TheRockawayKid

Honigs still makes plate coats? That seems in the midrange between Flying Cross and Out West. The quality is still great there?

So I'm looking at getting a plate coat. Living in cold weather northeast. What would you recommend? Which one is better? I assume someone like @MadMax would be an expert in this, as he is in all things equipment.

Coming back to this question, especially for @Purchase_Pat I have a Diamond iX3 lightweight mask. It's done well on higher velocity shots. What would you say is similar in weight but still offers good protection?

Here's what I hate about these new timing rules. 1) When we don't have visible clocks, it's basically a guessing game. It's especially bad for the batter. The batter is trained to start to the box when the catcher throws down (and not on the 30 second warning). So if the catcher throws down with 10 seconds left, for example, the batter doesn't know that it's 10 seconds. And if the defense if throwing the ball around when time expires, we're supposed to hit both the batter and the pitcher with violations if the batter isn't in the box. 2) I hate that the new pitcher has 2:30, and I hate that it's when they cross the warning track. If the bullpens are two different spots, it gives one team an advantage. I think it should count when they cross the warning track from the dugout, or the edge of the infield "grass" if the bullpen is in the outfield. And then, now the base umpire has to first see what pitcher is coming out. Is it a new pitcher from the dugout? Is it a replacement pitcher? Now it not only matters based on how much time is on the clock, but when to start the clock.

Yes, I have done a game here. And there are some interesting things to note. - Yes, it's very possible for foul balls to sail down and hit a car entering or exiting the Lincoln Tunnel to Manhattan. - To leave the field you have to walk up a steep flight of stairs to get to the street behind the 3B side. It's maybe 40 feet high. And then you have to keep walking uphill to get to the police department. Maybe 6 stories uphill to the parking lot that's beyond left field.

I don't know if it's really necessary. On lower levels, you have one umpire who will basically use one shirt all day. Higher-level umpires? Well, we now start to need that pocket. MLB level has them all using their lineup cards to back each other up, and in college, one umpire is responsible for shadowing mound visits, etc. So the days of "base umpire doesn't have to do much" are pretty much over.

The thought of these guys bringing a couple of cases of beer to the field before Game 2 scares me so much.

As an aside, it's really interesting that NCAA gave some crews different styles than some others for pullovers. Some had the gray panels, some had the white stripes.

Oh yeah! Driving on the highway, not hitting any speed bumps, and all of a sudden they just fall!

Oh god yes! I can get them dry cleaned and pressed, have them on a hanger, but if I look at them wrong, it appears as if I just pulled them from the bottom of my equipment bag. Also, it is impossible to get dirt off them with a spray bottle.

Oh, no, I didn't think you were being unkind. It just so happened you were making a joke about something that often happens with these timers -- maybe not realizing how frequent the problem can be! An "oh, too true!" moment.

You laugh, but it does happen with these boxes. Sometimes it won't go (if you flip it too frequently, for example) so a quick off-on fixes things. The key is to do it quietly so no one realizes it.

Don't rest on your laurels, keep going!

However 8-4-1-f says: "as a runner or retired runner, fails to execute a legal slide, or does not attempt to avoid the fielder or the play on a force play at any base" That, to me, says it's more along lines of "slide or avoid" meaning, if you don't slide, you'd better avoid. I'll ask @lawump who I know is one of the people who wrote the book on this, and ask directly if FPSR is intended in NFHS rulebook.

I don't mean to make a grand point here, but I just want to point out one thing: A few years ago, there's a regional (or maybe even CWS? I don't remember exactly) and one hitter from a big-name team (once again, can't tell you which team) hits a huge home run. An absolute moon shot. He comes back into the dugout, and the cameras are on him as he takes his tin from his bag and starts to pack a chew. Now, I'm not expecting anyone to be looking in the dugout here, but I was always confused as to why he didn't serve a suspension after the game. Did the NCAA officials watching miss it, or were they looking the other way? I don't know, honestly. Once again, no larger point here.

