[Goose]

M&Mguy,

I feel your pain. I've had to do it plenty, and it's never a pretty site, at least from my perspective.

Now, doing the plate. I used to do slowpitch men's softball and was sent to do a company league. Get there and find out it is modified-fast pitch, i.e. women are playing so no full windmill allowed. Still the ball is humming quite nicely.

Great! Pay is like 30 bucs and I'm thinking no problem. That is until I don the mask and crouch down behind the plate....then I think "Oh Sh**, no CUP!" Then a bunch of what if's run through my head...no CUP! I did the whole game with my hand between my legs. Figured a broken hand was better than broken, well you know what.

Anyway, your comment about getting hit in the toes struck a cord with me, and it wasn't my toes I was worried about either. And I know all about it since I did spend a summer behind the plate catching. Gave me a new appreciation for baseball catchers though.

goose

p.s. I was umpiring an all womens slow pitch league game and my partner who was doing the plate was hit by a foul tip. Hit him in his ballbag. Not THE ballbag but the ballbag plate umpires use to hold extra game balls...You see where this is going. Anyway, I'm out by the pitcher, a pretty thing to boot, and the ball hits him square. No problem. I yell in, "are you hurt?" He yells, and I mean yells back, "No, it only hit me in the BALL BAG!" At that moment, the whole infield cracks up laughing along with both benches, including me! He was clueless. Inbetween innings, I asked him did he realize what he said? At that point he got it, as well as turned about 4 shades of red!