Base(foot)ball

[kcfan102]

I was working last night, I had a double header with a brand new guy. He was a league officials and a coach for a number of years. He was also the coordinator of the best fall ball season we've ever had. When I asked him why he decided to umpire he said "Because I saw you guys workin last fall and you guys know your sh!t. I just thought it would be cool to do."

Very nice guy, and he did pretty well for his first night.

But the real reason for this thread is to find out if anybody else has seen this:

Instead of going though the sterotypical baseball signs, (nose, ear, shoulder, hat, bill, belt, hand, wrist, elbow, shoulder etc...) I had a team last night, last of our DH, and the third base coach call out "Black 58!" or "Orange 55!".

I was like HUT HUT HIKE!?

All of the players had those wrist bands that had all the plays in them.

Similar to this one, only isn't in Chinese:

I guess each "Black 58" or "Orange 55" was a different play, steal - fake bunt, hit and run, or what have you.

ANybody else ever hear of this happening on the (base)ball field?

Edited April 30, 2010 by kcfan102

[tjthresh]

Yes!

On offense and defense.

Oddest damn think I've seen.

What real fun to watch is having F1 set, the coach yelling defensive signals, and F1 having to step off to retrieve a piece of paper from his pocket to figure out what is going on.

[carolinablue]

:rollinglaugh:

[yawetag]

Never seen the armbands, but I've heard numbers yelled out.

Yesterday, every time the (only) leftie came up, F2's yelling "15! 15! 15!" Seems like it would easier to yell "Leftie!"

[yawetag]

he said "Because I saw you guys workin last fall and you guys know you're sh!t..."

I don't normally gripe on grammar, but did he mean "you guys know you are sh!t" (as in, you know that you suck) or did he mean "you guys know your sh!t" (as in, you know what's going on)? Could you even tell? :rollinglaugh:

[catoblue]

your, you're are bad enough, but the one that bugs me is: there, their, they're

Back to the OP... Never saw anything like it. Talk about going overboard, or maybe the coaches are too lazy to give signs or the players are too stupid to take signs!!! :rollinglaugh:

Edited April 30, 2010 by catoblue

[DirtyDawg]

My favorite is its & it's. It's too damn confusing knowing its meaning.

[Umpire in Chief]

A college coach started doing this a few years ago. I thought I had the news article here, but don't. I think it's a great idea.

I saw my first catcher using one, definately not that big, earlier this year and I think it is a goot thing and has potential to help speed up the game from thos annoying 20 second signal relays.

[kcfan102]

"Because I saw you guys workin last fall and you guys know your sh!t. I just thought it would be cool to do."

Forgive me.

[softballcoach]

One team I was the assistant coach on we'd use it every now and then for a pick off play at 3rd. We didn't use arm bands, just a number or a word telling f2 to throw to the f6 then back to f2 if the runner broke for home.

[DirtyDawg]

One team I was the assistant coach on we'd use it every now and then for a pick off play at 3rd. We didn't use arm bands, just a number or a word telling f2 to throw to the f6 then back to f2 if the runner broke for home.

We did that, too. Usually what it broke down to was any even number we were throwing to second and every odd number we did the short stop half way trick.

[dleavitt39]

I've seen the bands, but the worst one I've had, a team had a play called "blue"

For the first few innings, I'd hear "blue, blue, blue"...I'd call time, say yes coach...he'd look at me like I was an idiot. About the 5th inning roles around..."blue, blue, Blue, BLUE!!!!" I turn, he says "I want time"...I give him time, he goes talks to his pitcher....3 batters later "blue, blue, BLUE!!!" I turn, he again looks at me like an idiot.....

The sorry SOB didn't even figure it out...I was having too much fun to even point it out to him til after the game....had him the next day...play was now called orange...no more confusion...

DL

[Dragon29]

I've seen the bands, but the worst one I've had, a team had a play called "blue"

For the first few innings, I'd hear "blue, blue, blue"...I'd call time, say yes coach...he'd look at me like I was an idiot. About the 5th inning roles around..."blue, blue, Blue, BLUE!!!!" I turn, he says "I want time"...I give him time, he goes talks to his pitcher....3 batters later "blue, blue, BLUE!!!" I turn, he again looks at me like an idiot.....

The sorry SOB didn't even figure it out...I was having too much fun to even point it out to him til after the game....had him the next day...play was now called orange...no more confusion...

DL

Try doing a game with a player on team whose name was 'Lou' and a player on the other team being called 'Blue'

After an inning or so of this on both sides, I went to each manager (separately) and asked them to use my name if they needed something from me. One got it and did as I asked; the other? "Blue! Blue! I mean, Ump!"