I think the lesson is to trust our brothers -- especially working this level -- over out-of-context clips from people who don't know baseball rules and seem to all have a vendetta against umpires on social media. Will mistakes be made? Sure. But these days, it's literally true: A lie (video) can travel the world before the truth (the ejection report) can catch its breath.

Does anyone think it's terrible to get together after the play and talk about it then? Would it be terrible to just converse, and have BU say something like "yeah, I had it off his foot." I imagine that it wouldn't be a huge deal if it was a quick conversation.

The only time I have had it happen to me is on a drag bunt/running bunt, where the batter is really moving out of the box.

Hah! There are so many permutations as to when to give the count, that I've found it's easier to just give the count after every pitch (except for the first). If you're going off "decision pitches," the only time you don't have a decision pitch after the second pitch is a 2-1 count. At that point, may as well just say it. Besides, no matter how many times you give the count, you know the third base coach is going to ask the count anyway. And as for assignors -- one assignor said he didn't care if I gave the count every pitch -- better too often than too little.

This is what strikes me, honestly. I've known some umpire organizations and/or school systems that will only pay their checks at the end of the season. All school ball gets paid, then all summer ball gets paid, then all fall ball gets paid. And just something to consider -- although this is an avocation (and hobby) for most, for some it is an important source of income. I can name a few college students and recent graduates who are relying on whatever money they can muster to keep their head above water financially. I know a few not-so-young officials who are doing multiple sports to keep up with the rising costs of living (and I won't continue to go down a political or economic tangent). Let's not be dismissive of those fellow officials, please.

Sure. But if we enforce the penalty of a quick pitch (ball or balk), we are less likely to see situations where batters need to call time because the pitcher rushes them. Many of us are already good at making sure a batter can't request time late in order to mess with a pitcher. I'm guilty of this too, but I need to start getting better at making sure a pitcher can't mess with a batter by quick pitching -- and I know I have the rule book to back me up, and exactly how to cite it to coaches or players who otherwise wouldn't understand, without having to pick up the bad end of the stick.

MLB rulset can do a quick pitch. NCAA can as well. 5.07 (a)(2)If, however, in the umpire’s judgment, a pitcher delivers the ball in a deliberate effort to catch the batter off guard, this delivery shall be deemed a quick pitch, for which the penalty is a ball. 6.02(a)(5) comment: A quick pitch is an illegal pitch. Umpires will judge a quick pitch as one delivered before the batter is reasonably set in the batter’s box. With runners on base the penalty is a balk; with no runners on base, it is a ball. The quick pitch is dangerous and should not be permitted As far as calling a quick pitch, this is something that would have been a problem in 2015, but probably wouldn't right now. To a coach, just say, "it's basically the Scherzer rule. It's a penalty if you're pitching before the batter has a chance to get ready." I think of it akin to RLI. Seven years ago, it probably would have gotten you an angry coach. But now it's been called in the World Series multiple times, and coaches have accepted that the rule may be called. I had a 15U game a few years ago, and my partner called RLI. Kid started to argue, but head coach at third base yelled at him, "shut up. It's a stupid rule, but he got the rule right."

From what I remember seeing/hearing, normally the plate umpire for a "first day" of a series will have their equipment shipped days in advance, so it's at the stadium waiting for them. Obviously base equipment can't be shipped so early. I THINK that it's Old Dominion that handles the logistics, but I could be wrong here. But nothing is perfect, and sometimes there are delays in transit. So there have been times when umpires have had to wear whatever they could (whether it be civilian clothes or sometimes uniforms provided by the home team). These days, there are spare base uniforms in each stadium, so that there are fewer problems. So maybe they didn't have their shoes -- a very personal piece of equipment -- delivered. If you can look at the game again, see if the umpires had numbers on their uniforms. I would assume they didn't if they were taking a generic.

But what Lindsay is saying is interesting. There is no penalty ascribed to this violation, which is mind-boggling, but I just checked the book (2019 version) and sure enough, there's no penalty. Compare it to the NCAA and NFHS, which DO attach a penalty of a ball with no one on base.

Welcome! Have fun!