eddieq

Congrats! Not a LEO here but a first responder. Fire police officer (traffic control at emergencies basically). Stay safe out there!

You mean the "whoops, sorry about that fastball to the ribs"? That's how we handled stuff like that as kids. Not condoning it of course.

I'm for option A. It's not my problem. If I'm the defensive coach, I'm working with my catcher to use that. Set up later OR set up early but once she calls out the position, change the setup at the last moment. She'll eventually knock it off once she's repeatedly wrong.

My season is over (torn meniscus) but I'm considering leaving the gear for him to sniff out. Also because it hurts (physically and emotionally) to do the stairs and bring it to the basement.

Of course. The whole type 1, type 2 thing. Thanks.

Don't skimp on the gear because it's "soft"ball. I do a lot of community youth FP and the ball finds flesh just as easily as in baseball. Armor up

I'm actually the other way around. I've always umpired softball - fast and slow pitch. I have dipped my toe into the baseball game in the last couple of years - mostly doing the 10U around here where there are no balks, they have to hold the bag until the ball crosses the plate, etc, so for me, there wasn't a lot new to learn. Biggest differences I noticed. My strike mechanic. In softball, the mechanic is the hammer. I "outed" myself on the first strike call because I didn't turn and point for the strike call. I called the strike "down" in my stance, stood and gave a crisp hammer. USA Softball umpire manual for this year gives mechanics, but you should review the manual for your chosen alphabet https://www.usasoftball.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/120/2026/02/USA-2026-Umpire-Manual-1.pdf Pitching rules would be one thing to familiarize yourself with. Plate umpire gets "timing" type things (double touches, etc.) while the base umpires take care of the footwork (replants, etc.). There are no "balks" in softball, but you can call an illegal pitch which is a delayed dead ball and see how it goes, then apply the penalty (as necessary depending on how it played out). Also, the "look back rule" which in USA is 8.7.T. That one is always incorrectly applied or misunderstood. I don't know why, but it is. DP/FLEX players is a fast pitch nuance that also gets confusing but is overall not complex. A seasoned pro like yourself should pick it up Thrown ball out of play is always two bases from the time of the throw no matter where it came from or if it's the initial play or not. Other standards like infield fly, uncaught third strike, interference, obstruction are really the same. Overall, depending on what you want to call (fast, modified, slow) and which association/alphabet code is available in your area, grab a rulebook and an umpire manual and get out there and have fun. There are dual sport umps here that can give you much better advice, but those are top of mind for me. Edit: This is the high school section so you're obviously talking about school ball. What I said is still relevant

https://www.palegis.us/legislation/bills/2025/sb375 The PA governor signed this on May 13. In addition to a bunch of "shall provide training" language, there is a requirement of the bill that requires AEDs to be available at all PIAA athletic events. So the question for discussion - is this going to be "my problem" to ensure that it's there? Or is that 100% a school administration issue and we don't have to worry if it's there or not?

Topic adjacent - at a rec game the other night, one of the coaches said to me multiple times, "Hey blue, thanks for showing up tonight". That tells me they have a scheduling issue or something. I cannot imagine just "no showing" a game that I agreed to.

Oh, he'll do it again if he gets the chance. Especially immediate post game when they are still hot and stinky

Correct.

After my game last night, I needed to car space for some grocery shopping, so I brought my gear bags inside. Fast forward to this morning, I'm sitting having my coffee, checking email and such, and I hear my dog (Lord General Marble Rye - but you can call him Marble) running back and forth. The cadence of his running and the noises he was making told me that he had something he shouldn't have. Usually it's a sock, or he's stolen a dish towel from the kitchen. Nope. I turned around and he has one of my plate shoes because when I pulled my gear bags in, I didn't actually fully shut them. Everything is zipped up now. I'll admit, he's pretty strong for a low rider. The aforementioned Lord General https://ibb.co/C3ZpJrwJ https://ibb.co/9mzrQm67

Old thread. Sorry for the bump, but it's been nearly a year, and the cough is non existent. Lungs are still good. Taken plenty of shots on the chest protector and no injuries.

SB Umps anonymous: My name is Ed and I'm a softball umpire. Been doing youth FP mostly. Some adult rec FP leagues. (Hi Ed!) Local baseball assignor I know called me up and asked me to jump into a u10 game because he was down a guy. Game went well. One of two "groan" calls but no fighting/screaming from the coaches (some of the moms got mouthy but the home coach cut them off). Got good feedback from the coaches through the assignor. Talking about doing some more with them as their summer season ramps up. I object, though. I came to the dark side and there were no cookies.

Slight tangent, but one youth softball league I used to call had this one team that everyone knew. The coaches were problems and the coach's kids were problems. As I walked up for a regular weeknight game, I heard the one coach say to his kid, "Put that one away, this guy checks."