a balk occurs, it's a Delayed Dead Ball, and you let the play complete before stepping in. Any mechanic you use may distract the batter or the battery, and you've got a potentially dangerous pitch coming in. Personally, I do such a wide variety of age levels, especially modified OBR wherein the first balk call upon a pitcher is an IDB warning, thereafter DDB, I now point and declare "That's a Balk!" on everything any occurrence.

What @Matt's trying to say is – don't make a habit of requesting "show the ball", because of the impact it has on further play, etc. makes perfect sense. I was just pointing out that since @berns_97 did a "show ball" request, that should have been enough to put the doubt to rest. I wasn't saying to do that every time. Another route to consider is to be deliberate in your call. Timing. Make a point of examining the components of the play one last time, then call it. That extra second (thou-sand-one) makes a big impact in selling the call.

Be more definite and authoritative. If you see a tag, that means you saw the ball (in glove, likely) tag the runner. You then request F2 to "Show it!", and he does. You rule him out. Case closed. You followed all the steps, so to speak, to sell the call. You even allowed yourself to examine any doubt (the request to "show it"). If the ball was loose, F2 would be reaching for it, or fumbling for it, or you'd see the little white nugget rolling across the ground. But in this case, he showed it to you. You have all the evidence you need, and you make your call... Now, stick to it. You made a critical mistake – you let the Manager (HC) come out and inject a pill of doubt into you. It was easy to accept, because it was the same manager that gave you a ribbing about your age and apparent lack of experience. With experience, though, you will learn that that call, at the plate, is yours. Your partner didn't fail you or let you down, but the only time I would (as a base/field umpire) expect my partner to come talk to me, for a play at (his) plate, is if there's a question about an obvious rules violation (such as a no-head-first slide at home, or an obstruction that occurred during the play, etc.). So, next time in that situation, sell your call with something like, "No coach, I've got a tag." or "He had control enough for the tag." If he puts the heat on you to check with your partner, @spiritump has the right idea – do so promptly and privately, but lead the discussion with, "(Joe), I've got a tag. What did you see?" Don't let your partner re-write the event for you, but take what your partner says as a factor or perspective to be considered. When it comes down to it, it's still your call. PS -> Not to be picky, but why would the 3BC be chirping at you for ruling his runner "Safe" after discussion? You probably mean the Visiting Team's coach, or one of their assistant coaches... right? If that's the case, this VTC is somewhat correct... You really shouldn't be changing an Out call to a Safe call at the behest of the opposing coach.

Firstly, I feel that Miller was too deep / far away for his initial position. With no-one on, or an R1, the U3 should be at his/her maximum distance away from the bag (keep in mind, in 3-man, with R1 at any time, U3 is at C). With R2, it means you have a runner imminent to your bag (3B), and should be closer. If your initial, maximum distance is, say, 18 feet, then I would say go 2/3rds of that, and be at 12 feet. On a 50-70 (or on a 60-90 w/ 13 and 14 year olds), I'd have an initial distance of 15 feet, and drop it to 10 feet. When you have a R3, then you're at your closest distance of 1/3rd of your initial distance (approximately 6 to 5 feet). You want to be close to the line, but in foul territory. There is one caveat. I've done some research, and found that in the Majors, with a R3, some U3's will set up astride the line at the edge of the grass. My guess is at that level, there are next-to-no pickoff attempts to 3B. Also, at that level, the guys are bigger, and usually obviously stand in foul territory, so if the U3 was to take up an initial position in foul territory, too, they'd be visually obstructed from home plate. But, again, this is only with R3. Then, as the action happens, it looks like Miller went the wrong direction. Instead of running onto the foul side of 3B, so both vectors of action are coming at you, he went on the fair side, and the vectors going away from him. Besides that, he put himself behind the tag... the announcers keep saying that Miller "had a good look at the tag", but Gosselin's body is between Miller and the tag. I don't think Miller ever _saw_ a tag. If you project a position on the foul side of 3B, at approximately the same distance that Miller covered from his initial position, he sees everything.

