Clicker Question
 

Say, folks -

What hand to you hold your clicker in? The right? The left?

Thanks,

Shmuel
:confused:

I don't use a "clicker", I use an indicator (mandated by the HS association) and it is held in the left hand.

Got it. Thanks.

Shmuel

Also known on this forum as an "indiclickercounter."

This little sucker is capable of tracking balls, strikes and outs. It also has the unique distinction of creating many threads on whether to use or not use one.

Some will say it's use is mandated by their HS association, willed by their great great grandfather, included in their constitutonal "Right To Bear Arms", and even used because their wifes said they had to.

But, if one must, put it in your left hand, learn how to change the little wheel without having to look at it every other second or pitch, and then ditch the sucker and use that beautiful part of your body called your brain. My two cents, my preference.

I carry mine with me, but stopped using it when there is a scoreboard with operator. When I do use it, left hand!

It was liberating to stop using it! It forced me to pay attention to the count after every pitch!

And what if the scoreboard operator is sleeping most of the time?

I use an indicator but only as reference. I keep the count in my head, too.

How else would you use it?

remind me to think through my thoughts completely before posting.

I don't look at the indicator frequently. I keep the count in my head, for the most part. When there's a lot of runner action after a pitch, I sometimes need to check my indicator, as a reference.

I was using the 4 wheel indicator that had balls ,strikes, outs and innings on it. A fellow I was working with early in the season gave me a three wheel indicator to use. Much better. Less clicking. I don't care what the inning is until the last inning. I also used my dremel to notch the zero's so that I never have to look at it when I reset it.

Well. . .
 

Just the other day I saw a MLB umpire stare at his almost every time the camera was on him.

I'm guilty of it too (not all of the time as stated in your post SDS)...but if I need to look, I try to peek at mine while adjusting my mask with my left hand...I don't adjust my mask as much as Jeff Nelson, but it seems to work for me in an effort to look less obvious...especially in games where the scoreboard is wrong 94% of the time...sometimes I wish they'd just shut it off if it's going to be wrong the entire game...

If I need to look I keep the indicator low by my leg, and just peek at it really quick. The MLB umpire in question held it out at close to eye level and stared at it for a good two to three seconds.

I understand having to look at it...but doing it like you're taking a picture as you describe, just doesn't look very good in my opinion...

He was looking at his Honig's Indiclicker/Plate Brush/Instant-Replay Combo to see if the runner scored on that timing play.

Was he expecting it to tell him something, or was he checking his stocks on it?

Maybe he thought it was a Magic 8-ball and was asking it "do I look unprofessional doing this?":)

Behind the plate, I use my left hand for my indiclickatator.

When on the grass, I leave it in my equiment bag.

"Try Again Later" :D

maybe he was getting the out of town scoreboard!

c'mon SDS - spill the beans - who was it?

I can't remember, but it may have been Marty Foster. But that's just a guess, as he did work the plate in a game I watched recently, but I typically take in the Cubs, Braves, and Padres telecasts on a daily basis, and the umpires tend to run together much like this sentence.

When PU I hold my indicator in my left hand. It has balls, strikes, outs, and inning on it. My left hand is usually pretty accurate, and I don't try to memorize the count.

When BU I don't use one and I use my memory more.

I also don't pick on folks who call it a clicker because I know what they mean. Mine clicks too when I use it.

Doesn't it drive you nuts...
 

When you are the PU and your partner says: "I always carry a clicker when I'm on the bases, so (either) a) "I can stay in the game", or b) "so if you miss the count I can help".

Then they usually brush or clean off the pitching rubber during the game....:p

An Indicator is held in the Left hand, because it is DESIGNED to be held in the Left hand. If you try to hold it in your Right hand, you can't turn all the wheels without using your Left had. But if you hold it in your Left hand, you have a finger & thumb lined up on each wheel.

Now, if you choose to use one, use it as a Back-up to your brain, and not the main count keeper. So, after each pitch, you indicate / announce the count, then you take a quick glance at your Indicator while it is up in the air, and make sure it matches the count in your head.

Try to avoid looking down at your Indicator...Why, because stuff is happening out on the field, not in your hand. There is nothing like the feeling of having your head buried down in your Indicator, and the Pitcher picks off a runner (while you're working a one man game). :o

Ah, this whole thread reminds me of the "Sheps Rule" in the Missouri Valley Conference, where the third base umpire is required to carry an indicator in every game. After a forgotten count--none of the three umpires on the crew had the correct count--led to a major brouhaha a while back (ejections, cost a team a run, you name it!), this "rule" was implemented conference-wide.

This is precisely what I do. I indicate the count on every pitch starting with the second and verbalize every other count and interesting counts (3 balls or 2 strikes). I almost never have the count wrong but I double check it as I put my hands down with a simple turn of the wrist. I also find it necessary to have as my mind does a hard reset when a runner scores and I have to reload the count.

I'd be thrilled to carry one. I would likely forget to turn the wheels, though.

Not in the Valley you wouldn't. Ever since that debacle, it's become rather significant.

What happened?

Its posted in #25 above.

Ever use a braille indicimatator?

You can use it in the right it just takes practice....
Found this out several years ago with a broken hand could get mask off with left but cast prevented holding indicator in left hand. Found I could work a 3 button with my right. Was sometimes easier to work without and use scoreboard but on fields without boards you do what you have to.

I can't even pronounce that word.

I personnally, could never SEE myself using one of those.