The Short Umpire

@BT_Blue Mine hasn’t taken a direct hit yet. I wear mine backwards so it terms of face shots I haven’t noticed any differences. Wearing it backwards though gives the back of my head full coverage and makes me feel a lot safer from follow through and from a ball hitting the backstop and pegging me. (I’ve had a lot of close calls on fields with a closer backstop). When I actually get hit I’ll update on the results but considering that no one notices a difference the price is small for a lot more peace of mind. Having it greatly influenced my choice to switch from the bucket last year.

I've used it as well. Love it! As stated, no one has ever even noticed unless I take my hat off and they notice it. As stated, the new one has been tweaked, mainly that the middle panel has been extended in length, and the sizing used to be different. It only came in one size when I purchased the original. Now there are two sizes, one slightly larger than the original and one size slightly smaller.

I hear what you're saying. However, the problem is that +POS has some specific pieces of equipment that I can only get on ebay or from them. And seeing that there are currently none on ebay... that leaves one place...

Does anyone have information on how to contact before placing an order?

@Rock Bottom I think that they might consider a couple of years to be “recent,” in the umpire equipment world.

Bump

Unfortunately no job, but a spot on the reserve list for the coastal plains league.

I was not aware of that difference for LL. He may just be mistaken.

@MadMax I’m not trying to out him or anything so I’ll just leave it at him being pretty high up in my state organization. And as far as him being mistaken, that’s what I thought. @Maven you are exactly right that games hang in the balance with this guy. So I guess just go with it. @noumpere thank you for pointing out the changes throughout the years. He may just be stuck on something he learned along time ago.

@Biscuit That's what I was thinking. Im gonna try and reach out to him and get his explanation but apparently its a pretty big deal. I was just curious if anyone else had heard of this or does this.

Just curious, does anyone start on 3rd base side with R1 and R3? If so, why? Had a supervisor instruct to do this but it goes against the written mechanics of NFHS and MiLB. Just wondering because I didn’t get an explanation of why.

There’s been a lot that I’ve wanted to respond to, but I haven’t because at this time it’s pointless. Obviously no one is going to change their minds, and states are reopening regardless of what we put on this forum... just saying... The great thing is, we have 50 different states reopening in 50 different ways. Doing it this way will allow us to figure out what works and what doesn’t.

Yeah, but with how much their contracts are worth, it behooves the teams to keep them that way.

I’m sorry, but I’m gonna have to disagree with you there. If the government wants to come in and shut down someone’s livelihood, then the burden of proof is on them. I’d say they have to prove the shut down is 100% necessary or pay for all of the lost income (which they are not going to do). They have not proved the necessity. They gave us models and projections that showed we needed to shutdown; none of those projections have even been close. Further, please don’t say they were wrong because we did such a good job and social distancing, because 1. several people on this thread have pointed out that we haven’t and 2. those models accounted for social distancing. So if the government wants to shut down businesses then they should be able to show beyond reasonable doubt why it is essential or pay for it in full. I can understand this however. I get that there are things no one has even thought about yet. But for some people it is worth the risk despite the unknown. Last night my wife and I went to a local ice cream shop that we really love. They have a flavor that my wife is crazy about so we’ve been regulars for the last few years. Until last night we had never met the owner. He’s always employed a handful of college students to run the shop but now his only employees are himself, his wife and his daughter. I’m just saying, for people that can work from home, it’s great. But for others this is getting really bad financially. CBS posted this a few days ago. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-deaths-suicides-drugs-alcohol-pandemic-75000/ It’s hurting lost of people to stay shut down. Whether it’s working extra hours or none at all. To your point, there are going to be unknown, unknown consequences of staying shut down.

The last few posts about masks and my extra free time to watch ejection videos on youtube have me thinking about MLB possibly getting stricter about an umpire’s personal space. Right now players and coaches gets fines and such for physical contact with an umpire, but could those fines be furthered to cover situations when umpires are getting spit on because of the forcefulness of an argument? Could the CBA ask that in return for umpires wearing masks, that the league fine anyone who comes within 6 feet of an umpire during a confrontation? Like I said, just wondering as I fall down the rabbit hole of youtube.