Sky / Black / White becomes White / Sky / Black? Am I seeing that right? I am eagerly anticipating the delivery of my Majestic CB Convertible (in about 2 hours! Yay!), and was going to stitch on my Sky/Bk/Wh #6 onto it... But if you're showing us this, might have to try and track down the new one... Unless... Is the (new) Wh/Sky/Bk numeral the version they use on the current MLB Sky shirt?

We're squeezing every drop out out of this melon here... 4 on last Saturday – 2 "15U" that were woeful, and 2 17U where actual baseball was played. 15U is in quotes because if there's a 15-year old on these rosters, he's never played baseball before. The closing game of the night found me behind the plate in MLB Black long sleeve (Honig's, @JasonPalo, so what aren't you liking about it?) and the last out at 9:58pm. Get to sleep around 11:45pm (drive, eat, clean up). 4 on last Sunday – all four were the last gasp of 17U travel ball "tuning" tournament. First pitch was to be 9am, and it's an hour drive to the field for me, so I was a bit foggy in da head at 8:50am. OBR (thank goodness!), but everybody (bats, umpires, etc) was a little sleepy. For the first inning of the first game, I found myself feeling like I was controlling an XBox version of myself with a low-battery controller – mashing on the buttons, but nothing happens. Kept my zone consistent, but didn't like it. The second game was _much_ better, and everything was snappier. By the middle of the fourth game, though, I was longing to go home. Inevitably, it got tied up in the bottom of the 7th, and we had to bust out the California rules to finish it. Friday was a _disgusting_ day. Temperature dropped, and it rained and gusted all day. Earlier in my life, I _loved_ days like that. But now, because I have this thing called "foresight", which comes with being old(er), I was bemoaning the entire day, because it _could_ spell disaster for the weekend baseball games. But more impactful, I had a soccer game to play in. Oh, what a mess. Thank God I didn't get injured, but it was one of those games where my hamstrings actually filed a complaint. And, of course, I intercepted a crossing pass... With more of my face than my head. So back to baseball, and 4 on Saturday – again, 2 15U and 2 17U. I am feeling incredibly sore and unresponsive, and the nightcap game has gotten to be so un-engaging that you can hear the monotonous droning of the lights' capacitors over the crowd. 3 on Sunday – the whole reason I wrote this post... 12U baseball for the first game, played on a FP softball field with _three_ pitching plates to choose from. Went surprisingly good and quick, with plays being made that I remarked to the applauding parents and coaches, weren't being made by 14 year olds the day before! (11 year olds can perfectly execute the wheel on a bunt attempt? Really?! Wow!) Then get in the car to go across town to the games I had been dreading... 13U. Back-to-back, with no partner (yet) assigned. Right before first pitch, though, help arrived. I did plate, but my zone, which had been geared to seeing 60+ mph and catchers who could actually catch, was suddenly bombarded with... 30 mph? Really? Did that ball really just bounce _twice_ on the way in?? Made for a really... Long... Day. Fall Ball is almost over.

You know, as much as I loathe having Bill Schroeder and "the prep school putz" (Brian Anderson) as our coverage team, BA actually said something insightful - that managers invoke a 7.13 request so it will be a CC review instead of a challenge, thus, they aren't charged if result is not in their favor. I think that needs to be cleaned up more than anything. That if a manager comes out, it's a challenge, no ifs ands or buts about it. If the plate umpire or a second umpire (who would have the best alternative position? U3? U1?) feels that a 7.13 violation was possible during the action, _then_ the CC induces a review, but like a "did he swing" call, if the plate umpire judges no 7.13 violation happened, then that's the way it is.

Knowing Fiers, and watching how Lucroy sets up, my estimation is it's a cutter that's taking off on him. With a power hitter like Stanton, you've gotta get in on his hands and take that potential energy away. With Fiers delivery, _everything_ reads like his fastball (which is a benefit, I'm sure). Brewer pitchers are notorious for elevating their fastball with no movement (see Marco Estrada). Fiers has been getting a lot of KO's in his previous starts because his two supplemental pitches – changeup and curveball (rather compact and curt) have very effective movement.

