gun shy
 

I have been getting beat up behind the dish the past 2 weeks. I have good equipment and trust it, but have found myself flinching and bailing out on balls in the dirt. I have been umpiring for quite a while and cannot remember a time that I have been beat up so bad.
By the way these are high school aged kids. Any advice on how to stop the bailing out instinct?

I get beat up quite a bit too, and it can make you a little flinchy for sure.

What I do is tell myself (I get pissed at myself for being a wuss) to just sit there and relax and don't move. I tell myself that if I move, I might miss something important. I tell myself I have the best seat in the house, and there is no sense in moving from it. And I also tell myself that if someone was there evaluating me, I would be getting dinged for moving.

I moved from the scissors position to the heel/toe after a bad injury to my left elbow on a direct 90+ fastball hit. I now do as many MLB umpires do, and that is hide my hands and wrists behind my upper thighs, so the only exposed areas are the insides of the biceps and forearms.

Many people swear by the GD stance for safety too, although I'm not quite sold on it at lower levels where the catchers are a bit iffy.

Hope it helps.

I use the Gerry Davis stance and find that it does help me stay locked in position on everything except the high inside pitch that looks like it's coming right at my face. Even though 99% of the time the catcher reaches up and snags that pitch and it doesn't hit me, my instinctive reaction to that pitch is to flinch my head away.

To counter that tendency, I've adopted the imperfect solution of .... closing my eyes instead of flinching. The only downside is if the batter makes an offer at the pitch, I won't get a good look at whether he went or not. What I'm not worried about is calling the pitch - if it's up there in my face, in the "flinch-zone" then it's no strike, no way no how.

As discussed in other threads, the GD stance in a good slot position will keep you from getting battered (on flesh) too much. Most foul balls whiz by your ear, and the pitches in the dirt the catcher can't handle usually don't do anything but bounce off your shinguards or plate shoes.

Block a few shots on the ice...after that, having baseballs hurled at you won't see so bad...

so you trust it, but you dont?

check out the GD system. i rarely flinched beforehand since i was a catcher my whole life and was used to blocking the ball, but now in the GD i have no choice but to stay locked in. i love it.

I have a mantra I use, seems to help me from flinching--I just think to myself every once in a while,--"my equiptment is my friend, my equip...."

I use the GD stance and have taken 2 in the cup in the past week. Both were balls in the dirt that bounced up and hit me square. That is why I am bailing out.
Did a game tonight and took one right in the mask. Knocked my mask off and rung my bell. Has been a tough couple of weeks.:confused:

Three suggestions:

1. Move more into the slot, then the cupshots will become shinguard shots.
2. Loosen your mask straps - the mask will absorb more of the shock and the bell won't ring so much.
3. Get better catchers.

if getting hit in the mask really did ring your bell, dave's #2 suggestion should work. dont worry if the mask is coming off, worry if you head or neck hurt. you want the mask to take the force, not your neck. if the mask is flying off, thats good. if your head or neck hurts, loosen things up.

of course you need to make sure that your mask is still staying on your head when in a normal situation, but find that point where you can take a mask shot and just reposition your mask and say 'lets play' right away.

Of course there's not much he can do about Dave's #3 suggestion, unfortunately. That is usually the reason for getting beat up, not foul balls.

I use it all the way down to 13 YRO, and have been hit much less, and mostly on my equipment, rather than my arms.

Not much you can do about the cup shots off the ground, no matter where you stand. If they have your name on them, your gonna get hit.

If your tired of getting your Bell Rung, switch to an HSM. Then you will hope you get hit on the cage, rather than anywhere else. Really ! Since switching to an HSM (6 years ago), and getting hit on the button a few times, I no longer flinch at pitches headed for my Head. You just don't worry about it, because it doesn't hurt. And I am talking 90+ mph fastballs, and foul balls.

or he could do what i said...which is a free solution

You have still yet to produce any proof that a hockey mask protects better than a standard mask.

What more proof do you need other than umpires that wear the HSM telling you the truth? I've been wearing one the past 3 years and will NEVER go back to the traditional mask. Try one!

Luke, I don't see how it is even arguable. I got hit in the back of the head with a rebound from a backstop a couple weeks ago. Didn't feel a thing. Try saying that with a standard mask. I know you don't work games on fields that have rec center style wrap-around cages, but many fields here do, and foul balls hits you in the head once in a while:eek: .

