Best/Worst ideas and innovations in umpiring and baseball in general.
 

I've been thinking about this for a couple of days and one of the best things to happen in Major League Baseball was to merge the AL and NL umpires together into one officiating body.

Share your thoughts as to the best or worst ideas to come alpng the pike over the years. It does not have to refer to MLB specifically.

By far the best innovation is the Mudd Rubber machine which not only automatically rubs up the baseballs but also makes the perfect mudd by mixing just the right amount and consistency of speacial dirt and water.

UES

The inside chest protector.

Worst Idea: You Tube.

Second worst idea: Televising the LL world series.

Bestest: Them miracle fiber long johns with the cup recepticule

Almost bestest: The WestVest

Third worsetest: The K-Zone and its brethren

Penultimate worsetest: QuesTec

Absolute worsetest: Timothy McCarver

Ace

I hear the local San Francisco association loves this item!

:D

Worst: The extinction of the plate coat virtually all levels.

Best: The extinction of the '76 NL hat.

Hey! I still wear a plate coat! I do not wear a pullover at the plate! :D

So do I. It has made, I have noticed, a small comeback on the MLB level.

Tied for Worst: Brush with integral bat gauge....
Three or two seam Umpires cap (Beanie type)

Best for umpiring: Micro Mesh Shirts

Worst for umpiring: Little League Umpire's clinic (It should be One system of umpiring for all governing bodies)

Best for Baseball: Artificial Lighting.

Worst for Baseball: Bud Selig as commissioner

I bought a penis hat (cause when you wear one, you look like one, with ears) as a joke this season. In black. I figure I'll bring it out at the right moment, like when I need people to laugh at me rather than yell at me. :)

:D
Be sure to wear coke bottle glasses with it. :D

Methinks you should wear it on a base job--with ball bag and brush, of course.

One time, a well-meaing friend bought me a "fab" ump's kit for my birthday: Adjustable p-hat, vinyl ball bag, indicator with 15 wheels on it--the works. I donated the stuff to the local LL.

Ace

Worst: Partners who make up excuses why they can't do the plate! They then say they only have navy, when it is 95 degrees!

Hey Rich, I've seen a photo of you. You don't need the hat!:D




Just Kidding!:p

Worst: Little League, Fed and NCAA rules set. They should just go by OBR rules, and add a safety base and no contact rule where they see fit.

Best: Rule 9.01c which I like to use a few times a week when I'm not sure of a rule.

Not to be critical(no, not me, never...) but isn't the idea to learn the rules so that you don't have to apply 9.01c?

What you're doing is called "guessing". That's not really a good idea for any official in any sport.

Furthermore, 9.01c is for things that "aren't covered in the rules". It doesn't say "umpire can rule on anything how he wishes".

Hopefull when you guess on the field you come home and look it up at night.

9.01c isn't a crutch. Learn the rules.

Exactly. 9.01(c) was written for the umpire to be able to rule on points not specifically covered elswhere in the rules. The rules, as ambiguous as they are at times, cover what we'll see on the diamond 99.99% of the time.


Tim.

Up in Canada where I come from, it's called a joke. I have never applied rule 9.01c in a game.

Sorry then. [humor] is sometimes hard to convey on the Net. [/humor]

Tim.

I caught it here in the States. Not surprised the Vampires Of FO.com didn't, they see flesh, eat flesh, even when there is no flesh. :mad:

Don't quit your job and try out for Last Comic Standing. You'd be the First Comic Leaving.:rolleyes:

The best thing ever invented: the ignore list.....welcome to it fitump56!

Sorry to say but fitump56 has made mine also!

As if different colors of micromesh shirts are noticeably cooler.

What's a "recepticule"?

Bob

I believe it the the compartment each testicle fits into!

Naw, it's to keep your nuts cool.

Different colors keep them even cooler. Rich said so.

It's true, it's true.......

I have a hard time understanding why anyone would put fitump on their ignore list. Are his comments too truthful to handle? Does his knowledge of the game intimidate you? Are his questions about rulings and plays to complicated for some to understand? I need answers.

As you get older, you'll understand.

You're right, they make little difference , but I'm already ticked off that I've had to listen to the, "Why I can't work the plate excuses!"

I find lighter colors to be noticeably cooler. Dark colors are warmer than light colors in the sun.

Worst idea in baseball = designated hitter.

Best innovation for umpires = wicking undergarments (no brand specified).

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=alt2 style="BORDER-RIGHT: 1px inset; BORDER-TOP: 1px inset; BORDER-LEFT: 1px inset; BORDER-BOTTOM: 1px inset">Originally Posted by canadaump6
I have a hard time understanding why anyone would put fitump on their ignore list. Are his comments too truthful to handle? Does his knowledge of the game intimidate you? Are his questions about rulings and plays to complicated for some to understand? I need answers.
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Gosh, Bob, he's supposed to learn when? He's out there busting his butt on the field just like you and me so why not give him a straight answer?

Or is he right?

I'm not "in with the in crowd", that's Number One. Proof is the number of posts which are shot in a derogatory manner in my direction never get deleted. Mine, oh five, six every night?

I tell the truth and the truth is the truth calls into question every nuance of what the Old Hats don't want to talk about. They don't want to face change, change equates to "you have been doing this wrong". Which isn't at all the case but that's the knee jerk reaction.