[Paperipper17]

Try doing a game with a player on team whose name was 'Lou' and a player on the other team being called 'Blue'

After an inning or so of this on both sides, I went to each manager (separately) and asked them to use my name if they needed something from me. One got it and did as I asked; the other? "Blue! Blue! I mean, Ump!"

I hate that. And last night F2's last name was Bloom.

I started seeing the wristbands my sophomore year of college, Spring '08. we mocked them unmercifully. Now I see 10U teams using them. I personally think it's overkill. My college coach would definitely be considered a strategist; for example, we had six or seven different plays for 1st and third, ranging from pick to first to throw through, and nearly a dozen different plays for bunt situations, and a simple number system kept it all straight. No one had much trouble remembering the plays. Whatever place in the number your positional number was called told you what to do.

Still, I don't have a problem with it, until it starts to slow the game down because some rat is yelling "Razor 33!" with a man on third and one out when he's up by 12 and the pitcher calls time so everyone can look at their wristbands (True story). Or when a pitcher has thrown 10 straight balls and the catcher has to look at his to decipher the eight face touches the coach just sent in from the dugout and I'm thinking "If that isn't the sign for 'throw a strike,' I'm gonna be pissed."

[kwiggie]

I've seen the bands, but the worst one I've had, a team had a play called "blue"

Make a note of that Softballcoach, no plays that are refered to as "Blue!"

[moblue]

We have a family in my hometown whose last name is pronounced "blue" (although it's spelled nothing like it). I can think of three kids currently playing ball with that last name, and you eventually learn to tune out anything the coaches say with that word involved. If they want me, they'll yell "blue" several times. I need to remember to ask them to use my name to avoid confusion.

As to kids requesting time to look at plays, that problem could be quickly solved:

Coach: "Razor 33"

Pitcher: (stepping off the mound) "Time blue."

Umpire: "Nope."

Yes you'll get one, and only one, argument from the coach and/or player(s). You could simply tell them that the players need to memorize the plays, shorten the playlist, etc., but you are not going to let them constantly delay the game because they can't remember their own plays.

[Paperipper17]

As to kids requesting time to look at plays, that problem could be quickly solved:

Coach: "Razor 33"

Pitcher: (stepping off the mound) "Time blue."

Umpire: "Nope."

Yes you'll get one, and only one, argument from the coach and/or player(s). You could simply tell them that the players need to memorize the plays, shorten the playlist, etc., but you are not going to let them constantly delay the game because they can't remember their own plays.

I'm with you there. I stopped giving them time after the second time it happened. Unfortunately, they'd just continue on as if I had. I kept hoping R3 would just take off for home, but it never happened.

[yawetag]

As to kids requesting time to look at plays, that problem could be quickly solved:

Coach: "Razor 33"

Pitcher: (stepping off the mound) "Time blue."

Umpire: "Nope."

Yes you'll get one, and only one, argument from the coach and/or player(s). You could simply tell them that the players need to memorize the plays, shorten the playlist, etc., but you are not going to let them constantly delay the game because they can't remember their own plays.

If it's a Fed game, you can use the 20-second rule on pitchers, too.

[softballcoach]

Make a note of that Softballcoach, no plays that are refered to as "Blue!"

That wouldn't apply in my league, all the umps wear red shirts, so we call'em red. :smachhead:

[moblue]

If it's a Fed game, you can use the 20-second rule on pitchers, too.

Hey I didn't think about that for FED. Unlike OBR, that applies regardless of if there are runners on, correct?

[twjones]

I've never seen the entire team using them. However, I've seen several catchers use them.

[mstaylor]

The one time I saw them it was catcher/SS. They have both graduated so that idea went with them.

[Don]

It has been 10+ years since I stopped coaching but as far back as 15 years ago I was using a combination of colors and numbers to signal to players. It was like another language they all knew. Mostly used on 1st and 3rd situations and often it was enough for the other team to know that we were going to try something to prevent them from attempting a steal. A 1 in the sequence of 3 numbers means the catcher comes up and throws hard back to the pitcher. A 4 in the sequence meant a throw to F4 and and a 6 meant a throw to F6. The colors indicated whether I wanted a throw at all, a throw to retire the runner, or a throw that would be cutoff. I simply did not want an easy steal of 2B without trying something. Today, I still hear it a lot around here and mostly in the same situations. Coach calls it out and players repeat. Never had arm bands with plays on them. It was simple enough to remember at 10 or up ages.

[mstaylor]

I had a coach in a league that used to either call plays off state names or presidents names. Never seem to repeat himself so I asked him one day how set plays did he have that he was never repeating himself. He said, two, any president's name meant one play and any state was the other.

[yawetag]

I had a coach in a league that used to either call plays off state names or presidents names. Never seem to repeat himself so I asked him one day how set plays did he have that he was never repeating himself. He said, two, any president's name meant one play and any state was the other.

I'm hoping he never said "Washington." :smachhead: