Typhoon

Doing an U18 game last year. I was in C, RHB hits a screamer right at me about a foot off the ground I leaped into the air and landed on my back. Ball never touched me F6 played the ball and threw to F3 who promptly dropped it. I gave the safe signal while still on my back. Everyone got a great laugh out of that one.

Well the doc says I am still cancer free and he gave me the green light to umpire again this year. So begins my 57th year. Had a couple of High school game and a U14 softball tournament last weekend. Two college Softball coaches asked me if I am available to do their games. So I am back for another year!!

This is not Fed FP but I believe the rule is the same where I am. (Canada) A foul Tip is a batted ball that goes directly from the bat to the catcher's glove or hand and does not go higher than the batter's head; and is legally caught by the catcher. It is a strike and the ball is in play It is not a catch if it is a rebound, unless the ball first touched the catcher's hands or glove if the ball is not legally caught it is foul ball.

I have been UIC of the last two U10 provincial grand championships in Canada and this is the wording from Softball Canada Official Rule Book: Rule 6.1.c "Before commencing the delivery (pitch), the pitcher: Must have both feet on the ground within 61.0 cm (24 inch) length of the pitchers plate. The hips shall be in line with first and third bases and both feet must be in contact with the pitcher's plate". So if she is not in contact with the pitcher's plate she can practice her windup all she wants. I can find nothing in the rulebook that says otherwise. I umpire softball up to the college level and have often seen a pitcher after throwing a really wild pitch stand back and take a couple warmup windmills and release the ball into their own glove. I've never had anyone complain. Tony

Last year I was doing a U12 girls softball tournament. It was supposed to be a friendly tournament. My partner was a 15 year old and it was his first year of umpiring. In the first game he was on the dish and the AC started on him, agreed he was a little erratic but not all that bad. Well this AC really started to get loud, so I said to him nicely "cut the kid some slack it's his first year." AC said look at his strike zone pitches are way outside. I replied they don't look that bad. AC says then you need glasses. Goodbye AC!!. They make it to the final I'm on the dish kid is BU. Some of his calls are a bit erratic again, but for both teams. Well don't you know they lose the game. I'm gathering up balls and signing the score sheet. The kid is gone and I meet him in the dressing area to post game him. I can tell he is really upset so I asked what is the matter. He said this POS AC yelled at him "you cost us that f**king game" while all the 11 & 12 year old girls from both teams were within earshot. I immediately got hold of the TD and told her what happened. I wish that I had heard him or the kid had tipped me off while we were still on the field. As it happened This tournament was in a town about 50 miles away from me but this team was in the town a couple of miles from me. I had done some baseball for them so I went to their UIC and reported this all to him. Needless to say this jerk's services were no longer required and he is gone.

Having had a urostomy 2 1/2 years ago I know something about his problem. I thought my umpiring career was over, but I researched the problem and came up with a company called "Stoma Guard". I ordered one from them and have used it for 2 years now. It is made of a rigid plastic with replaceable foam cushions on the edges. It has a 2 in wide elastic belt that is adjustable via a hook and loop fastener. It also comes in 3 sizes. It is comfortable and seems to fit the contour of the body a bit better than the one pictured. I wear it for all games and I umpire behind the plate right up to senior men's leagues with no worries. I don't even realize I am wearing it. A hit to the stoma would be catastrophic for me so I got the best protection I could find. Here is a link to Stoma Shields website: https://www.stomagear.com/ Good luck and you can PM me if you have any further questions. I am not affiliated with the company just a very satisfied user of their product. Tony

Just what game were they playing? There is a variant of slo-pitch called three pitch, where the pitcher is a member of the offensive team and he/she pitches to there own team. If a batted ball hits the pitcher, the batter is called out. There is a ladies league that plays this game locally. I refuse to umpire them, They play 9 innings with no time limit and no mercy rule. Scores in the neighborhood of 45 to 37 are not uncommon. So it makes for a long evening. Also they are not very ladylike especially after 4 or 5 innings and they have been having a few refreshments from the coolers on the bench. Tony

Last year I was called to umpire a U16 game. One of the coaches was my son-in-law, and the first baseman was my grandson. That was 3 generations of my family were on the field for that game. Tony

