Any comments on my plate stance?

[widac]

[critter]

the only thing i can think off on top of my heads move you hands of knees cause if the ball is hit foul and hits you it won't feel good.

[BrianC14]

Are you in the slot here? (tough to tell from the angles of the pics).

Overall I think it's good, but your head might be a tad high.

And this is just an aside, (nothing to do with stance) - next time you buy plate pants, have them hemmed a lot longer than what you have there. :rollinglaugh:

[Umpire in Chief]

It's difficult to tell from these angles. My only comment would be to keep your back more upright and not lean so much, but that's just a preference of mine.

[zm1283]

the only thing i can think off on top of my heads move you hands of knees cause if the ball is hit foul and hits you it won't feel good.

A lot of guys work like this. It's pretty common.

Please know what you're talking about before giving advice.

[frenchblue]

as warren said, just keep your back a bit straighter. other than that, you look really good .

nice gerry davis stance!!!! :meditation:

[willv28]

Yup. back stright. If I were to put my hands on my knees I would try to get them behind the shin guard if possible, not right on top of knee. In regards to the hem comment, just wear your gear when it you get fitted or fit yourself for a hem and it'll work out much better.

[Mr Umpire]

A lot of guys work like this. It's pretty common.

Please know what you're talking about before giving advice.

Actually, he's right. Get your hands off the knees. If the ball hits it, the hand has no where to go. It should be above the shin guards so it has a little protection and there is a little room to give when a ball hits it since the leg muscle will give more than the shin guard.

If you want a broke hand, keep it on that hard plastic shin guard.

If you want a chance for it to survive with just a bruise, put it on the leg just above the shin guard. This actually will do a couple of things for the stance. It will lower your head a little even if it is an inch or 2 as long as you keep your arms in the same position and don't straighten more to accommodate. And, if you keep your hands and arms the same distance from your body still while bringing back off of the knees, this will force your upper body into a more upright position. And, force you to get your bottom a little lower to bring the back down and get more upright to save the neck.

Basically, maintain your current arm positioning but pull them back from the front of the knees to just behind the shin guards with no accommodation for the change and lower your bottom more to get the "sitting in a chair" stance. This should lower your head, straighten your back to save your neck, and help PROTECT YOUR HANDS.

Plus, it looks like you have to bend your back backwards to accommodate the high bottom. If you bring your bottom down and get the bottom of your thighs parallel to the ground, you should be more comfortable in the stance and won't have to accommodate the leaning over effect caused by your high bottom. And, that alone should bring your head down as well.

Edited August 30, 2009 by Mr Umpire

[noumpere]

A lot of guys work like this. It's pretty common.

Please know what you're talking about before giving advice.

A lot of guys work like that, but I agree with the advice.

In the picture, the fingers are straight down the front of teh leg -- over the shin guard. Turn the hand so the thumb is on the inside of the leg, and the fingers are on the outside of the leg. The round top of the shin guard fits right into the rounded webbing of the hand between the thumb and index finger (or, if there's space, the webbing and knuckle of the index finger can slide behind the top cap of the shinguard.)

[HokieUmp]

A lot of guys work like this. It's pretty common.

Please know what you're talking about before giving advice.

It might be common, but that doesn't make it right. It's not what's taught, certainly not at pro school - does that make saying "don't do that" more palatable to you?

And the advice is still sound for avoiding injury. I used to do it, at one point - until I took a pitch directly on the hand. Since my hand had no where to go, except back into my stationary knee, it got hammered good. I managed to get the feeling back in my fingers about an hour later.

Does my training and personal experience allow me to hand that advice out?

[Umpire in Chief]

I agree with HokieUmp and the others, you've got to keep your hands protected. Your shin guards offer no cushion and a direct hit puts your hand literally between a rock (the baseball) hard place (shin guards). At least against your thighs there is more give.

I attached a pic of a recent game of me behind the plate. Not that I have the best plate stance. I am working on improving it. But you can take a look at my back and hands. I have my hands just above the top of my shins. Thumbs on the inside and fingers to the outside.

[critter]

It might be common, but that doesn't make it right. It's not what's taught, certainly not at pro school - does that make saying "don't do that" more palatable to you?

And the advice is still sound for avoiding injury. I used to do it, at one point - until I took a pitch directly on the hand. Since my hand had no where to go, except back into my stationary knee, it got hammered good. I managed to get the feeling back in my fingers about an hour later.

Does my training and personal experience allow me to hand that advice out?

lol i learn the hard way cause i did that myself before and i been trying to get used to my hands somewhere else. That is why i advice is from another umpire told me that i was doing it wrong or should of had my hands somewhere else.

[zm1283]

The way I read it, critter was saying not to rest your hands anywhere on your knees, legs, shin guards....anything. I agree that you shouldn't put your hands directly on top of your knee caps of your shin guards. I wasn't really arguing that. The way I read it, he was saying you shouldn't use your hands/arms to lock in at all.

My hands form a "cup" or a "C" and sit on my thighs right above my shin guards. My thumbs are inside my legs and my other four fingers are on the outside. No fingers are exposed this way.

[zm1283]

lol i learn the hard way cause i did that myself before and i been trying to get used to my hands somewhere else. That is why i advice is from another umpire told me that i was doing it wrong or should of had my hands somewhere else.

Do you not think you should put your hands on your legs at all? I agree that you shouldn't put them on your knee caps, but what about above the shin guards on your thighs?

[widac]

Thanks for all the input. When I first saw these pics I was surprised at how high my head was, I didn't think it was that high and will be more conscious of that in the future.