@gnhbua93, what if you have many opinions? @Rulekeep, I'm not trying to shoot holes in your _idea_, rather I'm trying to expose the existing holes. The single largest hole in the process isn't finding willing umpire participants to take a pitch to the CP. Heck, one of our tournament directors here in this region must find any ol' stooge to stand back there sometimes.* The greatest roadblock is going to be convincing the CP manufacturers to acknowledge your request, let alone ship a CP model _to Alaska_, on their dime, for an unsanctioned, independent, low-exposure test. Even when I worked at REI, the stories I'd be privy to regarding vendors supplying product for our tests (or, more appropriately, not supplying it when asked) were depressing. I appreciate your zeal and bravado, but I don't want to see you get bummed and discouraged when Wilson, All-Star, and Diamond blow you off, and you can't even get a reply from Champro or another of the smaller companies. * - And no, that does not include me. It's when I look at the adjacent diamond at a complex and see Bozo the Clown and his Magical Mayhem Mob.

@JasonPalo, the "grumpies" as you say are the same folks that rag on a guy (ahem) for wearing a Father's Day sky-blue wristband after his brother recently became a father. I'd rather see you wear Red than Navy. I'd rather see you wear Pink than Navy. I loathe Navy _that much_. To the east of you here in Wisconsin, we're doing the same thing. Jamming as much fall-ball baseball as possible on Saturdays and Sundays. As an umpire, I live for these days. These games are 18/17U "club ball" – high school age teams pooled together from the strictly baseball participants or escape-the-ire-of-the-powermongering-football-coach guys of gutted-by-football travel ball teams, and I purposely snatched up the 4-game sets on the only lit field available to us, just so I get to call "the last game in town", under the lights. I will almost bait my partner into "burdening me" with the plate for the last game just so I get to wear MLB Black and spark the lights. These game sets start at noon and end around 10pm. If they crammed 1-2 more games in there, I'd still do them all. Heck, I've been known to stick around at tournaments and form a three-man crew with two guys that I know, just to keep umpiring on a day. I'm there, I love baseball, I have two working legs, I have breath in my lungs (thank the Lord), bring on the games. Plural. Before the snow starts falling. Which, being Wisconsin (and as I've said many many times here) could be any minute.

You have got me _dying_ in laughter, @ricka56. My Schutt AiR Flex CP is wonderful, truly, for what it covers. So, too, my All-Star shin guards (but that doesn't preclude me from saving up to get Force3 Unequal shins) do vewwy vewwy good at protecting my knees and shins... But man, I take some whallops in the arms, thighs and abdomen. I've taken plenty of shots in the extremities as a hockey goalie and as a catcher that I don't let them phase me too much. Yeah, they smart, and explaining them to my family and friends is always a great tale. The abdomen ones aren't too bad, either, and they're usually off foul-offs or ricochets, so they leave a faint bruise. There were two that were super-scary. The first was before I got my Schutt, and I was just using my MiLB -issued catcher's CP. I took a foul to the shoulder off a 14-year old that caused my whole right arm to go numb. It hit just at the root of the armpit. It began to bruise over the next few days, and then started to drain. It was _grotesque_. A family friend works SWAT law enforcement, and said he's seen colleagues shot or bludgeoned with a BPV on, and the bruising looks similar. There must have been umpteen different shades of purple, black and yellow. Yeesh. But that pales in comparison to the recent one I got. Without going into great detail, I took not one, but _two_ foul balls – direct – to the Nutty Buddy in a tournament weekend. The first one would have ended my life if I had not had the NB on. The second one was just adding insult to injury. Guys, the Nutty Buddy _works_... _really really well_... but that concussive force goes _someplace_, and let's just say the bruising – and there was a lot of it – showed up _around_ where the Nutty Buddy protected. Freaky.

On point 1, as @Jimurray, @afaber12, and @Senor Azul all said, it is a foul ball. On point 2, the catcher, by being in fair territory and touching the ball, has prevented the ball from crossing the line(s) untouched into foul territory. Thus, the ball is fair. Play on.

