trueblue

How the PU did not see the swing is beyond me, he may have been ducking? Or the impact just took him totally out of what he saw, it was several minutes before he was ready to call the pitch. He said that he took it right on the collarbone

How about this situation in a JV game. High inside pitch which the BR made an attempt to hit the ball; however, PU is struck with the pitch, as the BR's motion blocked F2's vision of the pitch. PU is hit hard enough with the ball that he sees nothing, all he knows is that it hurt! After taking a minute to regroup, the OC asks for the call on the pitch, to which the PU looks confused as he has no idea what happened...he then says "well, it hit me, it must be a ball", obviously not seeing that the batter had indeed made an attempt to hit the pitch. The OC tells his batter to hurry up and get back in there as the PU called it a ball...BU had come up from his position to check on the PU, and he saw that the batter had swung, but the PU never asked the BU what he had saw on the pitch...when the PU calls the pitch a ball, F1 and F2 protest immediately saying that the batter had swung, as BU is returning to his position, he says to F1, instead of arguing, you can always appeal...is this out of line?

What category would you put the Champro Plus? Would this protector provide adequate protection through the varsity level?

How about delivering a pitch while not engaging the rubber? I had that in my most recent JV game. It was obvious the kid had no idea what he was doing on the mound, so it was a warning with an explanation to the coach and the player. When he did engage the rubber, it became quite clear why he was not at first, he had never thrown from the mound in his life...I don't know what his coach does during practice with these kids, but it must not be baseball

How is the fit and feel of it?

Thats the thing, under FED it states that the catcher's mitt can be of any size. I have never seen anyone, through many years of playing baseball, other than sand lot, using a fielder's glove to catch with...with safety being the number one concern, I am suprised that unlike in little league, it is not explicitly illegal And yes, it was one of those games. The final score was 16-6, with less than a handful of base hits. Most runs were scored on walks, HBP, errors, passed balls (which hit me quite often), and wild pitches...oh, quite the game

Lat night I worked a JV game. The quality of play was sub-par to say the least. I don't think many of those kids, for one of the teams, had ever played baseball in their lives. I had to stop the pitcher and tell him that he has to engage the rubber when delivering a pitch, which he did not understand. He was straddling the rubber. I told the coach, and he did not do anything to coach his young pitcher, and the catcher looks up at me and tells me that this is his first time pitching with a big grin on his face. To speed the game along, my partner, the BU had to go and instruct the pitcher as to how to deliver a legal pitch, something the coach should have done in practice. Anyways, as I look down at the catcher, I notice that he is wearing a fielders glove to catch with. I mentioned it to him, and he promptly went and received his catcher's mitt. My question is, I know that under FED, that the catcher's mitt may be of any size, but does that include the option of wearing a fielder's glove?

Have you had a chance to use it yet? If so, what are your thoughts? I am thinking about purchsing one of these as well

umpires.org is the MAC site, umpire.org is the ABUA

Thank you for all of the great responses. If I were to wear the Macgregor CP, would I get myself killed out there?

MAC recruits and trains officials for baseball and volleyball in and around the Mid Atlantic Region. We administer three organizations : Mid Atlantic Collegiate (MAC) - A premier NCAA collegiate association of baseball umpires. The organization does not, which I had previously responded, start new umpires in college, we have to work our way up the ladder just as everyone else does; however the organization trains all umpires to get to the Div 1 college level. The MAC provides umpires for all levels of baseball in the Mid-Atlantic region. umpires.org

Hi all, My name is Brian. I currently live in Hagerstown, MD with my wife and three children. Our 9-yr-old son, and our three-yr-old girl twins, talk about a handful. We moved to Maryland due to the nature of my full-time profession in defense contracting. I grew up in Michigan, where I also attended the University of Michigan, we will be back, Rodriguez will have us playing better within two years. I played baseball there as well, and throughout my childhood years. After college, there was not much promise for going any further. Now, at the age of 37, I am anxious to get back on the field in my first year umpiring. I am with the MAC, Mid-Atlantic Collegiate umpiring association. What I have learned through them is amazing, and I know that the clinics only scratch the surface, as the real lessons are learned on the field.

Yeah, Salisbury is a haul from where I am, but I actually work in Howard County, make the commute daily. Are you with the MAC as well?

No, not working college ball, that is just the organization that I am with. The MAC does all levels from U13 up to Div 1 college. The pipeline starts with U13, and the advantage is being able to work your way up while working with seasoned umpires that have worked college.

Hi all, My name is Brian. I currently live in Hagerstown, MD with my wife and three children. Our 9-yr-old son, and our three-yr-old girl twins, talk about a handful. We moved to Maryland due to the nature of my full-time profession in defense contracting. I grew up in Michigan, where I also attended the University of Michigan, we will be back, Rodriguez will have us playing better within two years. I played baseball there as well, and throughout my childhood years. After college, there was not much promise for going any further. Now, at the age of 37, I am anxious to get back on the field in my first year umpiring. I am with the MAC, Mid-Atlantic Collegiate umpiring association. What I have learned through them is amazing, and I know that the clinics only scratch the surface, as the real lessons are learned on the field.

Thanks guys for the information. I was noticing on the forum that CPs get a lot of attention on the forum. I hope that I do not take too many foul balls, but you guys are right, you have to be prepared for the worst that can happen. In that regard, what is your opinion of the mask that comes with the Macgregor package? I think it is the B29

Has anyone used the Macgregor inside CP? This is my first year umpiring, and will be starting at the U13 level.