Why that's outrageous! I would never call you cheap!!!:)

At least in my case, I wouldn't have to worry about the direction: symettricality rules! :)

Andrew (#40)
http://www.cbc.ca/cestlavie/images/canada_flag.gif

Or the very symmetrical flag of the French military:

http://www.worldpeace.no/filer/White-Flag.jpg

Hilarious!!! :D

Ahhh, France. They're always there when they need us. :rolleyes:

Symbolic of their worth.. in recent days.

They laid it out flat at the Sugar Bowl tonight so I guess the Flag Rules are not well known or simply ignored.

http://www.ushistory.org/betsy/faqs/q07.htm

I umpired in the minor leagues (not as a replacement, either). I wore black ball bags my entire minor league career. Being in the minors, that obviously meant I wore them with a navy pullover shirt.

As an aside, a brief viewing of the pictures at:

http://www.umpirepictures.com/

showed that some of the IL umpires last season wore a black ball bag with their navy shirt, and some wore blue.

Also, I was never deducted on any evaluation for wearing black ball bags.

Simply put, you are 100% incorrect in stating that black ball bags are innappropriate with a navy shirt. Quite the opposite, the black bag was the bag of choice for many MiLB umpires.

What is this signal used for? Is it to remind the PU he has the tag up of R3?


http://www.umpirepictures.com/Pictur...07_6%20093.jpg


Tim.

I'm sure that this is a picture of that crew reminding one another of the first-to-third rotation as you suggested. I don't know how many runners are on base...but it does appear that U1 is in "B"...so the runners are either at first or first and third...which means the PU could rotate to third.

I believe the IL umpire being referred to wearing black bags is Lance Barksdale. If I am not mistaken, he is an MLB alternate or reserve or whatever they call it. That could be the reason for the black bags, i dont know, just my blind stab at it...

The reason is because that color is his personal preference. At the time of the picture Barksdale was, indeed, a MLB reserve umpire. He's now the #1 umpire on the current permanent MLB roster (alphabetically speaking, of course).

When I was on the Air Force honor guard we routinely carried the flag horizontally just before folding it.

As a general rule, the union (stars with blue background) of your flag patch should be worn closest to your heart, if you choose to wear one. That being said, it is technically improper to wear a US flag patch on an umpire's shirt as it is a violation of the United States Flag Code. If you wear one anyway, the best place is probably on the front of your shirt, with the union closest to your sternum. It is also okay to wear it on one shirt sleve, a couple of inches from the shoulder seam. If you chose to do this, make sure the union is pointing forward. The picture of the umpire with the black ball bag demonstrates how not to wear a flag patch. (You may have to do a little searching for the proper patch if you want to wear it on your right sleve.) The patch should NEVER be worn on the back of the shirt. (I was very disappointed with the MLB's patch placement following 9-11.) When in doubt as to proper flag display, contact a representative of your local VFW or American Legion.

If it's worn on the front of your shirt the union should always be to the left as you're looking at the flag. The only time the union goes to the right is on sleeves and vehicles/aircraft.