BlueRanger

I've worn throat guards on all of my masks, both for catching and umpiring, after taking a foul shot off the side of the neck when I went to block a pitch during a travel ball tournament. I can remember at least two occasions while catching HS games the past couple years that I've been saved by throat guards. I was also unfortunate enough to be a BU during a 14u Majors game in which my partner took a past ball to the throat had to come out of the game, so now I carry an extra to offer to my partners should they not have one, though guys who don't almost never take me up on it. TL;DR - Please wear a throat guard! -LBS

Dude. Why do you keep spamming new threads?

There were a few "oh c'mon"s on borderline balls and strikes, and a bit of chirping immediately after the EJ, but nothing remotely close to EJ worthy.

Update: This past weekend I took everyone's advice and pre-gamed the issue with my partners. It was particularly surprising to me how many other umpires closer to myself in age actually felt the same way, but really didn't want to show up our elders. And to my complete (un)surprise, we got to put it to use! First two games were really good baseball and went off seamlessly. On the third game of the day, I was PU and partner was BU. My partner had to be a year or so younger than myself, but I was definitely getting good vibes when he initiated the pre-game, which I usually have to do. Bottom of 3rd, R1, no outs, the battery was making my job a walk in the park and a beautiful throw laser from F2 combined with a great tag nails the runner stealing at 2B on a banger. VHC starts off rather mellow and goes out to talk with my partner. My partner refused to go for help (no kidding man?) and VHC finished it off with a "thats complete Bull-sh@%!" and almost simultaneously got tossed by partner and myself. Other than that, the baseball was fantastic for 12/13u and the weekend was a blast! Thanks to everyone for your critiques and advice! -LBS

Unfortunately, all of them . Our association wants us to use the 90 mechanics on every field... But thanks for everyone's help! This makes much more sense now.

During the pre-season meeting and field training session for my association, I was given two conflicting instructions on positioning on a fly ball situation with runners on. The situation was R1, outs irrelevant, fly ball to right-center. Instructor A said that BU stays put and watches runner and PU has the catch and 3B, but Instructor B said that BU takes fly ball and PU has runner and moves up the line to cover 3B. Any clarity here would be great, thanks! LBS

@BT_Blue I will certainly order off Ump Attire, been hearing great things. As to the other stuff, thanks for the input! I looked at the CPs and the masks y'all have suggested during lunch and I am really liking the Schutt CPs and the Diamond BL Mask. Unfortunately, most of the people selling used gear in my area are actually aware of its value! -LBS

Will certainly look into those, thanks guys!

Hi everyone, As you may know, Im pretty new to umpiring, only being in for about 2 seasons, and the cheap starter gear I bought for $100 off craigslist is starting to wear down (surprise! ). I expect to have about $250-300 to spend on a new mask and chest protector when I get paid in a week or so, so suggestions would be extremely appreciated! Also, are the 3n2 plate shows worth getting? Ive seen some mixed reviews on here about them. Edit: I work coach pitch to 14u -LBS

Personally I want it on a shirt

One would think! The sad thing that since so many things like this are let go again and again and again, and never truly addressed head on, it just perpetuates things to the point its at today. I've been catching during tournament games and have heard stuff like this from the jack-@ss coaches and parents, and I've only seen a few umpires do anything about it at all, let alone start dumping people. -LBS

The comments are generally things like "Oh thats BS!!" "Are you f-ing blind?" "Thats horrible! You're a d@mn disgrace!" "You need to stop being a p#ssy and start calling that a balk!" etc. *Side Note: Instances in which it gets much worse than this are extremely rare for me and have only happened once I can remember, but the above is about standard fare to hear being said at some point during a day of games in North Dallas. The most brutal of these usually get thrown at guys older than me. I was honestly surprised that I seem to get less of it than them. The "lesser" comments are usually thrown at me and guys my age and younger who are just getting a feel for umpiring and haven't really had a chance to develop game-management skills. I am happy to go more in-depth and provide additional specifics if requested. Thanks for the replies everyone! -LBS

^ This. Given most of the partners this happens to are older than myself (Im in HS) Im hesitant to go dumping people when the ire is directed at him/her. Im totally down for dumping people when Im working with the guys younger than myself. -LBS

Ok, thats a good idea as far as pre-game goes. I guess I was more worried that it would be improper to dump someone where it would be perceived to be my partner's call, but yes, I probably should be more aggressive in shutting that down.

A situation that occurs somewhat frequently is that I will be on the bases and coaches/players/fans will be lobbing EJ-worthy comments at my partner (PU), but not myself My partner will usually not make any moves to put an end to it, and it then stays the same or escalates. Is it my place to toss someone who crosses the line even if the comment is not directed towards myself? Thanks, LoneBlueStar

I would see this as a way to gather the myriad of resources on the site into a more organized fashion for those unfamiliar with it. As to your point on the Ask the Umpire forum, I completely agree, new umpires should be asking questions there, but having a section that addresses common misconceptions and other basic information would help focus those questions and perhaps provoke ones previously unthought of. Thanks for the reply! -LoneBlueStar

I've only recently joined after ghosting the site for awhile and have found it to be an extraordinary resource, however, for the talk I see lamenting the shortcomings of poorly trained and informed umpires (which I completely was before seeing this site) I would like to suggest that a dedicated subforum be established for new umpires. Apologies in advance if this has been previously suggested, I couldnt find a similar post on the search function. I would envision it containing the following: -UmpEmp's informational videos -Frequently made mistakes in mechanics, coach interactions, and rules -Links to the various rule sets -Recommendations for starter gear and such -Allow the more experienced umps to post advice and whatnot -And other resources as seen necessary I have no doubt this hasn't even outlined a small part of what could go into such a section, but I feel like it would vastly improve the experience for first-time users and rookie umpires like myself. Thanks! -LoneBlueStar

Thanks guys, @oldskool thats definitely playing a huge part behind the plate, especially with the higher levels of pre-HS pitching.

Hi everyone! Finally went ahead and made an account after ghosting the site for a couple months. I'm a HS catcher and have been umping around the Metroplex since last fall. Been having a blast so far, with the notable exception of coach pitch . This site has been a better resource than I had ever expected to find online and has undoubtedly helped me improve, especially with game management, particularly that plate meeting template someone posted. Looking forward to interacting with everyone! -LoneBlueStar