Alfanso Marquez
 

Anyone see the Cubs game the other day? Alfanso Marquez was the HP Umpire. What for weird throat guard was that on his mask?? looked like a wire frame or something?? I noticed, and it looked weird.

So what. I notice these things.

Dan: Ive noticed this too..well before you noticed Mr. Marquez's throat guard.

Really? All I perceived was an inexperienced little league umpire who asks a lot of questions. A fake? I don't think he's faking anything.

138 posts since he joined on July 14, 2006. Is this a record?

Bob

May not be a record, but it is a pattern we've seen before.

I'm begining to wonder about LLPA13UmpDan. I've concidered that he is a very inexperienced LL umpire but I just don't know! :(

For what it's worth, which can't be much, from what I can remember he's had it for his 6+ years of service in MLB. I can't really question the "weirdness" of his throat protector, if it makes him feel safe -- more power to him.

If you feed the trolls, the terrorists have already won.

In Dan's first post he stated that this was his first year and he's 15 years old. Keep that in mind and give the kid a break.

His questions may seem amateurish to some, but that's exactly what he is.

Okay, I found the first post and "waltjp" is right. He stated that he was new and 15 years old.

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Posted By LLPA13UmpDan
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Hey Guys...I was sent here by another member. My name is Dan, im 15. From Milton, Pa. I umpire in PA LL District 13. This is my first year of umpiring, and ive gotten allot of experience early. ...

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Sorry if I doubted you, LLPA13UmpDan but there have been way too many fakers around here lately. That's wy I dug up your 1st post so everyone could see it.

Amen from the bobble-heads!

True -- but there have also been experienced umpires masquerading as novice umpires. I'm not saying that's what Dan is, but the pattern fits. Dan can change the pattern if he is who he says he is.

You may be proved correct. Time will tell.

Marquez
 

To answer the original question; He has the Mizouno mask from Japan and it does not come with a throat protector so it was modified. I know this because I have a friend that has one and that is what he has done with his mask. BTW the mask is the lightest mask I have ever picked up, and you can only get them from Japan.

David

What i was insinuating was what type is it? Ive never seen one of those. So what if i do Little League. Im in this game for the love of the game, not for the money.

Dan,

There's nothing wrong with doing this for 'love of the game' but it's also nice to make a few bucks while doing something you enjoy. There are several here that work LL baseball, me included. I don't know of anyone who umps LL exclusively.

If you're happy doing LL only, fine. Be the best you can be. But you'll probably find that you'll learn a lot more and work with better umpires when you work games outside of LL. That's not a knock on LL. That's just the way it is.

I remember a thread a few months back about these masks. I don't recall if it was here or another forum, McGriff's maybe? If I remember correctly they won't ship the mask to the US.

Try here.

http://www.umpire.org/modules.php?na...wtopic&p=27987

Thanks,
 

That link works great.

Of course now I know I have pronounced the company name in correctly for so many years.

It is Mizno (in Japan).

Thanks

http://www.rakuten.co.jp/bbtown/5430...742473/742035/


The company is called BBTown. In Japan, they use the term "Judgement equipment" The mask runs about $150.00 USD + shipping[big$$]. Mizuno also just came out with the same mask, but with a throat guard.

http://www.rakuten.co.jp/bbtown/5430...742473/742036/

Hope this helps Tim...................Chris

Okay, you love the game. Wouldnt' you, then, want to contribute to it at a quality level? Shouldn't you, then, feel an obligagtion to improve, get proper training and actually read a rule book?

Wouldn't be better to listen and think about what experienced veterans have to offer instead of dismissing them outright, or, just as bad, offering your, at times, unfounded opinions as being equally valid?

Or does doing Little League for the love of the game mean you don't have to be good?

For the record
 

Not that I'm a very frequent poster, but in thirteen years of umpiring, I have only worked LL games. FWIW.

I will note that many of the best umpires I work with also do a fair amount of non-LL umpiring, but I'm not sure how strong a trend that is.

No Garth, I try to be good and do my best. I already have rule books. Why mock on other officials becasue "We do lower level games" Heck, theres some LL umpires out there that if they would have gone pro, they would be the instuctors, not instuctees. And LilLeaguer, its not that stong of a trend. Just beause you do ASA, high school, college, or what ever level, does NOT make you a better umpire. Some people like to think that, but it is not true.

Fwiw
 

Laying down $150 for a TM may not improve your judgement. :D

What do you mean my "if they would have gone pro"? Are you saying these LL umpires were offered pro jobs but turned them down because they only work because of their love of the game? And I would hope that a pro umpire would be able to instruct at some LL clinic in Penn.

Stop kidding yourself. One can only become so good while working only 12 year old games. I'm sorry if you feel otherwise, but that is a fact.

When I first started out (as all the top dawgs in our association and area did) a lot of us did the little guys (11, 12 year olds, ect.) In my opinion and experiences Luke is right (as he usually is). There is NO comparison between some Little League game and a "good" game of shaving age players.

Your opinions may vary.

1. I did not mock LL umpires. I tried to make the point that if you love doing LL then you owe it to yourself and LL to become the best umpire you can.