I've found the best way to not worry about being hit is to just get in there and work the game. The batter might get hit. The catcher WILL get hit. Gear up, keep your eyes OPEN so you can see it and get it square in the mask instead of closing your eyes, flinching (or God help you TURNING YOUR HEAD), and keep a nice one pound New York strip steak in the freezer. IF you get hit, use it. If it's a good game and you get out one one piece, GRILL it!

im obviously not luke, but i am interested in this as well: put 2 umpires out on a regular old high school field with a regular backstop. id like to see how a HSM provides more protection there when put up against a properly adjusted original style mask. this is completely ignoring the vision differences, straight protection here.

sure, if someone delmon young's you when you arent looking in a regular mask, you might be bleeding from the ears, but other than that i just dont see a necessary protection increase

I've got an idea. Brian, since you love getting hit by the baseball anyway (I remember vaguely being young myself), why don't you borrow an HSM and go to the batting cages and do a Happy Gilmore experiment, letting shot after shot hit you in the mask. Then switch to your regular mask and take an equal number of shots to the grill. Then get back to us with your results.

One thing is for sure. I've had my regular mask spun around, knocked completely of my head, and also felt many straight on hits which actually rang my bell pretty good over the years.

In 3 seasons with the Mizuno Tsunami HSM, I have yet to feel any of the many shots I've taken to the mask. It's loud, but painless. I know of umpires who have been knocked out (cold) briefly by foul balls into regular masks, but have never heard of a single one hurt wearing an HSM.

huh...?
this is here just to satisfy the character requirement

in another thread you said you would take your bruises and love it, or words to that effect, like you enjoyed the pain of getting hit by the ball. then i said something like wait till your my age and see how you feel after 20 or 30 years of umpiring. remember now?

Tried it. Didn't like it. It felt heavy and hot and did not improve my view of balls and strikes. (However, it did improve my view of areas where I've never seen pitches go.) I went back to my mask.

I know there are those who swear by them. That's okay. I'm not on an anti-HSM campaign. Just understand that they are not for everybody.

Agreed.

Just trying to get others that have never tried the HSM to try one before judging one. You have done that and prefer the traditional.

They are hotter in the summer, IMO.

My partner came to my game last night with a brand spankin' new HSM. He praised the comfort, the larger cone of vision, and the coolness. He didn't quite have the technique down, as he tried to pull it off in situations where he should not have. However, in the seventh inning of this 16-17 y.o. game, he took a shot to the helmet. I never thought I would see this before -- but the ball somehow hit the wrong spot of the HSM and the mask dropped to the ground. He was hurting the rest of the game. I won't be switching anytime soon.

I am having a problem visualizing this. How did the mask simply "drop to the ground?" Did it get knocked off his head? They don't come off that easy. What is the "wrong spot of the HSM?"

Also, what situations don't you remove the helmet, just like you would a regular mask?

Was his head inside it at the time? This is really important.

I have been hit in the cage while wearing a Mask...I have been hit in the cage wearing an HSM.

There is no pain, head snap, or ringing in your years with an HSM.

This is the testimony of a product user. I don't run Bell Labs, so I can not perform a scientific test study for you.

But please, don't take my word for it. Keep wearing a mask. I like the way your eyeballs spin in your head when you get hit. :p

I don't believe it this is the entire story.

Either your not telling the truth, or he didn't have the HSM straps properly engaged. I have been hit from every angle you can get hit from (without turning your head), and my HSM has never budged.

So if I got into a car accident driving a Ford and didn't get hurt, and I got in a car accident while driving a Oldsmobile and broke my arm, it would be okay for me to go around telling everyone that the Ford car is much safer than the Oldsmobile? There is a reason car safety is not evaluated by these standards, and professional tests are done instead. The protection provided by different types of mask is no different.

I have seen a MLB umpire get knocked to the ground after getting hit in the head while wearing a hockey mask.

Bad analogy. Car accidents have too many variables. Try again.


Yes, but it was by an Assistant Coach, using a Thunder Stick. :(

Really though, we aren't talking about MLB pitchers here. We are talking primarily HS and under. But in any case, I'll take my chances in an HSM. Knowledge is power, and I am very powerful in my HSM !