Nate

I had the regular platinum.. I then returned it for the smaller sized platinum and it worked somewhat better but not completely.. Then I sold it and got the M-L WV Gold. It fits perfect, stays around my neck fine and wraps around my body better. I think it makes me look more professional too. It's not very bulky when the shirt is tightly tucked in as well. I wish I bought the WV gold before I wasted money with the platinum.

Like I said, everyone does stuff differently.. I do the catch and carry deal because it's been an issue with a lot of coaches in this area.

The other age groups you work the more the "manager" role is established. A lot of times if I'm unsure who the head coach is I'll ask and they'll either say they are or point who it is.. Then I'll remind both coaches that if there's any problems the head coach can come talk to me or my partner. I usually try to keep it short so that people don't think there will be a problem. Here's how I run my ground rules.. Me: "Good evening everyone, how's it been?" Coaches: "Well it could get better from all this rain." (That's been the usual response. lol) Me: "Okay gentlemen here are the ground rules, Pole to both on each side straight down on a proverbial line. We have some holes in the back stop here, just have your catcher raise his hand so I know it's out of play. Everything straight out is pretty much all your can get." (These change field by field. That's just the grounds rules I used last night. ) Coaches: "Okay." Me: "Remember that we're running a catch and carry rule here. All players have to catch the ball in play, can run out of play if his momentum carries him, but has to step back into play before his throws the ball. If he catches the ball out of play it's no catch. Any questions?" Coaches: (They usually ask for me to repeat it, for some reason it takes a couple times for them to understand it, even though they play the rule all year). Me: "New rule this year, the MIAA requires all base coaches to have a helmet on. If you have players in the first or third base coaches box make sure they're wearing a normal batting helmet with two flaps." Coaches: (They usually gripe about it. Oh well) Me: "Okay that's it, any questions gentlemen?" Coaches: (Usually they say no, if they have a rule question it's a perfect time for me or my partner to answer it) Me: Okay good luck, lets get your boys on the field. I've worked with some guys that like to constantly tell coaches these little things that annoy me, so it must annoy them. I call it unwanted use of authority. So it's really all up to you how you do it, because you may need to address certain situations at different times. Nate

I got hit on the bottom of my ribs when I had my Platinum and I thought I was going to die.. it dropped me to my knees.. next day I put it up for sale and bought myself the WV Gold. Couldn't be happier.

That's funny.. I don't know what I'd do if that happened to one of my games.. I'd probably pull everyone off and suspend the game until they take car of it.

My mom used to work for a local college here in the athletics department. About 5 years ago a guy was parked in the parking lot right next to the baseball field, his car windshield was shattered by a foul ball. He then sued the college for a new windshield which he won because the college was responsible apparently.. Anyway after that they put a sign up in the parking lot, "If you park near the baseball game, we are not responsible for any foul balls which may damage your property." If the college had that sign before they wouldn't have been responsible.. Gotta love it. Nate

It's decent in thickness.. What the guy told me who had it was it doesn't hurt when you get hit at all, but you can feel the pressure agaist your chest. I might end up buying one and trying it out next year. It looks pretty good and not bulky. Nate

I've seen one of these, the plates are under the material.. I was shocked by how protected it felt.. not like other cps I've seen.. Nate

Actually I've worked with the other guys before during the high school season. The plate umpire umped second base during the state D-1 high school final. And the third base umpire is a regular for the high school post season.. So I've been working with seasoned members of my board. I'm very excited.

Thanks. Yeah I'm sorta getting it.. Runner on 1st: U1 in A, U3 in C Runner on 2nd: U1 in B, U3 in D (Third base line) Runner on 3rd: U1 in A, U3 in D Runner on 1st and 2nd: U1 in A, U3 in C Runner on 1st and 3rd: U1 in A U3 in C Runner on 2nd and 3rd: U1 in B, U3 in D Does that sound correct? Also it says that base umpires must always go out on all fly balls when on the third or first base line.

I do it every time the ball is considered dead, whether there's runners on the bases or not. I've a stickler when it comes to pitcher waiting for me to put the ball in play. It's a safety issue for me, the catcher and the batter.

Hey everyone, My assigner called me today to tell me I'm working first base at the Championship State Tournament Game for Sandy Kofax (U15). I'm really excited and nervous at the same time. I've never worked a 3-man system before neither have I umpired a game at this age group that was this important. I have the Virtual Umpire Camp by Immersion Media and I've been looking it over. I plan on looking over every night before the game to study. This is my first year on the high school board, so it's quiet an honor to be chosen to do such an important game. I've emailed both of my other partners to see if they want to practice ahead of time. Any suggestions? Nate

Really? That's odd then because when I called the honigs sales rep at their main office he was saying they stopped using the same factory majestic used to use, and that they have a guy that personally deals with MLB for their uniforms, jackets, ect.. :confused:

Odd. All I can think is that my local honigs supplier has an older version of the polo blue shirts..

I hate working a lower level division game then doing a top division game the next day. It really screws me up. The lower the level the more horrible the catching is.. I did a game where the catcher didn't want to catch so he didn't catch anything and I basically had to dodge every pitch coming in. No so fun. Tonight I flinched a two times that I can think of and both balls were at my face and the catcher was setting up way outside.. If I didn't move on one of them I would have got hit in the head. But the other one the catcher caught. Nate

All of honig's shirts used to have the cotton collar like the Majestic shirts. Like I said they switched clothing companies and the quality of the shirt has changed. I have a dark blue honigs shirt from 5 years ago with the cotton collar and a new one from this year with the polyester collar. Obvious difference. The polo blue/black shirt however still has the cotton collar.

Yeah last year I got a couple tourney games but for some reason this year with the economy there are a lot of them that didn't go on this year. It kind of works in my favor because I'm going to Gettysburg with my girl friend this weekend. Nate

Hey Zippy! My name is Nate I live up in Massachusetts. I am as well 18 years old, but I'm on the state high school umpire board. I umpire levels from U11 - Legion baseball. As well as a league called Tri-County baseball. It's a competitive baseball league for players the ages of 18 - 30. In the tri-county league here we get frequent scouts from MLB and independent leagues. I stumbled across this site about a month or so ago and really enjoy it. I enjoy reading people's stories and sharing my own. If you ever have any questions on a call when your umpiring or playing don't hesitate to post it in one of the forums. There are plenty of experienced people here that could answer your questions. Nate

We have no fees here if you decline games. We too use the arbiter, but what really happens here is if you cannot make the game it's your responsibility to find a replacement.. if you don't there's a good chance of you not getting anymore games.

I used to live in Port Saint Lucie.. The baseball there is year round.. It's pretty nice, I wish I still lived there sometimes (I live in MA). I'd just use google to track down some phone number of board members of various officiating associations, call and ask them about how many people are on the board, how many leagues they serve and how much are the fees.

That's why he's commentating the pirates..

It seems most of the time when I'm by myself I have my worst games.. and it's just because it's hard to juggle some games when your by yourself when you have a lot of things going on. Don't worry about it.. move on.

It's $35 for U9, U11 and U13 here. $45 for both U15 and U17. $70 for a legion game. As for high school we get $51 for a sub varsity game and $71 for a varsity.

That is my favorite ejection video.. "You're here to do one thing!" "What's that?" "To f^&* us!" Lol.

I don't think this philosophy would work all the time..