Chip

PR consultant and owner of software company

That's my experience, too. I have some pretty chafed skin on one side of my neck from the rubbing when I don't wear a mock. So I'm going to have to invest in some short-sleeve mocks now that the weather has warmed up a bit in NH, and I'm not going with the long sleeves every night. Otherwise, I continue to really like both the CP and shins. Plenty more hits to them both and no ill effects at all.

Agree with @maven on this. Here's a question, though. To what extent do you take into account the actual capabilities of the team standing on the field? I was working an early season 10U rec league game earlier this week and was pretty sure that for one of the teams any ball caught in the air would have been a complete accident. There were no popups (both teams seemed mostly content to just watch every pitch and strike out or walk and move around the bases on PB/WP), but I tried to cure the boredom by pondering what I would do if someone decided to take the bat off their shoulders and pop one up (and of course it was the one pitch where 1st and 2nd were actually occupied before the next WP/PB moved them up). You don't. You take into account the average players at that level. Err on the side of protecting the offense. I agree with protecting the offense. I guess that's where I was getting hung up. Calling IFF would give the defense an out that they probably wouldn't achieve otherwise, given some of the fielding I had been seeing. But that's certainly not a statement that would apply across the board to all teams at that level or even most in that league.

Agree with @maven on this. Here's a question, though. To what extent do you take into account the actual capabilities of the team standing on the field? I was working an early season 10U rec league game earlier this week and was pretty sure that for one of the teams any ball caught in the air would have been a complete accident. There were no popups (both teams seemed mostly content to just watch every pitch and strike out or walk and move around the bases on PB/WP), but I tried to cure the boredom by pondering what I would do if someone decided to take the bat off their shoulders and pop one up (and of course it was the one pitch where 1st and 2nd were actually occupied before the next WP/PB moved them up).

Update from yesterday's 15U game. Took two off of my UE shins. One was an uncaught pitch to just below my knee. Didn't feel a thing. Also took a deflection off the side of the knee right where the hard and soft shell meet. Felt a little pressure and waited for it to hurt since it hit more of the soft padding than anything else, but had forgotten about it by the next pitch. With the larger field than the game on Thursday, I really noticed the extra lightness of these shins, too. Very pleasant running around in them. The UE CP continued to be a ball magnet -- or maybe it's only that the season is just starting so the kids aren't stopping enough balls before the get back to me. Two that stood out were one foul square to the chest and an uncaught pitch to the gut. Felt same level of protection as my Gold, but with much less bulk and much better range of motion.

I wore the UE shins and CP for the first time last night in a 12U game. Took one foul to the shins that made some noise but nothing else. Unlike everyone else, my UE CP was a ball magnet. I took numerous foul balls off the chest (3 in one AB alone!). Didn't feel anything, though two of the fouls were sharp enough and made enough noise that the coaches asked if I was OK. I did take one off the shoulder plate that I did feel, but just for a moment. Both were a pleasure to wear -- lightweight and comfortable, much more so than the WV Gold and triple-knee Diamonds I usually wear. I'll see how the UE gear holds up to some Babe Ruth action this weekend, but so far so good.

To me, it looks like he contemplates advancing, but I'm not sure I would interpret it as an attempt to go to second. It really is nothing more than a slight lean and some awkward stutter steps. If I was calling in real time, I think I'd have him safe. That said, if I were a replay official, I'd probably let the call stand for lack of convincing evidence one way or the other.

It's tough to sell a call after having "admitted to both coaches that he didn't know what to do." Agree, but my point was that he should have sold the safe call and then wouldn't have had to try to figure out how to apply the rules after that.

You have to wonder how well the PU sold the call that both the BR and 1B coach missed it. If I'm working a game like that solo and therefore making a non-obvious call while trailing the play, I'm going to be extra loud and forceful in my call -- probably belting out "safe! on the bobble! safe!" or something like that to make sure that everyone knows and understands the call. I don't want to get an out for abandonment on a play like that, especially at 12U or lower, if I can avoid it.

If the AC said that to me in a calm voice, I would not EJ immediately. If he's not questioning my integrity, showing me up, or otherwise being abusive, I'll let him have his opinion about the call. I would have given him an opportunity to stop before the EJ -- something like "Sorry you see it that way, but we're not discussing it" or even just "that's enough." I wasn't there and didn't hear the bench jockeying that led up to it, nor did I hear his tone, see his demeanor or anything like that. But based on how I see it in my head, it feels a bit like a quick hook. Without the EJ of the AC, there's likely no EJ of the HC, but if he's yelling "That's crap!" in my face, there's a good chance he goes, too. If it's not an absolute no-brainer EJ, I usually like to give that opportunity for the participant to come to their senses and walk away, but we're just armchair QB's here and there's usually much more context around these situations that's hard to communicate in a post or email.

How do you write a rule that says you can use a little -- enough to get a better grip -- but not a lot -- enough to alter that performance of the ball? We may all agree that it's OK to use a little dab so the ball doesn't slip, but what about when someone slathers the whole ball with it?

