LittleBlue

Mine base pants aren't really tight at the bottom but they're definitely not baggy like my plate pants would be if worn on the bases. They look more like normal pants while still having enough room to run and go hands in knees without worrying about the pants ripping. When having plate and base pants hemmed always bring your shoes and shin guards and wear them while the seamstress measures you so you get the right length. I don't know much more than that but I would follow what @Matt said.

I would love it if we had time limits like that! The only hard time limit we have is 10 pm because of the lights. The game starts at 7ish though so 3 hours isn't much of a limit.

13-15. I could find a halfway decent 13u team to beat both teams that played last night, honestly.

Last nights game featured 4 innings of "baseball" in about 2:30 with one half inning that saw 67 pitches and 9 walks, a shorter 45ish pitch inning, and a long 108 pitch, 3 pitcher and 12 walks inning. I swear fall ball makes me question my sanity. 2:10 no new inning makes me want drop dead times for some fall games.

Fall ball is a totally separate beast. So far the most painless game I've worked this fall was a varsity camp/showcase. Everything else has been brutal mentally or physically. Hence the reason why I take more classes and do more work during the fall than the spring. I usually don't find baseball to be work but I do in the fall (life without parole might be a better definition).

Matt, I agree with that. I probably should have said commit instead of anticipate. As long as one doesn't find themselves prematurely committing to what they anticipate the most likely play to be, they should be good. Also, the higher level ball you work the easier it will be to anticipate plays correctly. When you're doing wreck, every play is a possibility.

As other have already said this isn't umpire interference. I posted here a few months ago about a partner I had who basically took out F2 and let a run score. Also not umpire interference. It's best to not anticipate what is going to happen or you'll get burned bad. Always think about the possible plays before the pitch but never try to guess the play. As long as you know what plays are possible, you should be able to let the play take you where you need to be with no trouble. This doesn't account for bonehead plays by the defense but you should be able to adapt.

This is good to know as a baseball guy who is also looking at working some softball games in the next season or two.

When I started working games as a summer job at 14 I asked my parents to get me combo pants for my birthday (they figured it was cheaper than video games or anything electronic so they got me them). It made me look more professional than the other kids and I got more games as a result. When I was 18 and decided to work HS games I invested in plate and base pants. It made me look more professional and I got more games (not just HS but other levels of ball as well). You can see the trend right? Invest in your uniform and look good on the field and it will say a lot about how much you care about your job. Your fellow officials and assigners will notice, not to mention you'll be more comfortable too!

Good to see John Hirschbeck get to go out with a World Series assignment.

PM sent.

Yes it is @sjbaseballump

Did I miss the so called threat? He can't be talking about threatening to throw the guy out, right?

My Smitty has pockets and my Majestic does not. Not a huge difference but for cold days it helps to have the fleece lined pockets. I find myself trying to put my hands in the pockets that aren't there on the Majestic.

As others have said the Force 3's seem to be the way to go for you. There everything you're looking for in a shin guard.

Don't know if anyone here listens to Mike and Mike on ESPN in the morning, but they were discussing this play this morning and they were saying how the umpires should have waited to make sure Price didn't want to challenge the play. I had already read Gil's write up and understood that the on the last play of the game the manager has to challenge immediately, but those two were adamant that the umpires left the field too quickly. I'm not even going to get into the fact that they said the base award for a ground rule double was two bases from wherever the runners or batter runner is when the ball goes out of play. Time of pitch guys. Ugh.

@stl_ump yep. I though that he ruled him out because he was tagged off the base as the BR was adamant that he was not tagged. He never explained his ruling to the BR, only to me a few innings later.

That's what I meant. If he came to me right after the call could I give him the info to change his call? Is this a call that he can come to me to get information from was my question. I mean I guess you could come to me for help on a judgement call but you probably wouldn't and shouldn't. Is this a call that he should come to me for help on or should he own the call? I had no problem giving him my input if he wanted it, but I probably would offer much input if he wanted help on a tag/no tag play.

I'm PU. Adult rec, R2, 0 outs. BR hits a single that brings R2 home. Throw comes home, but is late. F2 fires to second as a slow BR tries to stretch his single into a double. Initial tag attempt misses as BR dances around it and slides past 2B. F4 dives to tag BR as BR tries to dive back to 2B. My partner hesitates but then calls out. BR is incensed and claims that he was never tagged. No one on his team comes out to argue. My partner just kept saying he can't get help and that's BR is out. We moved on. A few innings later my partner came to me and asked what I had on the play. I said it was hard to tell from 3BLX. He said he ruled him out for being out of the baseline because he overslid 2B. I asked if the fielder tagged him off the base and he said no. I told him that the runner shouldn't be called out of the baseline unless a play is made on him and he deviates more than 3 feet left or right. He said OK. My question is if my partner came to me and asked if the BR was out of the baseline could I overturn his call? Could he even appeal this to me?

Gil's response was far and away the better read. Then again people who know nothing about the umpiring business or profession do not want to hear the facts that umpires are good at the jobs they do. They want it to be like old times where they could yell "kill the umpire" and be done with it. The truth that umpires are generally good at what they do and get the majority of the calls right likely does not sit well with those who enjoy hating on them. It's for that reason that they shut out facts like those that Gil presented and rely on the old opinions that umpires are blind and vindictive people who have egos the size of Texas. As for those of us who are informed and have some (and in some cases extensive) experience in the world of umpiring, we will continue to rely on the facts so that we may have informed opinions and be able to talk about umpires and the profession rationally.

@Jimurray that's an interesting question. Even if the lights were working properly, if the boat was traveling at full speed, they may not have been able to see them. I also read that alcohol and drugs were not suspected to have played a role in the accident, which makes me think this is just a terrible accident.

It's so sad. I was working an adult rec game when the news came out. Somebody in one dugout read it on their phone and it spread to all the players as well as me and my partner. The rest of the game took on a different demeanor. When I got home and saw the pictures of where the boat crashed, I was shocked that they didn't have lighths on the jetty. I think I heard that he and his friend were going fishing at 3 AM and that speed played a role in th accident. Even so, how would they have been able to see the jetty in time if it was not lit up? Hopefully change comes from a tragedy like this.

I remember seeing this

@JDavis225 I'd chop the guard off the Wilson and stick a hanging guard on there. The angle of the built in throat guard does almost nothing in my opinion. That said, I don't use a hanging guard on any of my masks.