Nope still have it. @mikeburnett298

message me for any other prices.

Free stuff has been spoken for. The package deal is still available. I’m thinking $175 shipped for the whole package? Any takers?

I have some gear that I do not need and would like to sell as a bundle. If you’re interested tell me what you think would be a fair price. Wilson platinum CP- Really great shape, almost like new. Wilson Gold Shin Guards- A little older but in really great shape. Well cared for, not rusting or sweat stained. and Wilson low profile titanium mask. Really nice mask, could use a new harness and pads. In addition, I have some stuff I’m looking to give away to someone in need. Just pay shipping and their yours. An older Wilson platinum. It’s seen some games but it fits better than new and nothing on it is broken A pair of New Balance plate shoes. they’ve got some wear on them but would be perfect for someone just getting into it- size 10. https://imgur.com/gallery/QflVODz

Just food for thought here, if we want to blame everyone who wants to go back to work for every incidental death that occurs from an asymptomatic transmission of the virus then moral consistency says that we must also blame every person who insists on keeping the economy closed for every suicide that results from a family not being able to pay bills and take care of their family. I don’t really think that either of those statements are true. Pointing fingers and pushing blame is useless. But now you’re all gonna jump on me because you don’t like being called killers either. We get that we don’t want to keep spreading the virus but some people really do just want to get back to work so they can provide for their family and would like to do so without being called a killer. So to everyone on here please stop pointing fingers, it doesn’t help anything. I get that we have to be careful, that’s why I haven’t been able to see my grandmother since the middle of March. You think that I’ll feel bad if I accidentally spread the virus to her if I visit while Asymptomatic; well I say I will feel even worse if she spends the last months of her life alone which is a reality at 95, when any day could be her last.

Here’s how some Utahans feels about spring activities.

I'll just throw it out there because we had a similar conversation a while back where I showed some interest in the Wilson Charcoal. My original interest was peaked when I was looking into a Douglas and then saw the Charcoal and thought, just as @MadMax pointed out, "Hey that looks a lot like the Douglas! And it comes with Gap protection already put on." So at that time I bought the Charcoal to try it out. Two days after ordering it, I found an original Douglas West Vest on ebay for a steal of a price so I bought it as well. When they both arrived I stole my wife's big mirror and tried them both on with the rest of my gear and uniform. I was very pleased with both chest protectors. The Charcoal was not nearly as bulky as a brand new Gold or Platinum. It doesn't come with the little wings that the gold has, it's just simple and straight forward. The bottom plate that is separated into 3 sections to can wrap around the body was a little stiff, but with some time working it in, I think it would be great. Even out of the box, I still had really good range of motion and the CP wasn't stretching my shirt to the point of no return like the Gold or Platinum did when I tried those ones on new. The only area that the Charcoal did not fit my liking was the thickness. They are not as thick as the Gold but it is thicker than the Douglas, so I went with the Douglas. The thickness is a big deal to me because, like my name says, I am pretty short and have the neck to go with it. So since the charcoal was thicker it ate into how much of my neck was visible which isn't good for my appearance. However, if I had just stuck with the Charcoal and taken it out for a few weekends of Travel ball, where I could sweat in it a bit and get it broken in, it may have eventually ended up being a tie in that category as well, but I needed it quick and didn't have time to break it in so I stuck with the Douglas. The only other difference I noticed was that the Charcoal felt a little longer in the torso, which wasn't to my disliking, just an observation. Even the sturdiness of the plates seemed similar to me. The plates on the Charcoal were plenty dense. So I would say that if anyone is torn between the two, go with the Charcoal unless you can find a Douglas for a really good price, which is hard to beat 65 bucks brand new from Ump-Attire for the Charcoal, especially since you won't have to send it in to add gap protection, which is just added costs in the product and shipping. So youre adding at least 50 bucks to the purchase price of a douglas just to add what the Charcoal already comes with. In fact I've thought about just buying a charcoal to have on hand since it's at such a good price right now.