With all the talk about my hands and back let me just say this, this stance is VERY comfortable and locked-in. I used to work the heel-toe with the arm toward the batter across my belly and the arm behind the catcher straight down and a little behind the knee. This made it easier to get lower and kept my hands safer but I never felt locked in and it seemed to put a lot of stress on my back and knees.

I do get in the slot and I thought that I was protecting my slot-side hand better then these show. You can see that my left hand is less exposed then my right, but it's the same for the lefty as righty batter! For the LH batter my right hand is completely exposed. I agree that that is very bad.

Warren you don't look locked in to me in your pic.

Brian, what's with you and pant length?:wave:

[Umpire in Chief]

Even though (judging by the catcher not being set for the pitch yet) I don't apper to be in my final position for the pitch yet. I don't ever get to a point where I look as physically locked in as you do. But once I'm in my squat I feel locked in just the same.

[Kevin Finnerty]

Actually, he's right. Get your hands off the knees. If the ball hits it, the hand has no where to go. It should be above the shin guards so it has a little protection and there is a little room to give when a ball hits it since the leg muscle will give more than the shin guard.

If you want a broke hand, keep it on that hard plastic shin guard.

If you want a chance for it to survive with just a bruise, put it on the leg just above the shin guard. This actually will do a couple of things for the stance. It will lower your head a little even if it is an inch or 2 as long as you keep your arms in the same position and don't straighten more to accommodate. And, if you keep your hands and arms the same distance from your body still while bringing back off of the knees, this will force your upper body into a more upright position. And, force you to get your bottom a little lower to bring the back down and get more upright to save the neck.

Basically, maintain your current arm positioning but pull them back from the front of the knees to just behind the shin guards with no accommodation for the change and lower your bottom more to get the "sitting in a chair" stance. This should lower your head, straighten your back to save your neck, and help PROTECT YOUR HANDS.

Plus, it looks like you have to bend your back backwards to accommodate the high bottom. If you bring your bottom down and get the bottom of your thighs parallel to the ground, you should be more comfortable in the stance and won't have to accommodate the leaning over effect caused by your high bottom. And, that alone should bring your head down as well.

That is the gospel right there.

And an aside to it: Having your hand over your knee plate on a direct hit won't merely break your hand, it will shatter your fingers! You won't be able to type or shake hands for months!

The principal reason that we employ this type of stance is for getting locked in without having to be all tense in the legs, neck and back. It does leave our hands and wrists (one or the other, really) exposed on each pitch, but the rare blow makes all the relaxed squatting and good lock-in well worth the risk.

But take proper care to minimize the risk: Tuck your hands partially into the knee plate, or in the case of the triple-knee guards, the top plate. (Thumbs in, of course.) You'll never get more than a glancing blow to the back of the hand this way; no fingers or thumbs are exposed at all. And two other things it does: It locks you in even better (you never slip), and it tucks your elbows in next to your ribs, exposing the flesh and muscle rather than the elbow bone.

Edited August 31, 2009 by Kevin Finnerty

[widac]

The principal reason that we employ this type of stance is for getting locked in without having to be all tense in the legs, neck and back. It does leave our hands and wrists (one or the other, really) exposed on each pitch, but the rare blow makes all the relaxed squatting and good lock-in well worth the risk.

This states well how I feel about it. Also I only need one finger to type so I'm good.

[BrianC14]

Brian, what's with you and pant length?

It's a 'first impressions' thing; a "don't go out there looking like a dweeb" thing.

:agasp_:

[SNIPERBBB]

I prefer to not have my hands resting on anything. Keeping your hands loose when doing this keeps them from getting hurt, may sting for a second if the catcher forgets his/her responsibilities. Plus it offers a bit more protection of the inner thigh.

Edited September 2, 2009 by SNIPERBBB

[mstaylor]

The guys that rest your hands somewhere on your legs try to rotate them enough that if you do get hit it pulls your arm off your leg.

[Umpire in Chief]

And dont flare your elbows out.

[Nate]

Here are some of my suggestions from what I observe:

You'll probably not want to put both of your hands on your knees, we're not MLB umpires, so we do have to worry about looking fingers (arms too!).

Second, it looks like you're not in the slot. Remember it's heel to toe, meaning if you're in the left slot, your left foot's heal should be almost adjacent to your right foot's big toe.

Your back looks curved almost, big thing when working behind the plate is posture.

Other than that you're good, looks like you're locking yourself in there nicely, both pictures your head in in the same place, so that means your strike zone should be consistent for the whole game.

Nate

[Aging_Arbiter]

Here are some of my suggestions from what I observe:

You'll probably not want to put both of your hands on your knees, we're not MLB umpires, so we do have to worry about looking fingers (arms too!).

Second, it looks like you're not in the slot. Remember it's heel to toe, meaning if you're in the left slot, your left foot's heal should be almost adjacent to your right foot's big toe.

Your back looks curved almost, big thing when working behind the plate is posture.

Other than that you're good, looks like you're locking yourself in there nicely, both pictures your head in in the same place, so that means your strike zone should be consistent for the whole game.

Nate

It's the Gerry Davis stance (modified) so both hands are on knees.

Second, Heel toe is only 1 reccomended method, box, scissors, GD, etc. Whatever lets you be comfortable in the slot.

Agreed, back is curved, neck arched. Drop you butt and your back/neck will straighten out.

Other than that, I agree with Nate.

[widac]

Thanks guys. Please believe me, I am ALWAYS in the slot, no matter what else is going on.

On a side note I was watching one of the playoff games yesterday and thought "hey this guys stance looks like mine". Turned out to be Gerry Davis!:nod: