blue bomber

Gentlemen, Kerwin Danley took a shot in the mask tonight and they had to take him off the field in an ambulance. He was lying in the field for 18 minutes. I can't find video anywhere so just get a look at it on Sportscenter. His condition has not been released yet. It is quite humbling. EDIT: Here's a link to the earliest released MLB story. So far ESPN says he's in stable condition and likely has a broken jaw. It was a 94 mph fastball that went straight from the pitcher to his face without getting touching glove or bat.

Oh, and Rob Drake had to make a HUGE call at the plate tonight in the Braves/ Marlins game. The commentator had it right when he said it wasn't a bang bang play, it was a bang play. It just illustrates my crazy umpire mindset that I was more impressed with the fact that he could make the right call so quickly rather than being impressed that Yunel Escobar made such a perfect throw to Brian McCann. It made the play so much more exciting.

My hat's off to you. I'm paying for it myself and I'm getting out of it with no school debt (why do you think I got into umpiring?). Personally, I just want school to die a quick, quiet death. I have a wonderful GPA and a great degree, but I don't need the ceremony.

I went to my first pro game since becoming an umpire the other day. I have a completely different viewpoint now on what professional umpiring is. Even the pros: 1) Talk to players during the game (afraid to get busted for this by a coach) 2) Wear white on their plate shoes (saw a mandate somewhere about no white on the shoes) 3) Put their hands in their pockets (this is a leftover from the Marine Corps that I can't bring myself to do when I'm in my uniform) 4) Lift their mask to spit (Self conscious about parents judging me) 5) Walk around with their mask on (I can't walk 6 feet without taking it off) 6) Last but not least...they knock dirt off the plate with their foot...alot!:eek:

I'm graduating soon. I would totally skip the ceremony to umpire a playoff game. Is that wrong? After proving myself for 4 years graduation is more of a technicality in my book, but the family thinks it's the greatest thing ever.

Where were the umpires the first time it happened? And the second? Why was this the first he heard about this rule? It is fairly common, and it's right there in the section about coaches and conduct which is the section they should at least look at if they don't look anywhere else in the book. Unless he got really full of attitude I would have let him go the way he ended up, but if would have made a bigger deal of it...

Yeah, my partner didn't even hear it. His back was turned, and he was about 45 feet away by the time the player lost it. I absolutely would have left it between him and the player if he had any idea it had happened. As it was, I wasn't going to let the guy's pointing and yelling and mouth diarrhea go unanswered.

Now THAT is good gouge.

So I finally did it. I didn't think I would get one in before the HS season ended. There's a coach or two that probably needed to go before now, but when it finally happened it was a player. After a banger at 1st where the runner was called out he threw his helmet and started pointing and yelling at the BU while he was walking to his mid-inning spot. If the BU would have heard it I would have left it up to him, but I wasn't going to let that mess slide behind his back. The head coach told me that's what the guy needed to have happen because his temper was a problem a lot. The kid also apologized to us after the game. I thought that was pretty stand-up. Still sent in the report, though.

I wear Mizuno Wave trainers. G-something, but I'm not sure. They're the ones without the knobby soles. They're great. They are made of a stiff grain of leather that is easy to clean and doesn't need polishing. They also have a very nice insole that I wish my running shoes had. My local ma and pop sporting goods store had them on sale for 36 bucks. If you can get them on the cheap, you won't be disappointed.

Yeah, I know what you're saying. I have learned quickly though the mantra of everybody who has been around awhile...You'll live to umpire more games. The players will live to play another game. Once you've learned the lesson that there is to be learned, you gotta let it go. I don't think anticipation of a certain play is all that bad (everybody would put their money on the runner getting back), but rather prejudging a play and taking your eye off the ball to begin with. Right-center field is your call anyway. You should already be facing the ball to watch it back into the infield. You can't go to collect on your horse winning the race until the race is finished.

The Braves guys wear them. I just figured everybody did. My game was rained out and so was the Braves game so I was kinda up the creek.

Very cool...I'll have to file that one away as I have a DH almost every weekend.

Sounds a little Busch League, but so do the players, so I'm not totally against it. We have a 15 after 3 rule that takes away having to fudge other expediency rules in. The next region over to our west has a rule where sub-varsity can't start an inning after 9pm. We don't. A lot of guys that call rec ball talk about how parents yell about taking it away from thie kids, and I don't really know what that means, but it seems like that's the case with this rule. Granted, my desire to stand on the field for a three hour JV game isn't so high, but theirs probably is if it is a close game. C'est la vie. We do have the 10 run rule after 4.5/5. What's worst is when the visiting team achieves its 10 run lead in the top of the 7th.