Another update: Last year went really well, I had a great season. I Went to see the doctor again for another checkup and the first thing he said was "congratulations on being cancer free for 2 years" . I thought that last year would be my last year umpiring and that I would retire. I feel so good that I am going to give it another shot again this year. Did a high school game today and did not feel out of place, so begins my 56th year of umpiring. I got a phone call tonight asking me to umpire a college tournament (softball) on May 1. Of course I said yes. Just like the energizer bunny I keep going and going. Don't think that I don't appreciate all the encouragement from everyone here, it's been great. Thank you all. Tony

Well here we go again. I am going to give it another season. There is still no sign of the cancer and I feel pretty good so I will give it another year, my 55th as an umpire. The only problem is a torn meniscus in my right knee. It doesn't seem too bad but I see the surgeon next Tues. and we will see what he says. I have been given 5 high school games next week as well. Physiotherapist says if they scope it I'll be out at least 4 weeks. Tony

Well I have been diagnosed with a torn meniscus in my right knee. I see the surgeon next week. The Physiotherapist said that it would probably take 4 weeks to get back on the field. Also I am 73 years old and may take a bit longer to heal than a 21 year old. In the meantime I have been scheduled 5 high school games next week.

And just what other rules would you choose to ignore, enlighten me!!

Been almost 2 years since I had an ejection. U12 OBA Championship tourney. R3 & R2 Going to give Batter an intentional walk. First pitch ball one, second pitch and the catcher steps out of catcher's box before the pitch is delivered. Not just a little he was way out. Partner and I both called BALK and sent runner home from third. Game over, then $hitstorm erupts..Coach is saying that we let the other team call the game ( they happened to notice the balk as well) blah ,blah, blah. Then the U12 catcher starts going beserk . Yells "you can't end a game on a call like that You F*****g A$$hole" BOOM. We couldn't get out of there because teams were kind of blocking the gate, so we retreated towards 2nd base and waited for the teams to vacate the field. The kid was so loud the TD who was about 80 ft away heard it. The TD backed us 100%. Oh well I guess he'll never do that again,lesson learned. And yes I am still alive and kicking.

I had all my hockey gear stolen from my car in a mall parking lot in broad daylight, and I played goal. I called my insurance company they sent an adjuster out and I was able to buy all new stuff. It didn't hurt that the adjuster was a guy I played pickup hockey with and he could verify all the equipment I had. It was a bitch breaking all that new stuff in though. Tony

Oddly enough the association he belongs to is in the town next to us and I have umpired a lot of their older games. I know the association president and will be having a conversation with him in the next few days. I was talking to my daughter-in-law about this and she knows this guy and said he has caused a lot of trouble in the past. I doubt if they will have him back as this tournament has to turn away teams every year. I like doing it because the TD and his volunteers treat us very well. Due to the standings they were able to cut a game in each division and they still paid the umpires for the games that were cut. Very classy in my opinion. Tony

It started out with a loudmouth Assistant coach bitching about my 15 year old partner's strike zone. The PU was rather intimidated by this guy, as this is his first year. I went over to the dugout and politely asked him to tone it down. He said that the PU did not know the where the strike zone was, and this guy was loud. He said the pitches he called strikes were outside. I said they looked ok to me. He then said in his loud voice that I should get a pair of glasses. I replied by saying that he was no longer in the game. He started ranting about knowing the rules better than the umpires blah, blah ,blah. The TD came over due to the ruckus and escorted him to the parking lot. He was back in the finals but he was pretty quiet. They lost the final by 1 run and this Jackwagon says to my 15 year old partner "thanks for losing the F---ing game for us". I didn't hear this but the kid told me when we were changing to go home. I said you should have run him right then but he thought he couldn't because the game was over. I told the TD and she said there were many other complaints about his behavior and their team would not be invited back . Tony

