wolfe_man

I would love to play with some of it too. Max has shared some good ideas for separating padding into separate areas for arms, shoulders, chest R, chest L, etc. that I'd like to create to help promote better airflow between the chest plates and the wearer. I just don't have the heavy-duty sewing machine to make it look professional in the end like the new guys and existing manufacturers do. We need for one of our group to hit the lottery so we can crowd-fund a solution to help promote umpire gear growth on the board! There are a lot of new foams that can be used with more being created seemingly everyday. Then, one could start talking about the new fabrics coming out to help us stay cooler from that aspect too. I have a feeling that the next few years could be a golden era for umpiring equipment & apparel if the manufacturers do things right and invest in the R&D costs. I just hear 'like Team Wendy", but have never heard a description of what it is. I guess I can understand that to some degree as it's his business and don't want to reveal too much.

Cobalt is one size padding. That's the beauty of it! That's an excellent skill to have - and may indeed be your best route for an exact fit.... however, after looking at the above photo from the Arch Angel, I think the two CP's have much more in common in sizing than one may think. I'd definitely recommend the 1/4" (or sandwich two 1/8"s to make the quarter) for protection and absorption. Regardless of what you choose, I'd love to see the finished product!

They're thinner than the S7 I believe, the Cobalt is pretty low profile. I think they hook in (Velcro) the same way too. Perhaps Max or someone that has both (@kylejt maybe?) can speak closer to them? I've had both, but never replaced the pads on either. I just happened to see the replacement pads the other day and I thought... I wonder how hard those would be to put on the back of a Gold?

@grayhawk have you considered just using the existing Cobalt padding as a replacement for your System 7? I would think it'd be a closer fit and it's only $49.99 direct from All-Star plus $9.99 S&H. Leave the middle channel open so heat can escape when putting the new pads on via Velcro. https://all-starsports.com/collections/ump-chest-protectors/products/cobalt-umpire-chest-protector-replacement-pad-set Finally, drill out your rivets and then buy some 1/4" black Chicago screws and you should be in business! Put a bit of LocTite on the screws as you put them in place so they don't back out over time (unless you want them to at some point). It would probably take less than 45 minutes to do the entire thing from start-to-finish. A complete retrofit on this CP would only cost you maybe $75 if you do it yourself versus $160+ at other places. Plus, you'd have the pride factor of knowing you did it yourself.

Jazz seems to whine a lot about umpires and that's not a good look for a player especially. One could argue it's in a manager's job description to work on/with umpires to try to get the best outcomes for his team - but a player just looks bad when he's constantly whining about strike calls. It might just be my view on Jazz, but I feel like he's getting a reputation as a whiny player. I recall another incident I saw recently where he was fussing with an umpire over time or something before hitting a home run.

More often than not, I end up on the plate. There are many plate-shirkers out there who are afraid of the attention that the plate receives and they want none of it. I find doing the plate is more challenging (any slob can work bases - I'm kidding a bit here) and helps me to hone my craft and stay focused. Side benefit, game goes by quicker.

I second this... heartfelt condolences for the loss of your companion, but glad to hear that you are coping well and have found another to share your life. Congrats on the college schedule also. And I love Oceanside, it's a beautiful place with great people! I was there for a week last November. Traffic can get a little thick down there in Southern Cal, but the weather is amazing.

I like it, been there before - and I think I rang mine up. LOL My only regret, no photo for me. For you, too bad she didn't get one from the other side too with your faces!

Hi. I used the drill 'em out method. I push the CP down tight to something hard (or the earth works too) and then drill them out carefully. As Max says, they will get hot so don't be in a hurry to touch them as soon as they come out. Many times they'll get stuck on your drill bit, so you have to use pliers to take them off it. It's pretty easy and quick.

LOL, sorry I missed your call yesterday. I need to add some LocTite to the screws so they don't back out, but then he's welcome to wear it!

I see no problem with it. If F1 wants a new ball, we let him have it. If we're about safety as we say, the new baseball that's whiter and more easily seen theoretically is safer. I think you did the right thing.