Wow. I can usually tell how the game is going to go by watching infield, but I haven't seen any attitudes like that yet. Glad to see that those don't exist only on fields where I'm the umpire.:D

I want to incorporate this into New Blue, but I just have to get this off my chest or I won't sleep tonight. I'm really new, and I generally listen to and apply my partner's every word. I also learn a lot from them on the field. I have had a partner with a lot more experience than me that booted so many calls that it was getting to be a travesty. He had coaches come out on him at least 7 times in one game. A JV game with really good teams, and really good pitching took just about right at three hours. The worst was a play at the plate that I had gotten a bad angle on after having to bust down from third on the rotation play that got past the third baseman. I had him safe on the swipe tag which was the best I could do. Well, the defensive coach comes out ME because my partner has been jacking up calls against his team all dang night so this is just routine by now. It doesn't really matter to me as I can take it, but then my partner comes in behind me and says with conviction, but without a mechanic that the runner is out for diving over the tag. Com'on, I know he didn't dive it. The guy landed on his feet, but the monkey's out of the cage now because he came up and said it with the defensive coach standing right there and I can't make that go away. I know this is gonna hurt so I call the offensive coach(who's talking to his batter) over before I even gave the out mechanic to explain the awesome ruling that my partner gave and how the runner was really out, but that it didn't have anything to do with the tag. I REALLY should have just stood back and told my partner it was his crapstorm to deal with and that I'd run the pick when he had to end it, but by this time nobody even wanted to talk to him so I knew the coach was going to end up trying to come over to me anyway. I ended up having to put that coach in the dugout because even though he kept it relatively professional and I gave him lots of latitude he just wouldn't give up on it, and his team lost as a direct result of that decision. I still have a bad feeling about it. I handled it the best I could, but I think I still ended up looking bad because of him. Even more important than my own image being hurt is that I feel like an umpire let down everybody there (players, coaches, fans) with a capstone crap ruling to top off a bad night, and he took me to a lower plane with him. How does a newb get over the resentment of a senior (>10 years at this level) umpire sucking the wind out of a game several times in one night? I would hate to work with him again, but I don't want to get the evil eye as a rookie complaining about stuff.

Yeah, fitted is a really tough thing to order if you're not trying on THAT hat to check the fit properly. I'd say it's not as tough as wearing a trucker hat with the adjustable plastic thingy in the back in public. I really enjoy flex fit in my regular hats, but I don't know how I'd feel about it behind the plate. A lot of guys complain that the flex fit gets loose and doesn't secure their mask properly. I can sympathize, but to that I also simply say all the more reason to buy a sexy new ultramega lite weight mask.

I find this weird, because so many of the guys that I know who wanted to get drafted went JUCO right out of high school rather than trying to scout/scholarship into a D-I school. There are high quality ball clubs at the D-II/D-III level. You would think they would want some guys who knew what the heck was going on to be the umpires.

I put this up at ABUA, but I'm putting it here, too. I figure I can't get enough feedback so have at it. So the BU is in the A. B1 hits a slow grounder to third. BU moves into fair territory to get ready to make the call and PU is coming up the first base line watching for a pulled foot, obstruction, etc. When a throw gets past F3, does the BU haul arse into the infield or would the PU take BR around to 2nd and beyond? I've had two respected partners tell me different things. With a fast runner, that BU is likely to be left in the dust on the play at second. I had this scenario as BU, and I did have to rocket into the infield because the PU was camping out way down the line. I was still able to make a solid call at 2nd. I'm glad I'm not out of shape, but I know I still looked like I was "hurried" instead of "hustled."

Mep- You and I may be in the same association. Heck, you may even be my assignor. But I gripe when I don't get ENOUGH games! HS season is only 2 months. I gotta get my work in while I can! I just can't understand why anybody would turn games away unless they have a legitimate scheduling conflict, or they're pompous prima donnas. Actually "gripe" isn't the right word at all, because I don't think it's very tactful or mature. I "ask nicely" about maybe getting other assignments without compromising other guys' schedules.

Am I misreading something? It seems that your interpretation is opposite of the rule. I'd say that if it hits a coach in the box (which is in foul territory) then the ball is still alive. Just like the rule says. Im not exactly an erudite umpire, but I don't see your interpretation.

Man, I have to vent. I've had 3 games rained/snowed out. No biggie, it's March. That's just what happens in the spring. Well, I just learned a few minutes ago that I just had ANOTHER game cancel on me. It's supposed to be sunny and 65 degrees all dang day. So what could possibly be the problem? If you're not going to play baseball on the few days that it's nice enough and the field is dry enough, then when?

Yeah, the coach wanted time for his player, and also the UIC in this situation also wanted to call time for the the delayed dead ball and awarded home to the runner. I'm not saying it was right, but he gave the runner home. That is why I wanted some input. I was under the impression that if the baserunner achieved the base he would have in the first place without getting out, obstruction was ignored. UICs argument was that "in high school rules" there is an award or penalty for everything. So he says that no matter what happens the runner is going to get a base. I'm not so sure that's how I read it. It may also be a matter of umpire judgment...Would he have achieved home if obstruction didn't happen?

B1, 0 outs, FED Rules: Ball into the gap in right field, and B1 gets obstructed just after 2nd base by F6. Ball comes to F5 at third and B1 heads back to 2nd. Safe at 2nd, but B1 is limping pretty bad. That's an easy one. Everybody knows B1 gets awarded third once you call the dead ball. That's not it though: When F5 throws up to second it gets past F6 AND F4, and B1 limps down to third. You can finally kill it. Do you ignore the obstruction since B1 achieved 3rd or do you send him home?

So my partner last night calls games with an association that does a ton of travel ball. The really big tourneys with good players. That's cool. He gave me the business card of the director, and told me to tell the director who sent me. Guess he liked the way I worked. Now about working games by OBR rather than FED.... I just got the FED stuff nailed down!