2024 MLB and/or MiLB Umpire Manual Availability?

[West Coast Umpire]

Hey everyone,

In the before COVID times, the MLB and MiLB Umpire Manuals were reasonably well available for purchase.  Since then, it seems like ABUA (the best source for the official MLB rule book and the MLB Umpire Manual) has gone out of business and of course, MLB has taken over PBUC so there are no publications available through the usual sources like Ump Attire or Gerry Davis.  I love reading these publications so am wondering if anyone has any sources.  I've tried writing to MLB but have had no response and Google equally turns up nothing.

Thanks!

[Velho]

From talking to a MiLB umpire the manuals are being rewritten. ETC is TBD.

[West Coast Umpire]

That's good to know.  There's a ton of room for improvement in both of them.

[johnnyg08]

It would be great if these became available again. 

They used to have an MiLB store on MiLB.com which was sweet. 

[Marcus6]

On 5/6/2024 at 12:31 PM, West Coast Umpire said:

Hey everyone,

In the before COVID times, the MLB and MiLB Umpire Manuals were reasonably well available for purchase.  Since then, it seems like ABUA (the best source for the official MLB rule book and the MLB Umpire Manual) has gone out of business and of course, MLB has taken over PBUC so there are no publications available through the usual sources like Ump Attire or Gerry Davis.  I love reading these publications so am wondering if anyone has any sources.  I've tried writing to MLB but have had no response and Google equally turns up nothing.

Thanks!

Does @DerekGDS have any insights?

[DerekGDS]

Ump Attire carries the 2024 MLB ruleset here: https://www.ump-attire.com/Products/MLB-OBR/2024-Official-Major-League-Baseball-MLB-Rulebook

Gerry Davis Sports does not carry any of the physical manuals.

[johnnyg08]

Yeah, we can get the OBR pretty much anywhere. 

[The Man in Blue]

Heck, most of the rule books are available for free in .pdf form . . . the way it should be.  (Looking at you NFHS.)

It's those cryptids known as "the manuals" that elude us.  We can never actually see them, although we are expected to know everything in them so we can call a game the way some guy in an office wants.

[johnnyg08]

20 hours ago, The Man in Blue said:

Heck, most of the rule books are available for free in .pdf form . . . the way it should be.  (Looking at you NFHS.)

It's those cryptids known as "the manuals" that elude us.  We can never actually see them, although we are expected to know everything in them so we can call a game the way some guy in an office wants.

There was a good run of years where they were readily accessible for purchase online. Then folks decided to gate keep. 

[The Man in Blue]

4 hours ago, johnnyg08 said:

There was a good run of years where they were readily accessible for purchase online. Then folks decided to gate keep. 

But we want people to get into the field!

[dumbdumb]

best you might find as a second choice is major league umpire media guide which is up on stevetheump to peruse at your leisure. view those new numbers handed out and see if 107 and 114 are still there or moved to a new number in another section.

or, somehow go to the umpire school or to the wendelstedt camp and have him show you (not for keeps probably) the one (major league umpire manual) he has, unless there is no such thing anymore. 

[johnnyg08]

32 minutes ago, dumbdumb said:

best you might find as a second choice is major league umpire media guide which is up on stevetheump to peruse at your leisure. view those new numbers handed out and see if 107 and 114 are still there or moved to a new number in another section.

or, somehow go to the umpire school or to the wendelstedt camp and have him show you (not for keeps probably) the one (major league umpire manual) he has, unless there is no such thing anymore. 

Gatekeeping at its finest. 

I had a good run of getting one every year for many years until Jimmy & Jason stopped selling them. My most recent one is 2020. 

[Velho]

On 6/14/2024 at 12:05 PM, dumbdumb said:

best you might find as a second choice is major league umpire media guide which is up on stevetheump to peruse at your leisure

http://www.stevetheump.com/reports/2022 Umpire Media Guide.pdf

[johnnyg08]

9 hours ago, Velho said:

http://www.stevetheump.com/reports/2022 Umpire Media Guide.pdf

Thanks. It's not what I'm looking for but it is something.

[dumbdumb]

8 hours ago, johnnyg08 said:

Thanks. It's not what I'm looking for but it is something.

compare that 22 edition and this 24

https://www.stevetheump.com/reports/2024_Umpire_Media_Guide.pdf

[Velho]

1 hour ago, dumbdumb said:

compare that 22 edition and this 24

Ooohhh, nice. Thanks. 2022 is what came up on google for me still. Nice to have latest and greatest.

[The Man in Blue]

See . . . @Velho is posting pictures of his junk . . . we are back to this becoming a lame dating site!

[834k3r]

On 6/21/2024 at 7:47 PM, The Man in Blue said:

See . . . @Velho is posting pictures of his junk . . . we are back to this becoming a lame dating site!

Well…at least it’s junk in a garage and not junk in a (the) trunk.

[concertman1971]

@Velho if you have a head unit for an 87 Buick Lesabre in there, let me know!

[MadMax]

On 6/21/2024 at 9:47 PM, The Man in Blue said:

we are back to this becoming a lame dating site!

Some guys in our profession are so old, it’s carbon dating that’s the applicable term. 

[The Man in Blue]

On 8/1/2024 at 10:34 AM, concertman1971 said:

@Velho if you have a head unit for an 87 Buick Lesabre in there, let me know!

 

Buick Lesabre?  I think there may be an actual sabretooth tiger in there! 

[BLWizzRanger]

I would bet money there is a Commordore64 or an Apple IIe in there.

[Richvee]

I want to see that unit in an episode of "Storage Wars" 

[Umpiresrock74]

On 6/16/2024 at 9:31 AM, johnnyg08 said:

Thanks. It's not what I'm looking for but it is something.

Ask Lindsay at @LindsayCCS, she has a copy i think.