mac266

Follow up: How about this pink one with my black plate coat? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09VYCJ59R?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1&th=1&psc=1

The plate coat in my profile pic is navy blue; I also have a black one. However, the navy one can only be used at high school or lower levels. Unfortunately, no one has navy blue uniforms anymore, so it hangs in my closet. It was gifted to me by a retiring umpire, but I think I've used it once. I do wear a turtle neck over my chest protector in colder weather (I have a navy one and a black one, one for each plate coat). Anyway, in the old days, umpires used to wear a different color of turtle neck with their plate coats, sometimes sharply contrasting. So, what if I got a powder blue turtle neck? Would that be ok to wear when my partners are wearing powder blue? How about when they are wearing a black jacket with the powder blue stripe? Thoughts????

I'm in Colorado. I have the Mid-American 3-man clinic on my calendar already, but I don't always get the weekends I want. I'm in the Army Reserves, and I'm currently a brigade commander, which means I'm on a plane 2-4 times a month. I'm definitely willing to travel for a clinic. I have also been to the Umpire Training Institute's 2-man clinic and would consider their 3-man clinic, as well. They were a great bunch of guys and put on a great clinic.

I know, I know, they're very hard to come by. But if you want to get rid of one (I'm a chest size 42), please let me know.

I'm back, fully recovered with some reduction in my arm's range of motion. But I'm back on the diamond, and I don't need any extra padding. I worked a JuCo double header on Thursday, and my strike zone wasn't quite where I want it to be. I worked three high school games on Saturday and got it dialed in a LOT better. If I can keep that zone all season, I'll be happy. Anyway, I'm the quintessentially busy guy, so I need to start planning to attend a clinic already. This past fall I went to the Mid-American 2-man clinic that morphed into a 3-man clinic. I need a full-blown 3-man clinic. I'm hoping to move up into NCAA or anywhere that uses 3-man all the time. Which ones would you suggest?

NFHS does NOT require intent on batter's interference. Think of the more typical swing-and-miss with follow through taking the batter over the plate when F2 is trying to throw out a stealing runner. The batter does NOT have to intend to get in the way; he merely has to hinder or impede the defense's ability to make the play.

Time play, no run.

I'm obviously a huge fan based on my profile pic. That one is actually navy blue, and was given to me by a retiring umpire. My black one is by Out West Officials, and I highly recommend them. You bring a significant amount of class to the diamond when you walk out in a plate coat (I've overheard players commenting that "we got the good umpires" without ever having seen me work before). I also recommend getting it tailored.

Rodeo clown....I'm laughing so hard right now!!!!

You're definitely not the only one. I've only been approached in the parking lot twice. One ended up in the police being called, and the other was a Karen to whom I threatened to call the police. Both instances resulted in reports to the sanctioning body and the offender's banishment from future games.

It absolutely matters when someone thinks it's a foul ball rather than a foul tip.

I was taught to do it in Colorado. I work JuCo and high school. I'm of the opinion that using the mechanic shows coaches that we saw what happened -- we were not asleep, and we know the rule -- and that we are no-calling it.

You covered it at the plate meeting; the liability is on the coach. I wouldn't pick that booger!

I'm going! Sorry I started a new thread before I saw this one.

I'm out almost all of June due to military commitments. I just took command of a brigade, and I'll have people in the field everywhere from California to New Jersey, and I'm visiting all of them. So I chose the 2-man clinic in September.

I just signed up

You beat me to it, but I was going with a duck.

Who is going? I just signed up and paid. For those following, I have been medically cleared to umpire again. I got in a whopping four games this season, all at the high school level. It slowed down my advancement, but there was no alternative.

If I'm umpiring at the JuCo level (two-man) and would like to get to NCAA division II (3-man), which one of these clinics would you recommend?

Yep, live ball. This is not a balk; it's an error, and we don't kill a play on an error.

Let me be VERY clear about this: The Wounded Warrior Umpire Academy has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with the Wounded Warrior Project. It is a separate entity altogether. As a 30 year veteran (and counting), I am fully behind what the umpire academy is doing and have even applied several times (I'm not wounded badly enough to be a high priority, so I've never gotten in). The Wounded Warrior Project (i.e. NOT the umpire academy) is a horribly run scam that misuses its funding to pay the CEO a huge salary. They will never get a penny from me.

I'm still trying to figure out why the batter was running.

Agreed on all counts, the only thing you could do in that situation was eject, and your style of ejection was perfect for such a young game. I've only ever ejected one player at any level, and it was a 16U game. All my others have been coaches.

I umpired 7 or 8 times in Roswell, NM for an independent minor league. Do you know how they put Diamond Dust on the infield every game? Well, in Roswell, they haven't leveled off the field in 100 years. So when I'm in "A" position, if I have to cut infield into the working area, I have to run uphill by about 18 inches. The infield is literally 18 inches taller than the outfield.

In NFHS, he has to touch the ball for the "intentionally dropped ball" rule to be in effect. If he didn't touch it, the ball remains live. If he touched it, the umpire has to make a judgement as to whether he thought the defensive player dropped it on purpose. With judgement calls, there will always be disagreement because we simply cannot read the player's mind. **IF** the umpire judges he did it on purpose, immediate dead ball, batter-runner is out, and all runners return to the last legally occupied base at time of pitch. **IF**, as it appears in this case, the umpire judges he did NOT do it on purpose, the ball remains live and play continues.