jonathantullos

Wearing cameras for a typical high school game is stupid and a waste of time. The games are too long as it is. Not to mention I'm sure if cameras were mandated, it would be on the umpires to buy the cameras. Won't happen with me. I'd quit first.

I'm going to try the maks that U-A sells (I wore them for football), and I'm also going to try out a gaiter. We have been "highly encouraged" to wear them at the plate and were told they were outright optional in the bases.

For all intents and purposes, it didn't (at least in terms of baseball).

In Mississippi I believe it's a combination of peer evals, coach evals, and experience (I'm not 100% honestly). But according to my assignor, since there are so many playoff games played in the early rounds here, it also sometimes comes down to who's available and willing. I'm not certain but I believe that the state office chooses crews for the state tournament based on evals from the assignors.

Well, I hate that. I would love something more low profile that gives as good of protection as my platinum CP. Here's hoping something comes about in the near future.

That's what I was led to believe. Guess we will just have to wait and see if it comes to fruition. I will say, though, if it does I'll definitely buy one. I like the protection of my WestVest but I don't like looking like a linebacker when I have a dish.

I read something about Wilson (I believe) coming out with a low profile chest protector. Supposedly, it won't be until closer to the late spring/early summer before it's released.

Thanks. I know FED also bans but just assumed OBR did. Interesting. Wow, that is pretty silly... Have you ever been given an explanation of that?

So, am I reading this correctly: Whether or not the undershirt is distracting is completely at the umpire's judgment even if the opposing team complains? And am I also correct in that there is nothing in OBR to this day that mandates no white undershirts?

Admittedly, you're doing better than me. I think I have a somewhat better understanding than I did but still have some questions (many of which have been answered in this thread thankfully). We're having our first meeting on Monday and I predict most of that time will be spent talking about this new rule.

My first pair of plate shoes were 3n2's... never again. My current pair is NB V2 mids that I love. I probably have another season left of them (I bought them used) and will likely upgrade to the V3s. I agree that the V3s don't have the look I prefer but I'm a guy who cares more about function over form. That's not to say that I don't care about looking good but how well the shoes function are a bit higher on the scale for me. It's unlikely that I'll ever use anything but New Balance for officiating shoes again.

There's a difference in what you mention and a kid who was simply getting up after he slid. I don't believe the intent of the INT rule is to penalize a kid for getting up off the ground. It's not his fault the catcher was still there. Again, if weighing the letter and the spirit of the rule makes me a poor official, so be it. I won't lose any sleep over it. If I believe I saw INT, I'd call it. If I'm unsure I'll see if my partner(s) got a look. If I'm wrong, I'll accept that and move on. But in this instance, I don't believe I am because I don't believe the intent of the rule is to punish a kid for getting up off the ground. That's not an ego thing - I definitely don't know it all and will never claim to - that's me trying to do the right thing not only within the letter of the rule but also within the spirit of the rule. If my desire to try and do the right thing rubs some people the wrong way, again, I won't lose any sleep over that. Now, for real this time, I'm done with this thread. Thank you, goodnight, and tip your servers and bartenders.

I got my pair today and wore them around the house a bit. Yes, they're as ugly as homemade sin in all honesty but they are very comfortable. I can't wait to try them out on the field.

The MSU rule book? Wow. Classy. I'm interested in learning but I'm not interested in classless comments like that. You can take that junk to the creek. I'm not going to penalize a kid for doing nothing wrong. Period. But you do you.

I applied the wrong rule so I stand corrected. Thanks for making me research this further.

Well, that's fine if that's what y'all want to do but I'm not going to punish a kid who doesn't seem to have actually done anything but get up off the ground. If that somehow makes me a poor official, I can live with that. But I also recognize that this really isn't a hill worth dying on so I'm making like a Shark who doesn't like the deal: I'm out.

Welcome! I love hearing from the umps in other countries, which is one of the reasons I like this message board so much. I would love to hear more about your experience umpiring in Germany. Have you umpired in any other countries?

I do think for that level, especially if the pitcher is struggling, my zone will at least temporarily become much bigger... Elbows to ankles and anywhere near the plate. Still, that doesn't excuse the actions of the grandparent. I would have had a hard time not engaging them myself. Thankfully it didn't escalate.

I mean, that's fine but from the sound of it all the runner was doing was trying to get up. Suffice it to say, we disagree. I think at this point we're beating a dead horse.

From the 2020 Case Book: Even though it's not stated outright, I'm led to believe that it's not a time play since R1's out was not a force out.

Once again... If I believed there was an intentional action I would absolutely call INT. I really don't know how much more clear I can be on this. You can't get the whole picture on this situation from a message board post. As with so many other situations, it would have to be a judgment call. Again I say: It's a judgment call.

I go back to what I said previously about intent. Also, am I really going to punish a runner if I believe the incident was the result of no mal intent but simply being in the wrong place at the wrong moment? Again, this would be a judgment call that I would have to make in the moment but, at for this situation, I'm inclined to think I likely wouldn't have INT. See above.

I had ordered the previous model off of U-A's clearance but they were out of my size when I ordered and upgraded me to the V3. I'll be able to give you a review when they get here next week.

I understand the rules cited but I still can't see how I or anyone else could realistically call interference in the situation described. For me, as I already stated, this is a situation where I have to consider the spirit of the rule as well as the letter. But, as with a lot of other situations, this is also very subjective and a judgement call based on what one sees rather than what they read on a message board.

Then educate me and point me to the correct rule. If I'm wrong, I need to fix it... but without a rule reference to correct me, I still got nothing.