BlueRanger

If you don't mind my asking, how much were they?

Couldn't agree more with @Biscuit, the pay per hour is truly ridiculous compared to what our friends make. Personally, I make around $1100 per month when there's baseball, working two nights a week during the HS season and usually all or most of Saturday. My friends all make significantly less money for working the same hours. Now, I would agree that you will not make much, if any, money officiating at the amateur level. However, for HS and college students, it's the perfect job. There's a college student in our group that grossed ~$14,000 last calendar year from our group alone, because he's open all weekend and three nights a week, and works in three different groups outside ours. Last I talked to him he said that he netted about $20,000 across baseball and basketball. - BR

We had a crime delay a few weeks ago lol. Some dumbass took a couple shots at a State Trooper and was on the loose in an apartment complex near where my games were. Cops showed up and cleared everybody out for about a half hour before they cornered the dude in his apartment. Fun times...

Reality is beyond parody...

I'm in DFW, but the SH*# only gets crazier down South from what I've heard. HS ball is like spring football for a lot of people if that helps with perspective. Everybody hates soccer unless their kid plays it, so softball/baseball are the "community" spring sports for a lot of HS'. I'm glad you like my writing style lol, feel free to let my English professor know! Unfortunately, stuff like this is kinda regular for me, mainly b/c I don't give long leashes, have an itchy trigger finger, and seem to attract the nutjobs with my magnetic personality. I punch the ticket where I have to and then start the rat race to the parking lot. I actually get immense satisfaction from dumping people. It's always nice to know that I'm leaving an area better than I found it. What part of TX you in? -BR

I must have jinxed myself in previous posts here, b/c in one afternoon I threw out 4 people. EJ 1: Late in the game, I safe a whacker at 1B, VHC comes out and starts off calm and collected, gets a little upset that I won't go for help. He starts walking away and then changes his mind and yells "that's f@$!ing horrible!" at me across the field. Easy EJ. Best part: as he's leaving apparently he decided to brag to the team waiting for the next game about how he got his money's worth out of that EJ. Keep in mind the entire interaction lasted about 2 min. The waiting team's coaches used to be HS HCs and thought that was hilarious. EJ 2/3: A few games later, late in game, batter corkscrews himself into the ground trying to pull up on a curveball, so I call it for strike 3. HC loses his mind and runs down the line screaming (with voice cracks lol) about how horrible that was. I restrict him, since he had already been warned about leaving the coaching box and running down the line to yell at me. He asks me what restricted means and I tell him it means he's in timeout in the dugout (<- that was a bad move, I know. I was starting to lose it with this guy and his entitled team. Should've kept the smart-ass remarks to myself.) Then he tells me to go F myself and one of the ACs comes out of the dugout to give his profanity-laced opinion about my performance that game. I run thwm and partner rodeos them away. TD apparently booted them from the tourney, since that was the second time they've done something like that. EJ 4: Last game of the day, new partner, some daddy wasn't happy with my partner's strikezone and was out of control with the personal insults. My partner was another HS kid who is good on mechanics and accuracy, but gets a bit intimidated by the coaches and parents and sort of just shuts down and ignores everything when it needs to be dealt with. In between innings I told him to go to that HC and tell him to deal with it if it doesn't stop. Daddy starts up again, so partner goes and talks to the HC. HC goes over and gets him to calm down. A few innings later, partner perfectly executes the wedge on a play at the plate and calls the runner safe. Daddy throws a tantrum in the stands and my partner kicks him out. I go tell HC that the dad needs to go and he says that it's off the field so it's not his problem. Daddy is still throwing a fit, so I give the HC one last opportunity to fix it, he refuses, so I run him too. I know I screwed the pooch getting snarky in the heat of the moment on that one EJ, but did I handle the rest of these appropriately given it was 11u under FED? -BR Oh, and I got to use the "who ARE you?" line on a rec ball AC who wanted to argue with me yesterday, and the look on his face was worth a few game fees, so thanks to whoever posted that!

