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Death of a Baseball


SeeingEyeDog
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@Thunderheads, please pick up the plaid, U-E courtesy phone and inform the brotherhood their presence at a funeral for a baseball from my game tonight is humbly requested. Per U-E and global umpire tradition, the use of hats over hearts has been approved.

On a play at the plate, there was an overthrow that got by F2. One thing I have been working lately at the plate is remembering to work back towards the fences whenever the ball should take me there. As soon as it was past F2, I broke with it towards the fence...it took a crazy bounce and went into the dugout. I was so proud of myself. I was in the right position. I had a great angle. F2 even put his hands up to help me out. I took a deep breath to come up big because this was my first big moment in this game, right? And I wanted everyone to know, including Mamma Francesca two blocks away that I was all over this! And then? I said it, brothers. I said the words that we should never say...

"DEAD BALL! DEAD BALL! In the dugout!"

Don't worry...my partner attended to the other runners and their base advancement needs while I stood there in disbelief at what I'd said. The utter blasphemy. That poor ball. He never did anything to anybody...:banghead::smachhead::Facepalm:

I guess if one MUST do that, best to do it in a summer travel game than some state or prospect tournament situation...aiyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

~Dog

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6 hours ago, SeeingEyeDog said:

pick up the plaid, U-E courtesy phone

Plaid??!! Why would it be plaid?? You know it would be black... or maybe sky blue. If an old rotary phone, I suppose it could be navy blue...

6 hours ago, SeeingEyeDog said:

DEAD BALL! DEAD BALL! In the dugout!

You had all... (five, six, carry the two...)... seven words buzzing around in your head, jostling to pour out when you opened the taps to “come up big”??! :agasp_:

Yeah... one word. In this case, one word will do it all. One word to command attention and mark the end of official action and play.

”TIME!!”

 

... oh, mechanics-wise, you were spot on. Great job.

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15 hours ago, MadMax said:

Plaid??!! Why would it be plaid?? You know it would be black... or maybe sky blue. If an old rotary phone, I suppose it could be navy blue...

You STILL on about the Navy blue thing???  You won, man - not only is navy gone, but - God give me strength - light blue (color of softball) is up, too.

:D

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14 hours ago, HokieUmp said:

You STILL on about the Navy blue thing???  You won, man - not only is navy gone,

It's never gone, Hokie. Not until the day that 2BitOfficialsWareShed.com ceases carrying the last Cliff Keen navy shirts.

... or until the NFHS removes it from the Rulebook... 

... which it's now a turtle's race to see which they take out first, the "Instant Dead Ball on Balk" or the "Shall Be Navy Pullover Shirt".

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8 hours ago, MadMax said:

It's never gone, Hokie. Not until the day that 2BitOfficialsWareShed.com ceases carrying the last Cliff Keen navy shirts.

... or until the NFHS removes it from the Rulebook... 

... which it's now a turtle's race to see which they take out first, the "Instant Dead Ball on Balk" or the "Shall Be Navy Pullover Shirt".

Wait, what?  "Shall" be navy?  Here in South Tejas, I've been in two different chapters in '19 and (sort of) '20, and we were black in both, except as it gets hot(ter), where we do some light blue shade.  Am I missing something now?

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On 9/8/2020 at 10:49 PM, HokieUmp said:

Wait, what?  "Shall" be navy?  Here in South Tejas, I've been in two different chapters in '19 and (sort of) '20, and we were black in both, except as it gets hot(ter), where we do some light blue shade.  Am I missing something now?

I have many complaints about how HS umpiring is organized in TX, but the fact that everyone wears black or light blue is not one of them.

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Guys, @MadMax was referring to the NFHS rules specifically stating the following:

"10-1-9   Umpires shall wear gray slacks, and navy pullover shirt or state association-adopted shirt."

Some states have gone away from it (thankfully) but many of us are only allowed navy (meaning there is no state association-adopted shirt option). 

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@SeeingEyeDog did you have a funeral for the ball, or at least a quick moment of silence with caps removed? I've actually done the later on a field with a guy who was trying to break the habit of saying "Dead Ball" and used it on a hit by pitch when I was already in C (R2 only), I had a few seconds before I was going to have to do anything so I looked right at him stood at attention, removed my cap and bowed my head. We both had a good chuckle about it after as he admitted to having seen it and expected nothing less.

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LOL was standing observing a few weeks ago at the 1st base side near my UIC for the district just watching mechanics and etc.  Batter got plunked and the PU said "Dead ball"

 

LMAO both of us the UIC and me standing at the fence pulled off our caps and lowered our heads in a moment of silence for the ball.

 

I don't think anyone else caught our act. But both of us laughed at each other over it.  SIGH 

 

I have to admit  I am good at calling "TIME"  however when I find myself repeating "TIME, TIME, TIME"  to get the little tykes to stop action I have said in follow up "The ball is dead Time is out!"  Its weird but that is usually what gets them all to stop and listen.   Or at least the ones that are still playing.

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