MikeSafari

What's it feel like on the shirt/pants, though? It looks to me like it'd make everything a bit less comfortable and give it a heavily-starched feeling. Does it affect breathability at all? Let us know how it holds up after a few wash cycles and such, too. I could definitely use it on my shoes, but I'm really hesitant about using it on my pants or shirts.

Pretty much the only time I've had this come up and be something I can get behind is on a dropped third strike with runners on. Had this happen last weekend. R2 and R3, dropped third strike and catcher couldn't find it. In the confusion, R2+R3 started to move while BR made his way to first with some haste. Catcher found the ball, looked back the runners, and made the throw down to first for a bang-bang play. Partner asked me if that was strike three before making the call. Confirmed, and he banged out the BR on the play.

I must echo this comment. Talking with a partner on way to JUCO game this March. He had been hit with line drive in thigh the day before. I said "never been hit in ten years". Fast forward to bottom of 9th. Low line drive ricochets off my left shin breaking up what was most probably a game ending DP. Extended game another twenty minutes and I had a knot on my shin just below knee the size of a softball that is STILL sore to this day. Never say I don't get hit, I've never been hit, etc. I get hit all the goddamn time. Though, the guy behind the dish in a three-man championship bantam (16yo) game I worked with yesterday caught five. Two off the mask, one off the CP, one off his shin guard, and one off his forearm.

Where do you get these? I've heard they're good but can't find them anywhere in Canada or somewhere online that ships here

Let us know what it's like!

Lucky you. Mine's just arrived at customs, thirteen days after I ordered it. Will probably be here by the end of this week. I hate shipping stuff to Canada sometimes

You just get used to looking for these things after a while. It's like guys who can tell you a specific make, model, and year of car just by looking at the shape of the headlights. Once you dedicate yourself to something, you start to see those small differences that other people don't.

Honestly, I'd never done it until this year when I got an early evaluation and the guy told me it was my responsibility (as PU) to inform the pitcher of the situation. Uh, unless there's a pitching change in the middle of an at-bat, I've never done it until this season. Still feels wrong. Ugh, I hate it.

I bought a few of these because they're cheap, and they sure as hell feel it. Don't think I'd buy them again, but they're fine if you need cloth bags in a pinch: https://www.ump-attire.com/Baseball-Umpire-Equipment/Bags-Tools/Ball-Bags/U112P_Professional-Style-Cloth-Umpire-Ball-Bag

I have a large-ish shoe bag similar to this that I keep mine in. I'm not particularly bothered as I just use an old Rawlings at the moment, but when I get my new +POS one I'll probably invest in something a little more protective.

If the batter is hit with a pitch in the zone, it's a strike. If not, it's a ball. Don't overthink it. That's what I thought. I haven't encountered this sort of situation since I was ~16.

What would you guys normally call as the pitch on that sort of play (batter letting himself get hit or intentionally moving into a close pitch)? The only time I've had this happen was years ago in a AB-ending count (2-2 or something) and I was hesitant to call it a strike, but did so anyway as I thought the pitch would have been a strike.

An update from Dan I received this morning (edited to remove shipping info): So, I think I'll be buying from him again! All worked out well in the end.

I normally go with a 6-stitch behind the plate, 8 stitch on the field. I also don't crease my caps like a lot of guys do, but I might have to give it a shot with my plate one as it's a slightly different shape than I'm used to. That sounds insane, but I've had evaluators like that. Can't win with some people unless you do it exactly like they do.

Christ that's one hell of a whack. Hope he's alright.

[%]D You been drinking? Hit on the head? Or is Steven Hawking posting for you? So I read "A Brief History of Time". So I understood some of the parts other than the foreword, dedication, copyright info and table of contents. So shoot me! (Just not with a relativistic baseball thrown at 90% speed of light.) https://what-if.xkcd.com/1/

Yeah I'm not terribly bothered by the lack of an answer; just wanted to see what everyone else's experiences were. I'll reach out by phone today

Yeah that's one of the addresses I emailed. Maybe I should just give him a call instead.

I placed an order for the ZRO-G mask on Monday since it was on sale, but forgot to add their throat protector to the order. I've tried contacting all the emails/forms I could find for them to try figure out a way to get them shipped together and save myself the shipping cost, but without luck. Anyone have experience on contacting them? It's not a huge deal if I have to pay the extra $8, but it'd be nice to know if they've at least received my questions...

God I wish people could understand this more than almost anything else I do as an umpire. I truly do not care who wins, I just want to see a good, clean game of baseball. This weekend while working a tournament for my local association with a bunch of teams from all over the region, one of the parents just behind the fence straight up asked me, "Hey you're from here, right? Why aren't you calling that for us?" I didn't even know what to think, let alone say anything. I felt like this guy:

@Jocko I haven't seen sunscreen sticks before; that's a great idea actually. And yep, I've got lip balm. I just forgot it all on Saturday and now I'm flippin' lobster coloured.

I said this to one of my fellow umpires on the weekend and he actually brought up a great point that I'd never thought about: when a coach is an umpire, they know ways to exploit the 2-man system. And he had a great example about a coach he'd worked games for. In games the team was losing or that were close late, if coach had a runner on 2nd, he'd get the BR to bunt up the first base line--knowing that PU is going up the line watching for fair/foul, runner's lane violations, etc., while U1 is moving from P4 over to make the call at 1st. R2 would then cut the corner at third by a good five feet, getting a huge head start on the way home. Other team would appeal, but nobody would be able to make that call since they didn't see it. So it has upsides and downsides.

After the weekend I just had, these two guys are coming with me everywhere.

I've had the Davishins on my Amazon.com wishlist for a few months and they just dropped $20 to around $75. After shipping, import taxes, and the conversion to Canadian dollars (sigh), they're around $115 to my door. On the other hand, the Unequals are a little bit more up front ($120US) and significantly more expensive after shipping, bringing them to a shade under $200CAD ($191). Are they really worth that much extra, in your humble opinions? What am I losing out on my getting Davishins instead of UEs? Will I be less mobile? Will I be warmer in one or the other? Is it significant? From reading the forum, everyone raves about the UEs, but Davishins don't seem nearly as popular. I'm in all kinds of ball from early high school all the way up to our provincial Premier League, so both are within the price/protection range that I'd need.

Love it. Passed it along to my UIC and he's sent it off to the exec board to be distributed to coaches.