cath el balón

[ricka56]

The Mickey Mantle World Series (U16) qualifier is being held here this week. Today I had a game with a team from Nortenos Guadalupe, Mexico. F2 understood enough English to give me his name (Samuel)...I'm on the dish. 2nd inning B turns to bunt, pitch is up and in, B withdraws bunt attempt, Samuel apparently thought B was going to bunt that pitch and doesn't bother putting any leather on it, and I take it square in the mask...broke open one snap on the throat guard. As I'm picking my mask out of the dirt, I say, "Samuel, you've got to catch THAT pitch"...Samuel replied, "no habla Inglés.".  I grab/shake his mitt and say, "CATCH THE BALL"...Samuel, "oh...sí"

[gnhbua93]

What mask you use?

[blue23ll]

He uses a broken one now

[ricka56]

What mask you use?

Actually, an old...not high tech...not light weight...not low profile (don't even know the manufacturer) mask, with team wendy pads. I think it came in an umpire starter kit that I bought some 15 years ago...only start-up piece that I still use.

It was a shot, but (IMO) the mass (weight) and the pads kept me from being injured.

[gnhbua93]

Actually, an old...not high tech...not light weight...not low profile (don't even know the manufacturer) mask, with team wendy pads. I think it came in an umpire starter kit that I bought some 15 years ago...only start-up piece that I still use.

It was a shot, but (IMO) the mass (weight) and the pads kept me from being injured.

​Listen complainers about the masks weight.

[MObetterBlue]

Man that fires me up when catchers don't even attempt to catch that pitch.  It's happened 5 or 6 times to me this year. 

The good catchers know not to let it by.  The bad catchers I straighten out like you did - "You HAVE to catch that pitch!"

Hijack alert - It's on my bucket list to cage dive with the great white sharks in Guadalupe.