Dragon29

I know I'm late to the conversation here, but here's my $.02 anyway. At this level, I would not eject unless that last comment was loud enough for more than me, my partner & the HC to hear. If he says it fairly quietly, he's just venting while walking away - I let him. If it's "loud enough", he's gone.

I don't wear one in the field and have only ever worked w/one guy (that I know of!) who does. There's only been one moment (jumping up quickly to avoid a line drive hit straight to my crotch) that I've thought about wearing a cup in the field, but that was one moment out of how many . . . ?

I don't know if anyone noticed I haven't posted much this season (no - no-one cares !) but it's because I have not been doing games. I re-tore my left Achilles' tendon (I had a partial tear in 2001) in early February and after spending 7 weeks in a hard brace and 8+ weeks of physical therapy, I thought I was good to go. Went to a clinic a few weeks ago to test everything out and seemed OK; a little sore but fine the next day so I took a game the other night. No big deal - LL Majors, late-season, for playoff position, etc... I had the dish, figuring I'd move around a bit less from that position, and felt good going in. Since I'd not done a game in a while, it took me a bit longer than usual to get a good zone, but once I had it I felt good. In the bottom of the 3rd, I went up the 3BL on a rotation - no play - so I returned, but when I did I hit a bad spot on the field and turned my ankle. After a couple more batters, the base of my Achilles' tendon started to feel like it was burning; that's the sign of a new tear (or at least, a new tear through the old scar tissue) I tried to 'gut it out' but at the bottom of the 4th I had to call my partner in and have him take over for me. It was horrible. I'm a scratch for the rest of the season. There's always next year.

I only asked because . . . Couldn't tell from your OP if the runner was near the plate or not when that happened. Just yankin' yer chain, anyway.

Did you call the Obstruction?

I stated a game w/o a mask on, but like the earlier poster, realized it before the first (live) pitch and fixed the problem. Two years ago, I forgot my cup for a 15-16 game - didn't notice until the 4th inning and was really nervous for the rest of the game, but it ended up being OK. Since then - I've forgotten nothing. It only takes once.

Worked w/a one-armed umpire a few years back. I had the plate and he had the field, so don't ask me the obvious questions. He was really good; we had a great game.

I'm not so sure the BU's stance is off-topic. I've worked tight games w/guys who, after the game has ended, have made comments about how they would have 'adjusted' their calls to make sure the game doesn't drag on; in this case, go to extra innings. (In a blowout, I can see it, but in a tight game I cannot.) So, it's possible he was - even subconsciously - looking for something with which to make sure he didn't have to be out there any longer than he had planned. I don't know that that's the case; I'm sayin' it's possible. That being said, I do agree w/greyhawk about the pitches - #s 2 & 3 were no-stops. What I think should have been done after the 1st 'no-stop' was the BU quietly telling F1 to give him a better stop. If he fails to do so after that, you have no choice but to call the balk. While I always commend umpires for making the tough calls no matter the situation, the circumstances surrounding this particular call, I believe, warranted a quick, quiet warning before a tournament-ending balk.

Try any game Clayton Kershaw pitches in. He gets away w/the lefty indirect step balk pretty much every game he pitches. He's not the only lefty that still gets away with it, but I see the Dodgers a lot, ao I see him a lot.

This^^^

I've turned back a game because of a serious migraine-style headache, but not because of a bad attitude. As noumpere suggests, I've had days when the game has improved my mood. I agree w/Mike, though - if you know it's gonna be a bad thing, don't do it.

Well, I couldn't find any video clips that had it in there, but I was able to find a couple of written quotes of that line - not proof, I know but it's close. I know he said it - often - but I don't want to buy all the Laugh-In DVDs just to prove it.

He said it constantly - it was the line between him and Ruth Buzzi, playing the old woman who always hit him over the head w/her purse.

Fixed your post. (I'm old)

Most places yes but in some they want BU to wait and then only get it if PU doesn't and in a very few they want to wait for PU to ask for help. Pre-game this - no confusion

I see those! Seriously, that's not something I want or need help with. One of the reasons I don't want the BU involved in that call is that sound can be a very important piece of evidence when making that decision, and he can't hear it from there. I'd also have a hard time imagining a situation in which a BU can clearly see a HBP that I couldn't see at all. Not saying it's not possible, but it'd have to be a very odd HBP.

JimSmith25, Your BU can help you - A couple of people have touched on this; I'll be a little more detailed as it seems you may be new(?) Pre-game this w/your BU - If he clearly sees a batter hit by a ball in the batters' box, he can call it. Some guys like to tell their BUs to wait a moment for them to call it first, but I personally don't care. If I'm behind the plate and you clearly see a batter hit while in the box, call it!

I noticed you set your trail foot first, then set your slot foot. You may get more consistency if your reverse that. (I used to do this and was corrected early on) Set your slot foot - the one behind the batter - first; then set your trail foot behind the catcher. You'll get into a more consistent position on both sides every time. Otherwise - very nice; very crisp. As others have said, kudos to you for opening yourself up to criticism from others. Maybe next season, I'll finally be able to talk one of my sons into coming down and recording a couple of innings of my plate work so I can do the same.

You'd be a coach!

It's appropriate and expected. You might even take a step or two toward the runner being appealed before you point and make your call. 9U, I might not see R1 step off 2B and accidentally call time before he's put out. If R1 takes a step, I might not see it, but if he's strolling along, he's out.

It's not legal in LL; OBR doesn't have a specific proscription that I can find and I don't know about Fed. LL Rule 4.05(4) - no penalty - don't do that. OBR Rule 4.06 governs the behaviour of base coaches and Note 3 borders on this and sets what I would consider the 'tone' for their behaviour. But, if I had been umpiring that game, I like to think I would have stopped F1 from responding entirely. 3B coach has no business asking for the ball. 'Time! Coach, if there's a problem w/the ball, I'll handle it. Play!'

Mudder, Whie he may think you're good to go on your own at the plate meeting, and I'm sure you are, the other reason to have him there is to listen to the whole thing and ensure you didn't leave anything out. BU usually doesn't say anything at the plate meeting, but if I'm BU and my partner left out something important, I'd remind him.

It could depend upon the kid's demeanor (was he angry, demanding, trying to be funny, etc...?) and volume, but I'm at least issuing a (possibly quiet) warning no matter the situation. Worst case? He's gone.

I do see your point about how it looks, and honestly when I first started doing this, I thought about that, but then came to the same conclusion purported by BigUmpire, above. Re:the bolded portion above - I work mostly LL Jrs; I do some 11-12 ball and some 15-16/17-18 in LL, Pony and some travel ball as well, but mainly LL Jrs - at least, lately. So, no - F9 can't always be counted on to accurately throw the ball anywhere, so I have seen this speed up the game. Second, I've never even had a ball get close to coming out of my pocket as I move around the field, so I don't think that's an issue. I'm not trying to defend the practice, as I'll probably keep doing it now that I see how most umpires feel about it - at least, most of the umpires that responded. Thanks

. . . and above, we see the difference between a statistician and a mathematician . . .!