I finally found an XL of these and replaced all the rivets (except the arms) with Chicago screws. I added two clips by feeding seatbelt webbing through the opening under the plastic plates. I added strap holders to the CP and put an F3 harness on it that I had lying around here. They’re actually pretty good protection and maybe 1/2” thick. The breadth across the chest is preferred by me as it’s perfect coverage from armpit to armpit. No baseball can get in there unlike other “winged” CP’s. They are a bit warm, but then very few CP’s aren’t. Made in USA!🇺🇸

Congratulations on your contributions and thank you for your service!

Shirts are XL. There’s a red, a navy and a powder with navy trim. Three navy ball bags. I washed them but shirts have seen better days. I’d throw in for free. $25 shipped okay? I’d be glad someone can use it.

Hey, they're not cheating me... I ordered another one and two sets of luggage for my kids & wife. LOL Hint: you can stack coupons... I had a WELCOME15 and an EXTRA10 that worked on the luggage. I don't think it affects the Mother Lode, but you can try.

Brand new size 36 umpire pants! Make me an offer if you’re interested. I can’t use this color. I also have some navy Honig’s ball bags and three XL shirts. I’ll throw these in for free with the pants. They’re used, but I washed it all.

Of course, right after I bought one (in shipping) for $105 last week. 😁

Yes, I agree that the color navy is good - but we need to bring it up to this century and decade. It needs a re-do and update bad! TOC was going great coming up with fresh spins on classic colors and some cool new colors (Bermuda Blue anyone?), before they went out of business. I'd love to see someone pick their ideas back up and improve them even.

Sometimes I think you need to be a lawyer in order to be a good umpire. You have to know all of the proper definitions. This is why I normally stay out of the rule areas.

I hear you - and if it's every pitch for an inning or two - then okay. But, if it's only every once in a while, then I'm not grabbing that end of the stick. I think this is one of those cases where you have to be there and see how much of a distraction it is before you can truly make a judgment call - and it's clearly going to be a judgment call. There is certainly a place where we can rule from though as shown in @Senor Azul's post on this question back on 06/14/2021: The issue raised about the pitcher not being able to keep his cap on is covered in 2019 case play 10.2.3C— 10.2.3 SITUATION C F1’s cap frequently falls off his head and in the umpire’s judgment, it is either distracting to the batter or delaying the game. RULING: The umpire shall instruct the defensive team’s coach that F1’s cap must be secured. If this situation is not corrected, F1 will be removed as pitcher.

Tell those shaggy-haired Michiganders to cut those locks! smh Kids these days...

LOL - I honestly couldn't see you enforcing it, but we all know guys that would. Thank you for confirming! FWIW, this has been improving for me personally. I've seen less hats on the ground this past two years or so thankfully. I still see the big hair, but evidently they're learning better how to keep them on their heads.

No, not if it isn't caught. A runner may advance, at their own risk, on a foul ball after it it is caught though.

I would approach this very carefully. I'd make sure that's what my local assignor wanted before I opened up that Pandora's box personally. I don't honestly know where we'd have a rule to enforce a hat falling off, even frequently falling off. Where does this start/stop once we open that door? If the batter swings and his helmet falls off - are we going to be addressing that? How about once he hits and it falls off every time that he runs to the next base? This is a bad string to pick at and unravel. While hats falling off is annoying, I think it's picking boogers to address some of this stuff and it won't help us to earn a solid reputation from coaches, players or fans. If your assignor wants this called, then I'll leave it to you and won't judge - but I'm not doing this in my area. I've got enough on my plate (no pun intended) without looking for more things to pick. But at least we're off of eye black and jewelry now though! PS - I watched the video and he keeps saying "regularly" and "in the umpire's judgment". I'm still not sold we have an actual rule to enforce here - but I will say if it is truly an issue, then approach it to the coach first and see if it can be handled.

For NFHS, I just say "no pitch" with the wave-off signal, then explain that the batter must be alert and facing the pitcher before you can throw a pitch. I then have them re-set and start over. I normally only see this at JV or 9th levels, so maybe a couple of times each year. I've never had to do it more than twice in a game thus far. I don't believe we have any punishment we can dole out here though. We have to just keep stopping and resetting them until their coach gets it and removes him.