Kevin Finnerty

KFinn: Have you EVER umpired just a plain old 2 team, high school game?!?! LOL Yes... all the time! Regular season, you take what they give you. The regular season is actually a come-down from the rest of the year. I get to assign for a half dozen high schools for their off-season games and tournaments. Five of them are premier programs, and three of them have the three best ballparks in the region. They all load up their off-season schedules with opponents that are also premier teams, like last night's opponent (Giancarlo Stanton's old school), which looks like it's going to be my seventh. And they're using some of that $tanton funding to rebuild their own ballpark. So it's going to be yet another sweet ballpark. So, when I assign these games, I spread them out fairly evenly, but no matter where I put myself in the summer, fall and winter, it's a premier program. And I fit them around all the fall and winter UCLA Bruins' intrasquad games, which I've assigned since 2009. What I mean to say is The National Champion UCLA Bruins. I scored these gigs by knowing some of the coaches from before I even became an umpire. Three of them coached my son at one time or another. Last night's home coach: I gave him his first job in 1986 when he was a 14-year-old second baseman at that very school. Last night's visiting coach: He coached against my son, when he played in the same HS league against Giancarlo. If you're a good baseball man, and you you love the game at a sick level, other good baseball men can see it. And they reward it. All of the relationships that I built as a baseball man have helped me enjoy umpiring to a drastically higher degree. I deplore all of the umpire association politics, and with all of this summer fall and winter ball, I get to have my own association, and I get to avoid all of the politics.

Mike, it's funny that you revived this years-old topic; now I don't need to start a new one! Because I recently purchased several more Under Armour long-sleeve black compression mocks at TJ Maxx for $20 each (compare at $50). They're moisture-wicking Cold Gear. Of course I don't really need them, but that $20 price tag screamed at me. I took a couple of them to my tailor. (I'm not into the do-it-yourself look.) I had a good experience with having him shorten the sleeves of a UA rugby shirt. So I had him convert a couple of these long-sleeve mocks into short-sleeve mocks. I have those sleeveless Cold Gear mocks in both black and white. You can slip it over another T-shirt of any color (short or long-sleeve). But I'd also like short-sleeve mocks that I can wear alone. The ones my tailor altered look factory made, and he did them for $6 each. So, for $26 each, I have two $45 Under Armour short-sleeve mocks, which are virtually impossible to find. They don't even have them on their own site. So, simply take an easy-to-find long-sleeve mock to your tailor, or dutiful wife, if you have one of those. I require a tailor. All I have to hear is "Six dollars please."

A) The CPs with the WV logo are the newer ones. I have one that is six years old, and it has the design of the one in the first picture. All of the newer ones I've seen in the last couple of years bear the WV logo. Just saying. B) The CPs that the ebay guy is selling is the original WV design that is now called the "West Vest Pro." It's not the Gold, but its little brother. Good CP, though.

I am truly in love with these Finn Shins (I can't even type it with a straight face). I'm the house umpire at a few high schools in the off-season. Unlike the college games, we do the HS games one-man. I sometimes have a partner that I'm trying out for my ever-expanding roster, but not last night. I had two premier high school teams in a good battle with lots of trailing catchers and runners pushing the envelope and... Man, I was running faster than ever! It was my first game with this much running since I started using these babies, and they really do make a difference in my mobility and endurance. Amazing. They're less than half the weight of regular shins. The best part: After watching me knock out this game, the opposing coach pulled me aside at the car and took my card and asked me if I could also assign his games. So these shins have already paid for themselves.

I've been told that those pec pads are in the mail. I expect them in the next few days. I hope that long overdue ankle shot doesn't come tonight, before I get the chance to attach them.

I choose my words carefully, which is why I included the word "may."

I don't know what it is, but I just love them. (I also like gray uniform shirts.) There's no reason why black and tan should be the only pad colors for umpire masks. I am glad that royal blue is a thing of the past, but even dark navy's not so bad.

You look okay in your profile picture. I mean, your cap's backwards and your navy shirt's a little too tight, but...

The knee cap covers the kneecap. (I love that sentence. The human kneecap is one word, but the equipment part is two words.) The only thing that reaches higher than the knee is that padded Velcro strap that helps hold it snugly against your leg. The fit of these things is as snug and comfortable as you can imagine.

I truly hate being paid at home plate for the whole world to see. I especially hate being paid in cash while the payer counts it out--especially out loud. I hate when anybody makes some reference to the pay that implies it's even adequate. And I hate it when my partner makes too big a deal about when/how/by whom we're getting paid. We're supposed to be symbolic of honor and integrity and professionalism..

I worked a three-man intrasquad today. One partner is a guy who I talked into retro-fitting his Gold with a Team Wendy pad. Three years ago, he introduced our group to team Wendy mask pads, and he was appropriately thrilled when I told him that they were doing CPs and shins now. So then, he started talking other guys into doing theirs, and our other partner from today just got his Platinum done. So I saw a Gold and a Platinum in the locker room just today. You are going to love them both!

Well, I worked with a guy today who had a Wilson with what he called "Fonzie pads." They are indeed leather on the inside, and vinyl on the gray part. They're exactly what I wanted, and he said he got the from Rex at BTL late last year. So I guess I'll disregard the picture on the website, and order these babies from BTL. I guess I'll have to get another mask to put them on. Alex, thank you so much for your offer; I really appreciated that.

