Nate

Hey everyone, It's been about 3 years since I've logged in but I'm back on the site. Good to see Warren's hard work has really paid off. The site looks great. Have a great off season!

A price of $450 for a mask was never a fair asking price and only seems to be due to all of the shameless gouging that's been going on with the sales of these Nike masks. I haven't worn one in a game, but I tried one, and played with it. It looks somewhat cool, has pads that I would immediately replace, and a cage that seems more neatly crafted than my titanium(s), but at more than twice the price (plus the cost of the extra pads), it's just an absolute joke. America is the land of many things, including suckers. I'm sure that if these Nikes actually exist, this gouger will get $450 each. And there will probably even be some jock-sniffer who'll lay out $150 for those mediocre pads, just to adorn his titanium frame and make everybody think he's wearing a Nike. Now I'm going to call my father and thank him once again for my inherent sense of reason. Well I guess I'm one of those people.. I purchased a new still in the box nike mask from a retired AAA catcher for a couple hundred. I'm a gear junkie and don't exactly find it a problem paying good money for the best equipment.

I say "No Catch" and signal with a safe mechanic.

Sounds like your plate umpire missed his responsibility for fair/foul. He should have taken the ball up the first base line. As the base umpire I would have stayed in the working area but to the first base side edge. In that situation while the base umpire is going up the line with the ball he should have taken the tag and you should have taken the runner into second base. In a case where you think you're going to be blocked out try to get a step in a direction that will allow you to develop some type of angle. Bret is right that signaling "No Tag" is correct but when he is tagged we should say "He's Out." Personally in this situation, I would have waited for my plate umpire to make a call. If he did for some reason rotate to third base on this play I would attempt to gain angle and distance to the B/R. Also after you made the call you should never call time immediately and go directly to your partner. Honestly that is not exactly how we want to "appeal" to our partner. It makes us look weak and unsure of our calls. I would have stuck with it until a coach came out. Knowing that my partner is up at third base, there's no way he could sell that he had a better angle than me. Just my two cents for that situation. But to answer your question about whether this is something freak or routine. I would call this routine any day when the plate umpire doesn't burn you on his responsibilities.

I think $450 is a fair asking price for a nike mask..

I just want to say I recently got my black 13" douglas modified with T-Hooks and Trim.. Not only does it look good.. the t-hooks allows the CP to be very snug to my body! Also I went with the royal blue trim which looks awesome. My partner yesterday has not only ever seen a douglas, but he said it was the coolest looking CP he's ever seen. I just want to thank Jeff on here for doing a great job. Also I purchased the 15" leg guards which I used yesterday and by far the best leg guards I've ever owned. I'm glad you guys are back in business... I'm a huge fan. Nate

Davis pants turn a different color in extreme sun exposure.. Who would want to buy a used pair of pants....?

What's wrong with a black one?

Have you called Jeff and asked if he can convert your 15" into a 13"?

I just sent my douglas to Jeff yesterday to get the T-hooks. Hopefully it doesn't take too long!

And what's the deal with all the sunglasses in that video? I know it was a break to shoot a commerical, but they haven't relaxed the 'no sunglasses' policy otherwise, have they? /obligatory when-I-was-your-age-things-were-harder-blah-blah-blah story We could wear them anytime we weren't umpiring in the last two weeks. We were outside for a good 2 hour at least everyone pretty much wore sunglasses for the shoot. And we wore them when standing on the sidelines during camp games and playing in the field.

I'm on at 2:57 with the sunglasses! That was a fun "break" at school. We were all skeptical at first but I saw it in front of my when Jim got hit and then we all asked him about it when we got back to class. After talking to Jason and Jim about it there was no set price yet but they said "very affordable".

I found this CP to be big and more for a wider/taller person.

I see some people posted here that you call the batter out? I don't know the LL rules but the official baseball rules state the runner is out unless it's 2 outs, the batter interferes with a running coming home then we're calling the batter out. Additionally we're calling the batter and the runner out if it's strike 3 on the batter and batter's interference where the runner is also out. In your circumstance I see this as a gray area, and 100% your judgement. I see it very hard to sell that it was "nothing." I'll give the batter the benefit of the doubt if the catcher threw it at his person but the fact the bat was moving it was the batter's fault the ball was blocked in mid throw. So my opinion I would call batter's interference.

If you're a smaller guy like myself.. I wear medium shirts.. the WV protectors rubbed my necks too.. You probably have too big of a size. The WV Gold in Small fit perfectly for me.. but I now use the 11 inch douglas which fits me perfectly.

I bought a mask from them and it took over a month to receive it.. they blamed it on UPS. And then promised me some type of compensation which I never received.

Is the weight less than the other titanium masks out there? Yeah and I believe it's a combination of a different titanium alloy and the pads. The mask itself is a lighter shade than the Wilson one.. Maybe it's the finish but what's also noticeably different is the welds. The nike mask has finished welds compared to the spot welds of the Wilson mask and like I said, to me the Nike mask feels lighter. And as for the pads, they're made of some type of memory foam and weigh next to nothing.

I own one.. and it's worth the price just in the weight and it's appearance.

Scrubbing bubbles works great.

Guys at JEAPU had them.. and said they loved them. They look really cool.

I actually bought two of Jim Evan's mock shirts while I was at the academy and I like them better than McDavid. I am sad to see them no longer making them though I love wearing the mock neck tshirts. Nate

If you need a team just call CDP, they'll be happy to get one if a team is looking. It's a good experience, great baseball for the age.. If you end up having a good crew chief and crew you'll have a good week. I've always enjoyed going, this will be my 4th year going back.

Fitt what pads are you using with your nike mask? I don't really like the pads very much.

It doesn't bother me much when a player or coach says it.. But if a coach does say it to me.. I'll talk to him and slide in "And by the way my name is Nate."

Well that plate meeting you want to do will only get you in trouble and will probably start the game off badly. As someone said previously here that is just bush league and you're going to get it working the younger kids. Remember that if the coach is yelling "RUN! RUN! RUN!" and in you're judgement he's doing that to cause the pitcher to balk.. Then just warn the coach that it will not be tolerated. Second time just eject him. You have the rule to book back you with 9.01( b ).