@MadMax, I look forward to finding out what will happen. You mentioned wrestling as a sport that puts officials at the highest risk for transmission of aerosol disease. And as someone who has been around wrestling for a number of years as an athlete, coach, and official, I think there may be some credibility to your presumption that officials will begin to take on extra responsibilities to prevent transmission. Weestling not only puts officials at risk it puts all contestants at risk of disease. (I’m talking major skin infections). Correct me if I’m wrong but to my knowledge wrestling is the only sport with rules pertaining to disqualification of participants based on health. Before every match each wrestler is put through a screening to check for any infections(this responsibility rests on the officials). However there are major limitations, as an official the only thing I can really do is spot something “that looks suspicious.” It’s along the same lines as concussions and how officials can look for “signs and symptoms.” So once I spot something “suspicious” the athlete is sent to the athletic trainer who will determine final eligibility. And this is no joke, I’ve seen wrestlers who should have gone on to win state titles get disqualified the morning of placing day of the tournament because something popped up overnight and they didn’t pass their skin check. So my point is, while officials being involved in health screening is not unprecedented, I see some issues with giving extra training regarding diseases such as COVID-19. 1. The newness. Ringworm and Staph infections have been around forever and are easy to spot from a mile away for anyone who has been around wrestling for a good amount of time yet officials are still pretty limited. So if the authority of officials is limited when it comes to that, then something so new would be impossible to train on, especially when there’s still so much for the professionals to learn about it. 2. The methodology. Skin diseases are easy to look for, but how would you check to see that everyone is in good health before playing a baseball or football game? Line everyone up and first kid to cough is out? When someone really wants to play they’ll hold in that cough until they’re back in the dugout, ive seen people do much worse, (taking a belt sander to the face to coverup their infection). 3. The time. Wrestling has the benefit of years when it comes to checking for infectious diseases. Weigh-ins and skin checks are practically synonymous at this point. What I mean by this is that as a wrestling official, I have to show up at least 3 hours early to an event to allow time to conduct a skin check and allow ample time between wrestlers weighing-in and competing. So I understand that the time commitment is huge and so do the coaches, a lot of them provide me with a meal during the down time. But this understanding has been developed over decades. On top of that, wrestling time frames are different, JV usually competes at 5 and varsity at 7. Baseball is lucky to get officials there early enough to start the game on time at 3. If they had to show up any earlier they would lose their other job. And if the games started later it would be an even tighter race with the sun. So while your fear of extra training and regulations is not unprecedented I think that if it does occur it will be years in the making. I say this because I unfortunately do not believe the honor system will work so sadly it would be much worse than “Coach, are all your players in good health and free of any infectious diseases?”

I’m just gonna make a guess that this umpire made some other mistakes that preceded this incident. 1. When he showed up for the game it was probably a few minutes late (because he knows the coach so it won’t be a big deal, at least that’s what he’ll tell you). 2. Before starting the game (that he showed up late to) he probably went straight to the dugout of this team and talked for another 5 minutes cause he needed to catch up with the coach. 3. Between innings I’m willing to bet that he stands by the fence talking with the people sitting next the backstop while the pitcher throws his 20 warm-up pitches. Alone these issues might not seem like a big deal but they boil down to 1 main problem, over-familiarity. I’d put money on it and guess that he’s umpired 100’s of games with this particular player. Unfortunately that is just a guess and we don’t get that side of the story, we just get the video clip that makes him look like a child. I’m sure he meant this in good fun but there are ways to have fun without sacrificing professionalism. I’m not gonna knock him for the single action that we saw in this video, I’m just gonna knock him because I’m sure there are tons of other little things he does that undermine his own authority. And all of those little things are what makes partners like him miserable to work with.

Literally the first thing the OP says is “OBR”