c-stone

I bought a pair of Reaction Pro Plate Lo Umpire Shoes by 3N2 a couple years ago from TheHittingStore.com. Last offseason they were due for a replacement and I bought another pair (from another online store). I checked the old shoes to confirm I was ordering the correct shoe size, which in my case is 9.5EE. I have custom orthotics which were fitted to my old shoes. In swapping out the orthotics to my new pair, I noticed the shoe size label on the underside of the tongue of the old shoes was peeling away. To my surprise, there was a 2nd label underneath, with a different shoe size, 10D. So now I am stuck with a new pair of shoes with orthotics that don't fit as they were sized for, what turns out, was a 10D. Has anyone run across this, with 3N2s or any other shoes? Thanks.

I signed up to work the Coastal Plain League this year and am looking for upgraded apparel (hats). Ideally I'd just get the CPL patches and apply them to one of the many spare black hats I have. Anyone have a couple of old CPL hats for sale? Thanks, Chris

Postscript: I ended up going with the Force3 bag and have been pretty happy. A couple of mild complaints, comments: 1) Since most gear et al is for the plate, I like storing that in the lower cavity. However, this is the smaller of the two cavities and getting just shin pads and chest protector requires advance Tetris skills. Would like it the lower cavity was larger, the top a bit smaller in trade. By larger/smaller I mean height. 2) I keep all the misc. gear in a tackle box in the top (ball bags, indicator, brush, etc.) 3) Shoes end up in the top, because it's larger. Makes sense though since, hey, ya gotta wear shoes.

I am looking to update my wardrobe with some good compression shorts since my current ones were made ~WW2. Any recommendations? Notes: 1. I don't wear tights, so not interested in those. That might change for that first game next February :-). 2. I'm not a fashion/brand guy. I'll always choose value and comfort over "brand for the sake of brand." That being said, if UA or Nike or Adidas has a great option, I'll check it out. Thanks!

I don't have these too much, but did last night. Game ended after three (yes, 3) innings per request from V coach after H put up 23 runs bottom 3rd. The relief pitcher who finished the game struggled to deliver pitches anywhere near the most generous of zones--lots of 1-hoppers, 10ft high to the backstop, etc. I had the plate. After we sat on 2 outs for what seemed like 3 turns through the order, I got a couple of pitches 12-18" up or outside. But there just weren't many pitches even close. How do you handle the plate in a game like this, and maintain integrity for what we do? Thanks!

I am in need of having an umpire bag for the upcoming season. It will be my first one, and I don't need the Cadillac version to take on planes and through airports--just one which is durable and functional to get me from the car to the locker room. Colleagues of mine have suggested one of the Diamond bags, and I'm also looking at the Force3 bag. Feedback would be appreciated, pro/con (including suggestions of what NOT to buy). Note that I don't wear the bucket, so my mask requirement is a pretty low profile. Thanks!

I'll be doing some low D2/D3 games this season and have started reading up on collegiate rules. Does anyone know of a quick reference for the major rule differences between high school and college baseball? Here's what I've collected so far: 1) Balk kills the play/pitch Fed not NCAA 2) NCAA players can slide through 2nd, pop-up 3) NCAA DH can only bat for the pitcher; the pitcher who bats is also the DH. NCAA: Jewelry is allowed. The restrictions on a pitcher's arm sleeves are different. Obstruction is different (?) Blocking the base is different. Thanks for any help, Chris