softballump0421

Yeah, you got that right about being the plate umpire, you're always moving around, you should never be mobile. I was always taught that your starting position is never your ending position. At least having the gear on made you feel warm. When you have a morning game on a cold day behind the plate, you're always moving around.

0421 is my birthday.........I bet it was cold on the legs there LVUmp34.......I was freezing all game and we went 9 innings.

Greetings from the Lehigh Valley, PA area. I had my 2nd game of the year today and it was quite chilly out, but thankfully there was no snow out on the field.

I use a throat guard on my Force3 silver/black. I use the magnesium throat guard that All-Star Sports has. I don't even notice the difference in the weight. I would recommend getting a throat guard.

Force3 Defender

Gentlemen........I umpire all ages of FASTPITCH SOFTBALL.......been doing it for 18yrs.......been going to Nationals for the last 14yrs and you better believe that I wear the best equipment out there. I have a Platinum CP, Platinum Shin Guards, All-Star System 7 CP and Shin Guards, Unequal CP and Shin Guards and my masks that I use are the Diamond MLB mask, All-Star System 7 plus the Defender Mask. I really protect myself.

I have a FM4000 mask and I love it........I've taken many shots off my mask and had no problems at all.........Maybe they should make a Matte finish for this mask or just do it in all Black.

I wear presciption sunglasses all the time during the season, even games at nite, when you get the glare from the lights at nite when they turn them on to do a 8pm game here in PA.

hello everyone....just wanted to chime in on this thread about the strike call.............it now is considered a strike if the batter holds the bat out and keeps it out there in softball..........she has to make an attempt at bringing the bat back for it not to be a strike.

cool.............thanks for the info

Thanks slo and NuBlue.........I'm trying to get my hands on 1 to use for this year's Fall Ball season. I have an MVP3000TI helmet, that I got a few years ago from All-Star. That mask is light as can be, but the straps can be a pain in the but, they come undone when I take my mask off and is time consuming to put them back on. Slo and NuBlue, what was the color of the SL bars on the cage of the MVP4000.

Can anyone tell me........Does All-Star Sports send catalogs to individuals or is it just dealers that they send them too.

Thank God........Fall Ball is here............I have 3 doubleheaders this weekend (6 Games in all). All the money I'm making goes to new equipment for next year.

slo.....how did you like your helmet when it had the SL cage in it.

I would like to know the web site to go to to see this Douglas Chest Protector. I'm interested in getting one.

Brad, I actually have 2 All-Star masks that I use: my MVP2200, I use for girls softball(10&U - 14&U) and 9-10yr baseball. My other All-Star mask is the MVP3000 TI, I use this mask for everything from High School Softball (Varsity) to Division 3 Level College Softball and also I do some Women's Recreational Softball Tournaments. I've also used the MVP3000 TI to do some 15-17yr old Baseball games. I was just curious about if the cages of both the 3000 TI and 4000 TI are the same thickness. I like the padding in my 3000 TI alot, I would also like to know if you guys are going to be making any chest protectors and leg guards for umpires in the system 7. I would be interested in testing them out here in PA and giving you my thoughts and opinions on your gear.

hello fellow umpires, i'm a softball umpire and have been for 14yrs and now i'm going to be doing a baseball tournament in August as my softball season has come to an end until fall ball begins again. I'm going to be working with a fellow softball umpire who is also a baseball umpire.I think i'm over my head here doing baseball, I need help, don't want to look like a fool, so I can use all the help I can get from you veteran baseball umpires. Can someone tell me where I can get Baseball Mechanics in a quik hurry. If possible, is there a site that I can just print out the basic mechanics systems that baseball umpires use. The tournament that i'm going to be doing, the ages are 17-19yr olds. I really appreciate all the help you guys can give me.

hello fellow umpires........depending on the organization that you umpire softball in, there are so many different shirts......ASA is powder blue or navy........USSSA is red mostly on Saturday's and on Sunday's it cream(now at the World Series Nationals, there's 3 colors of shirts that are being used and each day it's a different color......In Florida and Maryland its Red, Cream and Black. NSA is White (which is good for very hot days), they used to wear Black(many years ago). PONY is light blue. FASST is Black and White. I belong to everyone of these Softball Organizations except for FASST, so my truck is filled with shirts galore.

I'm interested in either the gold or platinum wilson west chest protector. I do both Little League Baseball and Fastpitch Softball. I need a chest protector that will last a long time. I do about 20 baseball games and in fastpitch softball, I do over 200 games (that's High School, Tournaments and Recreational(including fall ball) combined. I do mostly alot behind the plate during the recreational and tournament season, half in my high school season. I need a chest protector that will last. I'm using Diamond Equipment right now, but need to upgrade real soon. Would appreciate any recommendations that you guys have.

you baseball guys are not the only ones getting rained on, myself included i'm a softballump from NEPA and we are getting hit real hard with all this rain up here. I've already lost 3 Varsity games from last Friday til Today and I have games this week all the way til Saturday and of these games 2 are Varsity, 3 are JV's. League playoff games are suppose to start next Monday here and the weather doesn't look good for tommorrow, thursday, friday and saturday. PIAA is going to have to push back Districts and States. High Schools don't play on Sundays here. So, I know how you baseball umpires feel here in PA.

In PA......we are taught that with R1 & R2 we are in the C position, also with R2 & R3 we're still in C position. The only time we're in B position is when there's a runner on 1st base and thats it. I've gone to 5 national world series tournaments and have never had a problem with anyone saying I was out of position. This is what I've been taught for 13 yrs umpiring softball and still we teach this way here in the Keystone State.

batter is out for interfering with the catcher's throw and all runners are returned to the last base touched prior to the interference and the ball is dead.