2. My experience is that if one is good enough to do something, they usually do. Coulda woulda shoulda is meaningless.

3. No one will become the best umpire they can be by working nothing but LL. That's a fact.

4. Like it or not, experience will make one a better umpire.

Actually,
 

Garth usually leaves the mocking of Little League Umpires to me.

Dan, you are showing the "I know everything" button on your chest. While it is easy for me to ignore you and not try to help you many others are far kinder than me. You will learn from this site if you learn to listen, take your time and accept correction.

First, you need to recognize that things you say are just silly.

Check your comment about "these little league guys coulda" . . . no they couldn't that's why they are doing what they do.

Working Big Boy ball is far more difficult to be really good . . . and you'll eventually figure that out.

If I were you I would listen real well to Garth . . . he has first hand experience in taking a young umpires to very high levels, very fast, and with a great skill set . . . but, alas, you already know it all.

Regards,

Your posting pattern here shows you are ignorant of the most basic rules of baseball and the most basic of mechanics.

Perhaps you should open your rules books, read more, and talk less.

You just don't "go pro" as an umpire. The odds of being offered a job out of school are considerably less than one. Those umpires here who work HS and college games likely have quite a bit more experience than you do.

BTW, I work quite a few LL games during tournament time -- from Minors up through Seniors. You will never be a top umpire only working Little League games.

*snort*....you owe me a new keyboard. :p



What's entertaining about this forum is that as soon as one is spanked and put to bed, another one arrives to take his place.....

What experience should we seek?
 

Fair enough.This is silly. As a college student, I was good enough to achieve a bachelor's degree in English, American History, and given enough motivation, probably Math. I chose not to.It's a fact that doesn't mean anything without an agreed measurement of umpire quality, but possibly true. I submit that no one will become the best umpire they can be by working nothing but any single level of baseball, including MLB. Agreed again. But the regulars on this board don't really follow an ecumenical path. For example, I could assert that working some softball would be an experience that helps you become the best umpire you can be. (I've seen a rising fastball, for example. If any overhand pitcher ever throws one, I'll be able to track it and call it correctly.:) ) We all pick our spheres.

As a LL umpire, I've worked 8U to 16U (probably JV HS level) ball. At district and state tournaments, I've seen quite a high quality of play and managed games under pressure. I've worked with umpires better than myself and learned from them, and I've taken all of the local (association-level) training available.

I have a number of ways I could improve, but the only experience I think I desire right now is managing games with professional coaches who know how to work the game against umpires. LL volunteer managers don't really present much of a challenge.

Wow, you think that you can jump from LL to professional managers? They will eat you alive, little boy! Hell, from the way you have been acting, you wouldn't survive 3 innings of a High School Varsity game. And you are here trying to hit with veterans that go from LL right up to MLB? Kid, you need to slow down and really think about what you are saying!

Well everyone, I thought that I was wrong about this one, but it is clear that Dan here is the most experienced 15 year old, LL umpire around. He should make it to the LLWS next year and he will head down to FLA to attend one of the pro schools real soon. We veterans will all suck wind when we see him in the Majors in 2 years - he'll still be a brat but he will have attained all of our respect!

:mad: :mad:

In a pig's eye! ------------------ Tee was right and I'm done with this one!

I'm not Dan
 

And I'm not a fifteen year old first year umpire. You have me confused with somebody else. I hope that you'll give me a second chance; I've learned from your responses to my past posts.

If I recall, LilLeaguer is not only not a boy, she's a woman, am I not correct?

tisk, tisk, tisk........
 

Does anybody notice a pattern here? I find it ridiculous that the so called Sages of the Internet feel the need to gang up on a fifteen year old kid. Makes me wonder who the adults really are........:(

Then we will never know if you were good enough will we?

Having the motivation, dedication and willingness to go through the steps necessary to accomplish something is just as important as possessing the potential.

Again, coulda - woulda- shoulda are meaningless. Performance is what counts.

1. Attempting to help is hardly "piling on."

2. You have made an assumption that LLDan is really a 15 year old.

3. Regardless of age, as I used to tell young trainees, "I will not treat you as kids, I will treat you as umpires."

Me too.

The colors, the colors.........:p

Ok, Ok, Ok . . .
 

I tried and failed. Honest I tried. But, not unlike a reformed heroin junky that has failed, I can't help myself:

LLDan intoned:

"Heck, theres some LL umpires out there that if they would have gone pro, they would be the instuctors, not instuctees. And LilLeaguer, its not that stong of a trend. Just beause you do ASA, high school, college, or what ever level, does NOT make you a better umpire. Some people like to think that, but it is not true."

This statement ties for the dumbest statement ever made on the internet.

Regards,

Poor Alfonzo Marquez and his wire throat protector. Look what has become of his thread.:p

I think that most (albeit not ALL) of the time, you are not being mocked for only doing LL ... you are being mocked for posting inane answers to other posters' questions, and then acting as if your opinion is as valid as someone else's. You need to recognize that it's not. Not because you only do LL (or at least not ONLY because of that), but because your answers are simply wrong, and sometimes scarily wrong.

There's a REASON that so many who have read most of your posts keep using the phrase, "You need to read the rulebook." It's because you don't appear to have done so, based solely on what you have posted.

Dan --

This post, among others, is what I meant by "you can change the pattern."

I'd encourage you to do so.