What Do You Want To Know?

[noumpere]

Not trying to be funny or a dick here. What if a pitcher has one of those stupid neoprene sleeve things on each arm/elbow and they match colors but he is wearing a short sleeved jersey or t-shirt that does not cover the neoprene thingies?

What do you rule? Haven't seen it myself but it could definitely happen and probably already has.

In college, they must be covered.  1-14.d AR

 

In FED, they need not be covered. 1-4-2, and some interp, iirc -- found it 2014, situation 17:

 

SITUATION 17: The starting pitcher comes to the mound to take his warm-up throws to start the game. He is wearing a compression sleeve only on his throwing arm. The opposing coach demands that the sleeve be taken off before the pitcher may pitch. RULING: A pitcher may wear a compression or medical sleeve on one or both arms that is any color, including one that is white or gray, provided it does not extend below the elbow. A doctor’s signed permission slip is not required. If the pitcher wears a sleeve that extends below the elbow, it can be worn on either arm, provided it is not white or gray or have white/gray on it. It also cannot be of a color or color combination that would be deemed distracting by the plate umpire. (1-4-2; 6-2-1i)

[Majordave]

Okay, thanks @noumpere.   In the spirit of where this thread is going with calling everything or not.  Do you call it in college if nobody is saying anything?  

 

I had a guy with about an inch or so of heat sleeve thingie peeking out from under his 3/4 sleeve undershirt sleeve on his throwing arm this past Saturday.  I did not say anything nor call anything, nobody else said anything.  Never heard a peep.  

 

(Note: This was lower level NAIA where strikes were definitely at a premium.  I work high school ball at the bigger power schools in MO and KS, and also did in KY, with better pitching than most of these NAIA schools I work.  Sometimes I wish they would let the pitchers take a t-shirt cannon out to the mound and shoot balls at the zone to get some legitimate freakin' strikes!)

[noumpere]

 

I had a guy with about an inch or so of heat sleeve thingie peeking out from under his 3/4 sleeve undershirt sleeve on his throwing arm this past Saturday.  I did not say anything nor call anything, nobody else said anything.  Never heard a peep.  

 

 

I would not call / correct that.

 

I have corrected when the "heat sleeve" was from bicep to wrist (about) and the other arm was just the uniform top ending at the bicep.

[Majordave]

Also on Saturday this college had some kind of Mo-Kan basketballl tryouts in the gym and we dressed in a locked locker room.  About 2/3 of these hoopers had sleeve thingies on their arms, legs, shins, thighs, etc. etc.  Most of them I think it was a fashion statement as they did not have muscles large enough to even stretch out the compression fabric and they were the light weight ones, not the heavy neoprene ones.  And, the gym was a sweat box, actually steamy/swampy air in the facility.  

 

I just laughed to myself and thought about David Bowie song "Fashion".

[noumpere]

You do not want to get into all the fashion police stuff we have to go through in basketball -- where mens are different from womens are different from HS.

[Welpe]

I finally read through this thread and am glad I did. It is a treasure trove of information. Thank you Jason for starting it and all of you who have contributed your wisdom to it.

[tcasterlin]

 

Most of these upper level assigners are pretty smart guys, so I doubt they would admit to age discrimination even if they were guilty of it.  However, age is probably used more as a tiebreaker anyway.  There's just no shortage of umpires with just as much rules knowledge, great mechanics, game management skills, etc that are 10-20 years younger than someone in their 40s and 50s.  Why hire the older guy - all other things being equal?  Not saying it's wrong - just that it's the way it is.

 

I think your comment about realistic goals is extremely valuable.  I'm a 48 year old varsity HS umpire, and know that NCAA D1 is out of my reach.  However, since I am in really good shape, and am extremely mobile, I think I have a chance at JC, NAIA and maybe D3 if I continue to improve and get seen by the right people.  I may put my name in for JC at the end of the 2015 HS season if I am getting the right feedback.

​That's exactly where I find myself.  I don't have any illusions that D1 is out there for me, my goal to to work the highest level of baseball that I am qualified to do and to get better every day.