Well here is the latest update. I went for another checkup and the doc said after the cat scans, xrays, and ultrasounds there is still no sign of cancer. My next checkup is not til Nov. As for my onfield activities. I have been really busy. I have done HS varsity baseball, ladies fastpitch softball, and some ladies slo-pitch. Two weeks ago I did 11 games over 3 days and this week I did 8.5 games over 2 days. The reason for the half game was that one of the young umpires was taken out because of heat exhaustion, I told the assignor to pay him for the full game. Next weekend I am doing U14 provincial championships, then I am DUIC for the U12 provincial championships in August. So all in all things have turned out pretty well. One more piece of news was that when they took out my bladder they also removed the prostrate and guess what, it had early stage cancer. Also I want to thank everyone who wished me well and prayed for me, The thought that so many people cared was a big part of my recovery. Thanks guys and gals Tony

You know what? 3 years ago I had a triple bypass and 7 weeks later was doing the dish on an U16 game. I was 69 at the time so your dad may not be finished for the season. Tony

Well here goes, I am doing a HS game next Wed. I am out on the west coast at the moment but am going home on Fri to get the gear ready. Wish me luck Tony

Well it's been 4 months since the operation and I had a checkup this week. The doc was ecstatic. After x-rays, cat scans , and blood tests everything came back negative. I have been heavy into physical therapy and he said I should be good to go come spring. We are really short of umpires for high school so the association is happy as well. I will have to purchase a new piece of protective gear called Ostomy Armour. I emailed the company and asked if it was suitable for baseball and this was his reply "Yes, absolutely! The Armour is great for hockey pucks too." So I am about to embark on my 54th year umpiring and as I said before "Its been a great run" Tony

Ketchikan is actually pretty warm. It's way down south on the panhandle, the only towns in the state more southern are Metlakatla and Annette. Actually I was in a place called Hyder that is about as far south as you can get in the panhandle. Of course that was in 1967 and I visited there while I was in the Canadian Navy. Tony

I hadn't seen this thread before. Great fight you put up and it looks like you are headed to a win. For our tobacco addicted blues, how did you quit? And does your doctor say chewing is bad for the bladder or it just gets the throat. I was working in a hi stress job and 6 of us quit at the same time using the patch, which our employer paid for. I think that it was the mutual support that did it for us. Only 1 guy started back up again and he passed away about a year later from a heart attack. As for the cancer the doc said that the kidneys filter out the pathogens from smoking and they then go into the bladder and that was where the damage was done in my case. I tend to think any use of tobacco could have the same effect. I quit 20 years ago and it still came back to bite me. I am still recovering from the surgery I figure I have about half of my stamina back so far. Tony

Update!! Well I had the surgery as scheduled on Sept 25. It was 7.5 hours long. I came through it OK however the recovery time Is about 3 months. I am still pretty weak and was only permitted to drive by myself last Monday. The only drawback is that now I have to wear an external bag to catch the urine. However I have since found out that you can get a shield and continue your former lifestyle. Some people play rugby and compete in judo tournaments, so it looks like I will be back on the diamond come springtime. I almost forgot, the CAT scan showed the cancer is completely gone, no more chemo or radiation needed. Tony

<br />Why would you ever want a game with him...lol Lou, Other than telling you how much you suck and that you are blind as a bat. Have I said anything bad about you? Ps. Didn't know you guys in Utah had Internet! Is it a new concept up there? How does the Internet get there through all the snow??? The internet travels by dogsled in the snow

Well I guess it is time for another update. They decided that before the bladder removal they would do 12 weeks of chemotherapy. The first week lasts 6 hrs, the 2nd & 3rf weeks were 1 hr, and the 4th week was a visit with the oncologist. there were 3 of these sessions. That first week knocked the crap out of me for about a week and a half, and i was unable to do much of anything. However in the 3rd & 4th weeks I was able to do some games. I was selected to do the U16 Ontario championships and the Ontario Summer games tournaments, but I had turn down both of them as they were on the wrong weeks of my chemo cycle.Two weeks ago I had a CAT scan and when I visited the surgeon on Wed I had a Cystoscope and he said that there were no longer tumours in my bladder and the one on the outside was reduced in size. All great news but they are still going ahead with the bladder removal. It is scheduled for Sept 25 and it lasts for about 7 hrs and I will be in hospital for 7- 10 days with about a 6 week recovery time. In the meantime I have tried to stay active doing as much ball as I feel comfortable with. As a matter of fact I have a college softball game in 4 hrs. I just hope I don't suck. Just remember one thing, according to my Dr it was 40 years of smoking that was the sole cause of this cancer. Tony