Like Garth says...this ain't new!! "Thats a balk, no stop"...works everytime. Also, never use more than 5 words.

Endiclicker
 

At the last clinic, we were calling ball, strike and strike three. This last weekend, we were calling ball 1, 2, 3 and 4 with emphasis on ball 4. We were also numbering strikes 1, 2, and 3. I wonder if this has anything to do with a growing "get rid of the indicator" trend.

The proschools and Evans' Classics has had students doing this for years, with the caveat that this is for training purposes only.

Your "professional" instructors seem to be copying some of the proschool instruction methods.

Observations
 

1) Many participants were returning for the 2nd or 3rd time within the past 2-3 years, nearly half. One participant from Corpus Christi is now calling some TASO college ball after attending the clinic two years in a row. He commented how his assignor and coaches noticed him and how he surprised older TASO veterans. Ssssshhhh. The majority of participants felt it was well worth it, again.

2) One gentleman present was allowed to work the scissors stance throughout camp. There were about a 1/2 dozen youngsters, the youngest being 12. None were bald. One member in my group of 7 was bald. I believe he was a peace officer. Two umpires were planning to attend the Jim Evans 5-week school in the near future. One, as soon, as he graduates with a degree in criminal justice.

3) The group was much smaller than past years, almost 1/2. The Gerry Davis rep wasn't there either. The Honig's rep gladly stepped in to meet our needs. He practically brought a truckload of uniforms, equipment, shoes, and many other things. The TASO officials who were present stood up there with the rest of us. I guess the other local TASO and MSBL guys already know everything there is to know. Perhaps, the local TASO group also scheduled a mandatory meeting for this same weekend.

Something old, something new
 

Here is a term familiar to all baseball umpires: a trainwreck. I would like to introduce a new term I have learned for the same concept: tangle untangle. Sure was used alot this weekend when discussing interference and obstruction calls. I liked it.

" . . . tangle untangle."

Wow, join the majority . . . we've only used that term since the '75 Series with Fisk/Armbruster.

I guess some join the group late.

Regards,

I do not disparage your instructors. They sound very competent. However, I assume you haven't been to a quality clinic in a very long time, because nothing you've presented here so far is new.

But in no way do I mean to damper your enthusiasm. You remind me of my kids when they were young and assumed that they were the first to discover everything they discovered.

If you are learning to be a better umpire, I salute you.

To Borrow from Paul Harvey
 

Others who have used the term on this baseball site: THREE; umpyre007 in 2001, Carl Childress in April 2005 and CoachJM in May 2006. I surely read both the April 2005 thread and May 2006 thread at the time. The term just escaped my attention back then.

http://forum.officiating.com/showthr...angle+untangle

Quoting Mr. Childress, "Me: It seems so. "Tangle, untangle": Cute description that we don't use in the Southwest."

Papa C speaks for me. I couldn't have said it any differently today.