Is this the room where the dirty umpire goes to change clothes?:rolleyes:

Yes we do have the odd Chuck E Cheese in Canada, but I am getting a bit old for that kind of thing, plus that is somewhere I would be more likely to go after a game.

Maybe that's how you do things in Maine. Where I am, we go to the field about 10 minutes before game time, check the equipment, hold a very short plate meeting, and start the game.

When we arrive (about 30 minutes before game time), we notify game management (normally the home coach) that we are there.

That reminds me of the time I saw an umpire running to the ball diamond, in his plate equipment, trying to get there as fast as possible so as not to be late for ground rules. When he gets there his partner informs him that he is actually doing bases.

What kinds of equipment do you check? I would only have an issue with equipment if somebody appealed it (ie illegal bat, grey or white pitching glove, white sleeves, etc.).

Same here. Arrive game-minus-30, make a cpl phone calls if partner is not there by game-minus-20, suit up, enter field, equip check at game-minus-10, play ball.

FED and NCAA require we check bats and helmets for wear/damage. We do it every game. We always go as a crew to each dugout, together.

In Ohio, teams must have bats with the BESR certification mark, and helmets with the NOCSAE logo imprint, in addition to checking for unsafe equip (cracks, dents, ect)......

That's not how we do things in Maine. In Maine at least for most associations, we do things in the manner Rich described. Most umpires arrive 45 minutes before game time, if you're not there by 20 minutes before, if you had the plate, you don't have it now.

Up north where the schools are very spread out, sometimes its impossible to get to a game 30 minutes before but the effort should be made. Showing up anything less than 30 minutes before a game is something that makes me sick to do. 45 to 60 is my comfort zone, especially for freshman and above. Lower levels 30 minutes is fine.

Sigh! Here in the USA, if we are working a game with FED rules, we are required by rule to check the bats & helmets. It sounds like you are not doing High School games there in Canada, are you?

wmblue. Please don't try to speak for everyone is Maine. I agree with what you are saying about arrival times, I arrive at least 30-45 minutes before games, if work time allows, but never less that 15 minutes. I also agree what has been said that an umpire should not be sitting in the stands waiting for his partner. He should, most likely be in or by his car reading the rulebook.

I also agree about your 20 minute time limit, but, if my partner hasn't shown up with 10 minutes before game time, I will assume that I will PROBABLY be doing this game alone and start prepping for the game, walking the filed, checking equipment, etc. I will not, and am sure that not too many others will wait for an appeal or for someone to be hurt by inappropriate or damaged equipment like some others. If & when my partner finally shows up, then we will, at least, be that far ahead in getting the game started.

It has been said that some will never enter the field without his partner. Sometimes you may not have a choice. Leaving the field with your partner is a different story

This my be just a personal decision and not related to any one particular association, but that's the way that I do it, and several other people in our District do it the same way and I have done it this way for a long time and not just in the state of Maine.

No, I don't do high school games. I think it's unfortunate though that you are required to check equipment before a game; they sure don't do that in the major leagues, most likely because it is up to the teams to decide if any of their equipment is old and worn out.

The major leagues are comprised of adults.

We check helmets for cracks and other weaknesses that render them ineffective and risk injury to players as well as making sure they have proper approval for use.

We check bats for legality as well as safety issues.

I don't believe it is unfortunate that the safety of players is a concern here. Some teams require players to provide their own helmets and bats and are not directly involved in their maintenance. If umpires were not required to check these prior to games, many would never be checked out during an entire season.

CanadaUmp:

It is a requirement because bats and helmets are a safety issue in the NFHS rules. And quite frankly, checking bats and helmets is no different than walking the playing field to check for safety hazzards. Trying to compare MLB to H.S. baseball is like trying to apples to oranges, it cannot be done.

MTD, Sr.

Correct. In the past, I have thrown out 3 catcher's HSMs in one game.

As another poster mentioned forget about comparing MLB to what we do.

In a way I happen to agree with you. I fully understand the safety concerns regarding faulty equipment but the onus should be on the coaches. if a player does come to bat with faulty equipment we simply enforce the rule. if it's an illegal bat we toss the bat and record an out.

I do not know what the insurance costs or lawsuit percentages are in Canada, but here in the US most of these safety issues did come about because of insurance / lawsuit issues.

In reality it doesn't take that long to inspect the bats/ hats. The coaches are instructed to have all the bats / hats laid out for us and we inspect them for proper LOGO requirements (ie BESR certified) and also remove any bats/ helmets that are cracked or in the case of metal bats dented.

this 5 minute task (if that long) can save an umpire a possible lawsuit should something happen because someone got injured using faulty equipment.

Pete Booth