kylehutson

I thought the same when my brother told me about them. Now ... it's a small price to pay for all-day comfort.

If y'all haven't upgraded to Saxx undies (both for this and for everyday wear), you don't know what you're missing.

This is the first I've heard about it. Thanks for pointing this out.

That or else he had an aneurysm upon hearing the news.

14-15? I've had this twice at HS varsity, and in one of those cases the HC tried to argue with me about it, too.

And to add... Since he's still a pitcher, and not a fielder, he can't feint to first. He must throw it, even if his back foot ends up landing behind the rubber.

Understanding that this is getting further from the OP's question... Exactly this. I work with several college umpires who have said they'd like to do this full-time. I, on the other hand, like doing this because it gets me away from the stresses of the 9-5 job. I certainly don't want it to become that stress.

To add to this... Not only do you not have insurance, but as an independent contractor, you don't have workers comp, either. So let's say you get hurt while officiating. You don't get any time off work so you're not getting paid, you don't get your medical bills reimbursed, and you don't even have medical insurance (at least through this job). While you can deduct a lot of expenses from your taxes (and I highly suggest you do), you also have "self-employment tax" - essentially the same as paying both halves of FICO, currently 15.3% on top of your "normal" income taxes

FTFY

I haven't counted the rest, but I just ran a report on my mileage this year: 12,907

I think I can probably help... By this I'm assuming you're talking about force plays (or the equivalent at first for the pedants among us). If it's tag plays that are giving you fits, let us know and there will probably be different advice. 1) It's easy (especially when you're new) to try to get too close to a force play. Your eyes can only see so wide at once - think of it like having a dinner plate at arms length. That's the part you can *really* see. Try backing up and watching from farther away. 2) Make a concerted effort to watch the foot on the base. Keep watching it until *after* the runner touches the base. When you're in A, if you look up too soon, you can make a snap judgment. When you're in B or C (and this is something I *still* catch myself doing), you find yourself looking at the glove instead of the base. It's one of the few times you can actually see the ball when it hits the glove ... but you shouldn't, because you should still be watching the base and listening for the glove 3) And this is the big one. You're still rushing yourself. Your brain is going 1000 mph and you feel an internal pressure to make a call right away. I was probably 5 years in before I got the feeling "oh, this is what good timing feels like". Watch the play. Keep watching the play. Re-play it in your head. Wait for the fielder to do something else (throw the ball elsewhere, run toward the pitcher or off the field, look up toward you to see what your call is). THEN make your call. 4) Related to (3). When the ball is on the way to the fielder, exhale and leave your breath out until you make your call. This does two things. (a) It slows your nervous system down and lets you concentrate, and (b) it forces you to inhale before you actually make your call, slowing you down even further. As said earlier, don't beat yourself up too much. It happens to all of us. And as the first guy who got me interested in umpiring said "it's the only job you'll ever have where you're expected to start perfect and then get better every time"

Oh, I'll use this technique at every level I work. Everything from an imitation of Bob's "juuuust" on a ball the catcher dives for, to one that goes over the batter's head and I'll say loud enough for only the catcher to hear "I had that one just a little up"

In my early years, I was taught to not give a location, but like @SH0102 alludes, as you move up, you may have different guidance (and not just on this subject). If I'm working college ball or HS varsity and it's within a ball or so of a strike, I'll give the location loud enough for the batter and catcher to hear, as well as how much. (e.g., "just a hair low" or "about a ball out")

Hint: Start the timer, then switch over to "clock" mode. Pressing the start/stop button then does nothing. Also, note the start time (preferably written on paper, but mentally if you have to). Then, even if it *does* get pressed, you can always figure it out.