It was too obvious for the Red Sox to ignore. He was really flaunting it. There are so many ways to be more subtle if that's what you're going to do.

Sounds like this was a pickoff play? Without the ball, F4 needs to make sure he's out of the way -- especially since you say "potential throw" which suggests that none was ever made. You also say he was straddling not blocking, but hard to make a call without seeing exact positioning and how the play unfolded. You can straddle and still be in the way of someone trying to come into the base standing up. Finally, "shoves" come in many different forms. If he was coming in standing up and just bracing himself with his arms out, that's one thing. If he came in to the bag cleanly and then powerfully pushes F4, that may suggest a different motive -- and outcome.

I think there's also a difference in whether this was the first time you have seen this umpire have these kinds of problems or if he is consistently unreliable. We all have off games that we wish we could do over. Personally, I'm not a fan of chewing out a partner on the field. I did that once last season when I had a teenage volunteer on the bases and in the first inning he made absolutely no call at all on two plays, one at first and the other at second. The third time it happened, I called time and walked out to him to inquire if he was going to make any calls or if I should plan to work solo. He was a volunteer, so I was polite but firm about it because he was making us both look bad to everyone and it was a game with postseason implications. We had a lengthy pregame going over responsibilities and such, but he just froze when it came to live game action.

You could have protested. Rule misinterpretation that an appeal could happen with a dead ball. And it should be a winner. Would it? The appel was rejected, so there is no out to reverse. Time was out, so the runner couldn't advance, nothing to fix there. Effectively, what the umpire did was gratuitously provide information to the defense that meant they didn't need to actually appeal. So granting the protest would put the game exactly where it was anyway -- no score, no out, and the defense already knowing that there was no point in doing a proper appeal. I confess to not being an expert on baseball protests, but I thought they would only be granted if they would change something -- seems like this is just an umpire mistake that can't be fixed. It would have taught the umpire the rule. AND, somewhat far fetched, the protest committee could decide that as the ball was supposed to be live so the run scores. That does seem pretty far-fetched. The protest committee should be reviewing the application of the rules, not effective game management by the umpire. Had the umpire granted the appeal, that would seem to be reversible by virtue of the fact that the ball was not live. But to retroactively rule that the ball was live would be going beyond what a protest committee should be considering.

Was this game being played on 60 foot or 70 foot bases? If the Cal Ripken Special Base Running Rule for 60 foot bases was in effect, it adds another twist, especially because some leagues tack on some unique local rules to extend its meaning.

Anniversary of Jackie Robinson's first game. Everyone is wearing 42.

Since the game was over, it represents a potential missed opportunity to have an opportunity to pull out 9.01©.

Mike, I see what you're saying now.

BU hit while in "A" will normally be a foul ball (ball either in flight or bounded past 1B in foul ground). The only exception is a bounding ball that passed 1B in fair ground. Sent using Tapatalk For that exception to come into play, the BU would somehow have to be positioned in front of F3. That doesn't seem likely. I suppose there might be some bizarre popup scenario where F3 goes out and BU comes in for some reason, then a gust of wind blows it on top of BU's head. Otherwise, the ball will have passed F3 already and is therefore still in play even if it hits BU.

But, I suspect, in this case, we did not have an umpire, we had a guy who bought a blue shirt at Academy. I'm probably going over the top with my mantra but just because a guy is inthe field with a blue shirt he may not actually be an umpire except that the participants are happy that a guy in a blue shirt is there. Until he screws up. That's a pretty harsh judgment for not having seen the play. I have no reason to doubt the OP, but we all now how easy it is to make calls from the stands -- especially things like fair/foul right down the line. Certainly based on the facts presented it appears the wrong call was made, but to leap from that to the guy was a fraud does seem a bit over the top.

@kstrunk- It was miserable for many reasons. First, it's an odd way to look at pitches once you become used to watching them from the slot. Second, you can't see the foul lines very well. Third, it was a Cal Ripken Majors game so there were a fair number of PB/WP situations with plays at the plate. Trying to get in close enough to see the play, especially since the tag is often coming from the catcher from behind the runner is a real challenge. Finally, to top the day off, I got drilled with a sharp one-hopper off my shin -- though that did allow me to call my only instance of umpire interference. Small diamond ball lets you really test out just about every nook and cranny of the rulebook.

Very true. I never see hands that quick in the 12U games I do!

You forgot the smiley face. I have called exactly one game from behind the mound working solo. It was a miserable experience. The only reason I did it was because I had already done back-to-back plate games in 100 degree weather. I got to the field expecting to be BU but the PU never showed. Next time I would rather sweat it out and put on the plate gear again than doing it behind the mound. As an aside, the guy who didn't show told the assignor that it was too hot to work the plate so he just didn't head to the field. The assignor dumped him.

Unless you go all-out Leslie Nielsen on your call, it shouldn't be a huge deal. Of course, if you pull the string while looking away from the action, that could be a problem. Working solo is tough and making a close call at second from behind the plate requires you to assess what likely happened since you'll have a hard time seeing exactly when the tag was applied versus when the base was reached. Make your best call and sell it.