You know, I worked at REI (www.rei.com) for 4 years, and of the (then) 70+ stores we had nationwide, there were 2 we were strictly forbidden from viewing or inquiring about their inventories. One was Redmond, WA, because it was the experimental / test inventory store (unique colorways that weren't offered to most consumers, for example)... the other? Anchorage, AK. Why? Because it's _way the funk_ away from the lower 48 states and moving stuff to and from there is _expensive_. Your location is a major challenge to this endeavor. Please allow me to suggest a modification to your test procedure. What you're looking for is something similar to this: http://www.tekscan.com/industrial/hispeed-system.html Your first test is to get a side of beef, side of pork, side of moose, side of caribou... a cube of ballistics gel... a mannequin torso... something that resembles flesh. You put a sensor on it. Hurl a baseball at it (get a pitching machine if you must), somewhere in the 90+mph range. Get your control reading. This is the impact force of a baseball upon an unprotected umpire. Next, you shield the "test target" with a CP. A sensor goes on the inside of the CP. Hit CP with baseball, and get your reading. This is the impact force upon the CP. Reposition sensor upon the mannequin torso with the CP shielding it. Hit the CP with baseball, and get that reading. That is the impact force upon a shielded umpire. Repeat with X number of models of CP. There's your data set. Now, that's what _most_ CP makers (should) have done already. Those numbers _should_ be out there, somewhere, with the manufacturers. Perhaps NOCSAE has them (but they may only have helmets). If you have to make your science experiment _look_ engaging and interesting, after (rather) easily calling up or emailing NOCSAE or the manufacturers for that data, is just to video an _example_ or re-enactment of that test once. You can even inject a bit of humor, and have a friend interject (staged) moments of uncertainty - "I really don't think this is a good idea!" as you tactically edit the video so it _looks_ like he's the one getting blasted by a 90+ mph fastball.

Did Maddon have a narcoleptic episode, that he missed that swing??! Holy cow... I agree with @UmpJeff, Maddon is the ultimate politician to say to Crew Chief, Gerry Davis, who _made the out call after the an umpire discussion_, that Forsythe didn't swing. Tough night in Tampa. Could we please get a new stadium in the Tampa-St. Pete area, already? The Trop is a house-of-horrors.

Have to agree with @grayhawk – it may not be as demonstrative as a manager coming all the way out of the dugout, but it surely happens most of the time. Anything for an extra base.

1) I do not call time unless the plate has been buried by a scoring attempt slide. And only after the "dust has settled" so to speak. If there's (now) no runners on, there's no point. Besides, there might be an Appeal coming, which needs to be Live Ball anyway. Only point at which I call Time is if the plate is buried and there's still runners on, and everyone's lookin' edgy. Other than that, the only time I even pull the plate brush out is when the ball is already Dead (mound visit, between innings, etc). I actually use it as a "time thing". If there's a mound visit, I fish out the brush, brush the plate, count to three, and start walking towards the mound. During gameplay, the ball stays Live and I typically just kick or foot-sweep the two front corners of the plate if either is obscured. Having a little dust on the plate isn't the end of the world. New Balance plate shoes are better at this than Reebok Zigs. 2) I came into umpiring after years of competitive participation in other major sports, like hockey, soccer, football... Where your stance or position at various instances mean something. If there's about to be a puck-drop in my zone, you better believe, as a goalie, I am going to be in a ready-to-block position, crouched. So too, I found it natural to get into a HOK ready position as a base/field umpire, but I didn't really think of the purpose. A mentoring umpire explained to me the purpose behind it (HOK when contacting rubber, visual cue), and it made perfect sense, so now I have made this routine. Any trainee or new umpires looking for feedback, I impart on them this same method.

I'm not fishing for replies on this posting. In fact, if we don't post much on this thread other than the occasional Discount or Sale or Promotion as they come up, and notify the rest of the community, that would be ideal and appreciated. With that said... Better Baseball is running a 15%-off Catcher's Gear Weekend, this includes traditional masks and HSM's. May apply to certain CP's and shinguards too. Sale runs 9/5/14 - 9/7/14 at www.betterbaseball.com and use the promo code: "CATCH15" when checking out.