SeeingEyeDog

Hey @NGuzman, just curious...in my market we have varsity games played frequently with one umpire. Do you guys actually get good coverage on those 8U machine pitch games? If so, how has your market generated that level of interest in local, amateur umpires? ~Dawg

Avoid...the Wilson bag...for eff's sake... ~Dawg

Tog, The Brethren have a saying...Sometimes you just have to umpire. There exist many, many instances in the rules of nearly every sport specific measurements. In basketball, the jump ball circle is 4 feet in diameter and the foul line is 15 feet from the backboard. As "Coach Norman Dale" famously said after measuring the height of the rim and winding up the tape measure at the gym for the state championship in Indianapolis said, "...same as our gym back in Hickory." So, in some cases in some sports like basketball when the rules state the jump ball circle is 4 feet...they also actually require that circle to be marked on the playing surface! The referee must still exercise their judgement, "Was the player fully outside the circle prior to the ball being touched by those participating in the jump ball?" but, I think we can all agree that having the circle marked on the playing surfaces makes life easier for everyone. Same for the face-off circle in ice hockey... Baseball has a number of these situations in the rules where specific measurements are in the rules, but there are no visual aids to assist the umpires in using their judgement. What constitutes taking a position within 5 feet? Well...it's like my old ball coach used to tell us about what constitutes a foul ball..."The umpire will let us know. And that ball might be fair today and that same ball foul tomorrow and that's baseball." Another one in baseball is calling a balk if the pitcher steps to the plate but throws to a base instead. What constitutes "being committed to going to the plate"? The umpire's judgement...now, internally, umpires are trained to draw an imaginary 45 ray line from the pitcher's back foot to the baseline. We then watch the plant foot. If he plants on the plate side of that imaginary line, he must go home. But, that's only internally amongst umpires. If we were ever talking to a coach about it, which we shouldn't be because it's judgement, we would never say, "Coach, he stepped on the plate side of the imaginary 45 degree line..." We would say, "Coach, in my judgement, he stepped towards the plate and needed to deliver home. He threw to first and by rule that's a balk." I've always thought it would be helpful to have a visual aid but, if it's chalk, it's going to get wiped out. Additionally, the ray line would move as pitchers setup back and forth across the rubber... ~Dawg

Not my personal bag, but I know these are insanely popular with so many of you and for that...I'm taking a moment to reflect and pour one out for Team Wendy pads. I'm glad to hear they are continuing on to support the military and first responder communities. I am also hopeful that someone will recognize that there is a need here that Team Wendy is no longer meeting and perhaps some new innovation may come about... ~Dawg

No, the guy was wanted in 27 countries. He claims to have cashed 17,000 checks totaling in excess of $2M (That was a lot of money in 1965.) He literally was a professional liar, cheat, thief and international felon. He did his crimes and he's done his time...ok. His name on any product doesn't mean dinky-do and I personally am going to make other choices. You do you, free country, varied mileage, nuttin' but peace and love, etc.... ~Dawg

Should we trust a pen that Frank Abagnale, Jr. was involved with in developing? ~Dawg

Lathan Williams...but, I'm guessing this probably isn't his year. ~Dawg

I have always been partial to UniBall Vision micro in red but, this summer my partner was using a Tul, which is the in-house brand for Office Depot and I have started mixing in Tuls, too. Good, long lasting pens but not cheap...Uniball Visions are $17 per dozen and Tul BP3's are $18 per dozen. ~Dawg

Who is...Muttley? I'll take Hanna-Barbera characters for $800, please Beaks Trebek... ~Dawg

All of this is good as a theory and @JonnyCat went appropriately deeper on the mechanics. That was very well done Jonny. Thank you for that. We can read the vector/direction/angle of the throw...yes. We can somewhat read the depth of the throw...and that's where the challenge is in the 2 man system. We have all seen true-looking throws that either die and drop in front of the runner or sail and sometimes then caught by the fielder and a swipe tag is attempted in such a way that we are flatlined (as I outlined above...). There's no magic wand. Sometimes, we do everything we are supposed to do and there's a late nuance...and then we just have to umpire. We have to look for every advantage to be our best on every play and I just think sometimes the standard B position as a starting position with R1 only is perhaps not the best position to begin some plays from. ~Dawg

Sure...and I submit deep B is not where I should take that play from so, I need every step and every positional advantage I can get. ~Dawg

Beaks, I like where your heads at with this...I have been experimenting with some of this myself. And not just dropping to deep B but, even working a few steps in from the neutral position if I am reading that pickoffs are likely. Yes, yes, yes...we can absolutely get ourselves crossed up and be back in deep B anticipating the steal when now there's a pickoff and we don't have a good angle on the tag/touch. So, I moderate things a bit...start in the neutral B position and maybe move a step or two forward or back based on my current read, foregoing the deep B. I will also take a drop step with my right leg as soon as the pitcher delivers so that I am ready to go to 2B if necessary but I can still move forward to get a back pick at 1B from F2 post-pitch. I've also been working on moving a little closer to 2B from B when plays take me there. I may have been burned on two tag plays at 2B this summer where the ball is caught by F4 and then a tag was attempted on R1's right side. Neither were swipe tags or I may have seen the wiggle of the glove following the tag. So, just focusing on the release from F2, anticipating the point where it will be caught and then trying to reverse wedge a view on the tag coming out of B. ~Dawg

...and Beak-man? That is JUST the way the Federal Government wants it. So much for "global markets" making things better... ~Dawg

LMFGDAO! You joke but...ANYBODY working 8U should be hammering this into these coaches. ~Dawg

Hobbes...pitching? Am I picking up what you are putting down here, brother? ~Dawg P.S. I am having a seriously difficult time processing the need for umpires of ANY kind on an 8U machine pitch ballfield. Curious about your market, @NGuzman...do you guys have a deep roster of trained umpires that you're able to cover all levels of amateur ball in the market to INCLUDE 8U machine pitch? I'd hate to think there's some varsity, Legion or senior showcase out there without umpires but, there's a guy on the 8U machine pitch field...By the way, all you LL brothers? I still love you guys...nuttin' but love, seriously. However, I am now putting 8U machine pitch umpires into the P1 slot of umpires I hold in the highest esteem with LL brothers now P2. God bless you, 8U brothers and I hope you all know there is a WORLD of amateur baseball awaiting you beyond 8U.