Yes, but it only dangles when it's not being used.

Someone please tell Tim C that I didn't read his reply.

Nick
 

You are assuming I care.

Regards,

Okay, and after that should I tell Betty Lou that you like her?

God, what a juvenile.

Kids don't make me pull this car over!

But you obviously noticed that he did reply.....

OK Dave, I will admit that I can not prove my Dangler "saved" my life.

It does prevent me from being hit in the throat several times each season.

Throat injuries can go in many directions, but if it is serious, and there isn't someone right there who knows how to open your air passage, guess what ?

I have been hit in my Dangler by inside fastballs that never were touched by the catcher, at the Varsity and Adult level. I sure as heck don't want to find out if one of them would have seriously injured me.

My son used to make fun of me for wearing a dangler, until he got hit in the throat last season. It scared the crap out of him. Knocked him down, and he lost his breath for a few moments. He ended up with one heck of a bruise, and a new Dangler that he never works without. He prefers a Mask, by the way.

Safety first, looks second.

You know what? Up to now, I thought you were just whining about the dingle-dangle. But now that I read that your son got hit too leads me to believe just one thing. Neither one of you set up properly! Don't get pi$$ed off - just listen to me.

The way you set up seems to expose your throat to danger. Maybe your masks are the old style, maybe neither of you where the CP properly. But something is wrong here any you are using a dangler to cover it up!

Ozzy,
 

Nick wears an HSM WITH A DANGLER. . . and claims he gets hit SEVERAL times a season in the throat area.

Regards,

:eek: YGTBSM!

The only thing that I can see here is he must be using a hyper-extended scissors and set way too low! I can not see any other way unless he is a BS artist (and I don't think that is the case)!

Wear the DANGLER
 

A fellow umpire was also hit in the throat. It scared the crap out of him in pretty much the same way. He said he wasn't too sure he was ever going to get that breath back. One of them moments when a second seems to last much longer than a second. I have heard stories about a high-level NCAA college umpire (local assignor) taking a shot to the throat. It wasn't pretty either. Not sure how long it took him to recover from the serious blow. {Surprisingly, :D } I don't know if their mechanics were at fault.

Given the latest Fed POE on mandatory throat extensions, I find it ridiculous to ridicule someone for wearing one. It only takes one. I have taken many foul balls to the upper torso and mask, and a few to the the throat guard. I prefer the impact of the ball drilling my cheap plastic throat guard. I think it has something to do about the FORCE being spread out over a much larger area.

No argument here! I was hit in the throat by a bouncer my first year. Danglers were not available to my knowledge then. My stance was corrected the next day and almost 30 years later, that incident remains the only one!

Let me ask this. We get hit in the forearms on occasion. Should we all wear arm guards too?

in all fairness, a shot too the throat would be a more serious event than a shot to the forearm, i'm also a non user of a dangler, i would say this though, if one feels more comfortable than by all means i think they should wear one, after all confidence is a big part of the job.

steve

Well Not Everyone
 

Arm guards look funny. Caveats: It is pefectly okay to wear an arm guard after being hit in the forearm while the injury is healing. If you're psychic and know you're going to get hit on the arm, then wear an arm guard too.

One of the reasons I can't wear a HSM over my BIG head is the amount of HEAT generated. I guess I fear heat exhaustion more than being struck on the side or back of the head. Not everyone is as concerned about this as I am because some continue to wear the HSM. I would guess that they are more concerned about being struck on the sides and back of their head. HSM look funny too. Can't we get rid of them?

Hehehehe,
 

"Given the latest Fed POE on mandatory throat extensions . . . "

The "throat extension" is simply the extension that comes with all umpire masks. The wire extension. Danglers are not required or even mentiopned by the NFHS.

The "extension" comment came from the insurance company that handles the nation wide NFHS umpire insurance policy.

Regards,