People are always whining about how boring the games are, so maybe we can liven things up by replacing the 7th inning stretch with Ron Kulpa choosing a player to try and beat the SH*# out of lol

iX3 frame with chipped paint, new Davis harness, and great looking doeskin mask pads https://www.ebay.com/itm/Wilson-Umpire-Mask/254182056224?hash=item3b2e6e6120:g:I7UAAOSwJcxcn1jQ

"I forgot my gear" *leaves it in plain sight in the trunk*

If they don't back you up on this, screw them. It's literally in black and white in the NFHS book that if you leave the bench area/dugout to participate in a fight/confrontation, you are subject to ejection. "-p. leave their positions or bench area for the purpose of fighting or physical confrontation. PENALTY: The umpire shall eject the offender from the game..." This is why state associations are a meme...

@jonathantullos Sorry to hear that it ended this way. Looking at your post history and your website makes you seem like the kind of person the game not only wants, but needs, to be an umpire. On a slightly different note, this kind of stuff is why I treat dealing with bad behavior from coaches/parents/players as a crusade. I have kind of internalized the "leave a place better than you found it" philosophy for my games. If parents and coaches are going to act poorly, they can leave. I think we over complicate EJs sometimes. Punch the ticket on the required warnings/restrictions/etc. and then get rid of them if they keep it up. Like everybody else has been saying: we become a major contributor to the problem if we don't take care of our business at our games. Just my .02 BR

I nominate this for post of the year

Let's face it: we all want more stories of epic 5+ EJ games and parking lot heckling that almost turns into daddies getting whooped...

Nope, most varsity games in NTX last about 2:45

How I would do it: JV games are 10/3, 8/4, 6/5, 20 at any time, 1:45 games, but becomes drop dead at 2:15. Varsity is 20 at any time, 15/3, 10/4, 8/5, 6/6, drop dead at 3:30 unless in extras

Holy Sh*t...

I think our assignor is just milking the tourney agency for all they're worth at this point

I may need to revise my initial hypothesis lol

If the price difference is that great, get the F3 (make sure its the F3v2 with the forehead extension). It's likely to be a bit heavier, but I think the trade off is likely worth it. The other noticeable difference will be the chin pad, the F3 is leather and the All-Star is LUC. I can't speak to the F3s ventilation properties, but the shell is very similar to the AllStar, which keeps my sweaty head fairly cool during the summer and late HS season here in TX. You may want to solicit opinions from people who have directly used the F3 though to get a more complete picture. -BR

@illump you're looking for ancient uniforms my man. If you want retro uniforms, you can probably get those for free around here! Just post in the Buy/Sell section that you need: - Navy Shirt with obligatory alcohol stains and that patch that was all the rage from 15 years ago - 1980s Clown Jacket with 'Murica cuffs - Heather Grey Pants that are at least 5 years old and sized for somebody half your size - Grey Ball Bags - Navy Hat, with the fashionable fade and flip-down sun glasses - +POS Steel Toe Dress Shoes - WestVest, but make sure to specify that you want the "apron-style" harness with extra lack of elasticity - Wilson Dyna-BoatAnchor with 2 decade old leather pads - Whatever shin guards you can find And you'll have people paying YOU to get rid of this stuff. Just complete the look with total apathy for decent mechanics and game management and you're good to go for your RETRO Umpire outfit! Enjoy! (Obviously this is satire) -BR

I have a big head, so the Wilson is automatically out. That thing is WAY too narrow and just generally weirdly shaped. I personally use the All-Star HSM while catching for my HS team and can fully endorse it. It's light, has great vision, and I love how close the cage sits to my face. It actually almost creates a low-profile traditional mask effect with respect to vision. I have not had the opportunity to try the F3, HOWEVER, a guy in my group bought one and absolutely loves it. Hope that helps!

Said it before, I'll say it again: the grass is always greener. Wait til the roboump doesn't care that the catcher didn't stick that curveball the nicked the outside corner or blocked a changeup that caught the bottom or when offspeed pitches that catch the back end of the zone are called... Oh boy...

It's literally the same thing. Smitty just added their logo and redid the tread pattern... Now I know @BT_Blue lives in the Northwest, so maybe his colleagues are privy to some hallucinogenic substances the rest of us are not....

I would much rather have it just be me and give me half of my partner's check hahaha

Funny you should say that. Lol The Site Director was pissed off enough to have the sheriff's office escort him from the complex. But, the Tourney Director calls me and wants to know why we didn't restrict him to the bench first... (Wtf??? )