kylejt

First, nobody, I mean NOBODY asked Williamsport for this change. So they did this on their own. I suspect this is because many times the changes were taking a lot of time on their televised shows, and they were looking for a way to reduce this. I recall recently, when they came back from commercial, there was still a manager and PU standing at the fence trying to figure things out. That makes for bad TV. I love CBO for the regular season, as it means every player is in the game until the very end. No more kids packing their bags in the fourth inning, knowing they were done for the day. My league, because of my pushing, went to it 20 years ago, and I was able to convince our District to go that way about 10 ago. But All Stars is a whole different animal, and it IS all about winning. But to WP, it's all about their TV show, so we get whatever they want to do for the post season. Also, DA's signing off on less than 12 better have a really legit reason, as any eligible kid (read: Parent) left off the team is going to have a real beef with that. Yeah, that's gonna be fun to read about next season.

For those not familiar with implementing rule 7.13, it is, by far, the most entertaining rule to enforce. I mean, pulling runs off the board, and runners out of the dugout, as managers scratch their heads, and scorekeepers throw up their hands. Now, granted, it's a hair complicated, so many either don't bother, or worse, just don't care. That's a shame because they're missing a lot of fun.

I've got a silver one. Holler!

@Thunderhead, lock it down, I've got a solution.

Just an FYI. I'm 6'1", and took the "wings" off my Cobalt, and placed them on the bottom to just cover my last ribs. Worked out great, so didn't need the lower extension.

I have three Majestic Cool base jerseys in great shape. All are XL. I would like to trade them for Large. Maybe even a Medium. So, if COVID made your shirts shrink, I've got your solution. Trade only, not for sale. Holler!

I did the same thing last weekend, and an A and a B bag. Everyday, and backup, with new stuff going in the A bag, some "relegating" to the B, and the rest getting donated to the local league's umpire room.

Can someone please post the rule. I'd love to see that wording, and how they define this.

It seems every brand/model of pants have a different shade of grey. Luckily, those Smitty pants are the new normal.

I still have my System 7, in addition to the Cobalt. I think the S7 is a bit more protective, especially at the collar bone. The Cobalt is a bit slimmer and lighter on me. It's been a game day decision on what I use. I do like having extra pads on the S7, in case I need to do two plates in a day.

It's pronounced "Smock"

I'd never question anyone's choice for more protection. I know umpires that either use the raft, or wear the best on the market, because of heart issues. Others that can't/won't work the plate because of cornea problems. We're all out there at a calculated risk, weighing all the factors, and hopefully making informed decisions. And then there's those that don't bother with a throat protector, so...............................:)

No NOCSAE requirements for any umpire gear. #noonecares

To me, there's a difference with "wear what the pros wear" and "wear pro gear". I've asked a couple of MLB umpires what they wear, and why, and wasn't impressed. "Whatever they send in the box" was one response. I've observed others get injured wearing a bucket, and still wear the same thing. Those forehead shots are no joke. So I'm a proponent of wearing professional grade gear, not just what we see guys on TV doing. We seem to hold them on some sort of pedestal. Some are very thoughtful about their protection. Others, not so much. And remember, MLB guys do a plate only every 4 or 5 days .Most of us are doing 4 or 5 a week, if not more, and don't have a professional catcher in front of us.

There's no good, reasonable reason not wear pro gear. None. Do I need to repeat my story about my heart rhythm being messed up in a 10 year old game while wearing less than pro gear?

Having had a TW retro-fitted CP, I'd say most of benefit was in the "cool factor", and not so much the protection, like the mask pads. It was slimmer, though, and that was great.

I did put TW Zap pads into an All Star bucket at the forehead, for some extra protection. I don't think I ever took a shot after that, so there's now way of telling. But, being a TW fan, I did FEEL safer, over the garbage that most HSM's have at the forehead. I gave that helmet away a few years ago, but the pads did hold up. You can sometimes find the those pads on eBay for a decent price.

I used to the like their plate brushes. The one's they have now sorta look like the old grey ones, but are just brittle garbage, that fall apart in a few uses. Pity.

Have any of you tried these shirts? https://www.pluspos.com/baseball-umpire-equipment-umpire-gear/2017-mlb-umpire-shirt.html

When I've ordered from there in the past I've always sent an email about what I wanted, and when I needed it by. If they couldn't tell me they could do it, I would pass on it.

Take them to a shoe repair place. Cobblers are magicians. The 450 is the best plate shoe to date, and I've had them, and all the revisions that have followed. Real leather, real steel toes. Not the plastic garbage we put up with now. The 450 were a HUGE step forward from the +POS oxfords we all wore before. Sure the 460's are a bit lighter, but that's about it.

Are neoprene harnesses more prone to sticking to your hats?

You might be an umpire if you see some sort of argument going on anywhere (Costco parking lot, Starbucks, etc) then throw up your hands and yell "TIME!" I did that once in a bar, where two patrons were about to throw down. So startingly it was that everyone stopped and revaluated the dumb situation (including myself).

Ugg, "no new inning". This is a conduit for stalling and other nonsense. I know that WP really doesn't care much about anything other than THE TOURNAMENT, but they shoulda thought better about this. But thanks for pointing this out. Lots got lost in the shuffle last year.