When I bought [stole] my CP and shins on ebay, the shins already had the rusting that you described. I went with them as my back-ups at first, but when I started to see the shins as my primary, I had the refurb done. They're at least 12 years old, but with the refurb, they're almost like new ones. The CP went along for the ride, and I had the slots and T-hooks added. They gave me a new harness as well, but I ditched it for the Delta Flex, which is the best upgrade that you can do to a Douglas. I use the Douglas at levels where even a gap shot is pretty safe (85 MPH and lower), but I'm still retro-fitting that gap anyway. I didn't have them do it, because they were doing it with a logo cap, which I didn't like too much. (I wanted a Douglas, not a Douglas-Douglas.) Now that they're doing it with a generic plastic flap like the Gold, it's a different story. There is nothing quite like a Douglas for comfort and profile, which is probably why it's so popular. The shoulder gap is a real problem, whether Douglas lovers who've "never had a problem" want to admit it or not. Just to reiterate: when a ball hits the shoulder cap just right, it presses the cap's edge into the shoulder bone in a way that can be injurious. I have a bump on my shoulder bone that never went away. Why do you think Wilson added that gap coverage to the Gold and Platinum, which are pro-level protectors? It works. And it's necessary at high-80s/low-90s and above. I'm actually going to modify mine with the two plates that I removed from my Wilson Gold shins:

That's beautiful, Alex. Way to be. I will get to this soon, and I'll pass on the findings. And I hope you enjoy your foray into ultra-light, low-profile shin guard use. There will be times you will forget you're wearing shin guards. (Arik and I go back a ways without our knowing it at the time. Before he moved up north, he umpired some games that my son played in. So I was there saying stuff like "Good call, Blue' and "Good hustle, Blue.")

I love my Douglas gear. I have a 13-inch factory fresh last generation black CP sitting in the closet unused. I have a 12-inch black CP customized with T-hooks and slots and fitted with an All-Star Delta Flex harness. It fits beautifully, is crazy comfortable and very sleek. And I have the shins I acquired with the 12-inch. The shins are awesome. They are every bit as protective as the Wilson Golds (very similar design and coverage) but markedly lighter and more comfortable. Once I got them refurbished by Douglas (new hooks, eyes, straps and cleaned and repaired pads), they were my go-to shins for the highest-velocity pitching. That being said, I acquired them for $20, and refurbished them for $40. So for $60, they are truly remarkable. For as much as $40-to-$50 more, they'd still be great. For $100 more than I paid, I don't see it. I'd buy a pair of Bauers, a pair of Wilson Golds, and I'd still have enough left over to buy a new pair of poly-wools.

In business school, I had a professor guy who called that "strategic [sales] volume control."

"It's where it crosses the plate, Blue."

Yes, but the guy who's giving them to me hasn't coughed them up yet. I may try cutting my own out of something similar and attaching it temporarily. Again, it's almost never necessary, but it is the lone deficiency in these shins as they apply to baseball.

I assembled a crew for a high-level tournament without seeing the funds in the RefPay account until three days in advance of the tournament. I didn't sleep until I saw the funds. I'm doing so again right now for a tournament in Las Vegas at the end of next month for the same company. I am hoping that it's funded sooner than the last one. They're doing the best they can, but so am I. I was asked to assign a tournament last weekend for some folks who wanted to pay the umpires a week or two after the fact, and after all the checks clear that they received for the tournament fees. I couldn't do it. I worked the tournament under those conditions, but I wouldn't assign it. It is very, very difficult for an assignor to get any league or tournament group to treat umpires as anything more than an afterthought. Not only are the fees too low to begin with, their reluctance or refusal to cough them up is dumbfounding. We control the quality of the action! And we are literally exploited and abused before the action even starts! I'm doing my best to heighten their awareness, but it is an extreme problem. So it may not be the assignor; it may be the irresponsible slugs he works for.

Well, John, when you get them back, we'd like to see some pictures! (I couldn't stop laughing the whole time I typed this.)

John... we're still waiting for those pictures!

Great catch. Here's the link to the specific page: http://www.icewarehouse.com/descpage.html?pcode=BS1S And I'll get on that retro-fit before my Tuesday plate game. (I can't wait to see the look on my shoe repair guy's face this time.)

Hey, Alex, are the inside of those pads leather? I was wondering if those are the pads that are offered at Between The Lines. The ones they picture on their site are synthetic on the inner pads, and have a red front logo tab. If I can get the leather ones, I'll bite. I love those pads.

Last night, I took a chance and wore the Bauers at a D-I intrasquad game, and took a straight, low-90s foul on the lower shin bone. The protection was outstanding---not even a stinging feeling. I've now been drilled in the knee at mid-80s, and drilled in the lower shin at 90-91, and I can freely state that because of their degree of protection, I can wear these things anywhere. I was originally going to wear them at some high school and some men's baseball. If something this light and comfortable actually offers this degree of protection, I'm going to wear them all the time. I'm augmenting the ankle protection ASAP, and I'll get back to you. Awesome gear!

Thus you have the reason that guys like you and I must carry a pair of all-black back-ups: player safety!