I have played the game at high levels, few here have, I have called the games at high levels, many here have not nor will ever, I question everything because that is the only way to get better. The excuse "we have always done it this way" is an excuse.

The person I am most critical of is myself. I have had the opportunity to work with one person who many of these Old Hats don't like. He is a man who taught me the very meaning of questioning, he is a spectacular umpire, businessman and humanitarian. I leaned more from him in months than I have learned in the rest of my life.

So much of what you see is about the fact that he refuses to accept BS, taught me the same way and the BSers don't care for our honesty.

No, he won't. When canadaump6 gets older, he'll be fitump56.

I believe he is right. "I have a hard time understanding "

As far as the rest of it, imo, most of it has to do with the way the message is delivered -- it gets in the way of the message itself. And, way too much of it is designed *only* to stir the ****, not to lead to any umpire improvement. And way too much of it implies that the way things are done in your area is the way things are done everywhere.

[deleted as uncharitable and unconstructive]

Horse***, if there is one thing I do is question everything, there is rarely, if ever, one way to do anything. If open discussion that questions how and why we do what we do is not designed for improvement, tell me when improvement comes by doing the same thing all the time never asking why?

I've worked in ten states, I have been influenced by many different methodologies. I don't have a clic to fit in with which is obviously part of the nature of this Forum. I'm not looking for one either.

Stir it, so what? Makes for passionate dialog. What's the issue there?

I have my ideas born out of years of umpiring, some are unconventional. What works for me may not for you but if you (plural) pull your head inot your shell when new ideas come around, then expect that you will be the running on a treadmill as far as improvement is concerned.

When canadaump6 gets older, he has a good chance of being older.

steve, you should change your password. i think tim mccarver figured it out and made that post.

That is a McCarverism, isn't it? Waddya know!

The same could be said about one of your fellow clique buddies. This poster's biggest assets are his arrogance, self-centredness and hatred for Little League baseball. He prides himself on being a jerk. While he is certainly no bigshot MLB umpire, he does like to make posts that do nothing but put other people down and, as you said, "stir the ****". His name is Tim C.

Let me ask you, why does Tim get away with provoking others, while Fitump gets harassed for simply being honest about the shortcomings of this forum? I think I can answer that question for you. This forum is a clique that is here to make money off of articles written by third-rate umpires. While new users are always welcome to join, the main goal is to get them paying the $45 a year so that the higher powers can make a profit.

I don't have any problem with an organization selling goods and services to make money. I do have a problem when the organization goes public, and finds itself too good to respect the opinions of newer users. Case in point: boyinblue. He signs up for these forums, shows a mix of naivity and enthusiasm, and is harassed by the arrogant head honchos on this site.

I would recommend that those in charge of Officiating.com give their head a shake. Those who are not at the top of the rung do have an opinion, and that opinion is just as important as anyone else's. If you find yourselves above the opinion of some of the relative "newbies", I think it's time you shut the forums down and simply sell your online journal articles without subjecting others to your cliquey affairs.

Not that Tim C needs me to defend him, but:

Tim C is who he is...and unlike others he doesn't hide it. While Tim C has taken shots from others for his attitude...the substance of his posts don't usually get attacked because...um...he's usually right (whether about mechanics, "professionalism" or when we discuss MLB issues). He's well connected and very intelligent. A pain-in-the-***? Sure, to some.

How do I know he's usually right, you might ask? First, when he discusses mechanics issues: I can open up my PBUC red book or CCA manual and see for myself that he's correct. When he's talking about MLB issues...I have, in the past, confirmed Tim C's statements with my own MLB connections. He hasn't been wrong, yet.

If you don't like that one particular poster: put him on your ignore list.

There's a good argument: name calling. :mad:

Ha-ha. I have been posting on this site for several years. I've have never joined this site as a dues paying member...nor have I ever contributed an article or been paid for anything. Furthermore, I have never been solicited to pay $45 (or any amount) to this site/organization.

Not to have too big an ego, but: I don't think I had that problem when I was a newer user (you'll have to ask other posters).

Frankly, I think there are too many "newbies" who expect to come onto this forum (and the one at umpire.org) and suddenly set everyone "straight". They expect that their posts are not going to be challenged. I can say that my posts have been challenged. In fact myself and another poster (who no longer posts here due to health issues, I suspect) had a long back-and-forth thread. While it got heated at times...we both "respected" each other. He admitted in the thread that he had made a mistake in one of his posts...and months later I posted that he was ultimately correct in his main argument.

See, these are some novel concepts to some "newbies": (1) realizing that your posts may be challenged (2) admitting when you've made a mistake; (3) admitting when someone else may be correct; (4) not letting threads and posts become personal.

You and Canadaump asked for my opinion and got it. I can only tell you how your posts (in general) are perceived (by me) and why I think others put you on their ignore list.

Note that the posts that deal with "umpire improvement" are welcomed and left; those that contain shots at others and are argumentative are deleted -- and it goes both ways (although I don't claim to be perfect -- I'm sure I've deleted posts that should remain and left posts that should be deleted). You're also more likely to have a post left if you respond once, rather than 17 times in a row.

If it's that painful here, perhaps one might think to do something less displeasant with his time. By the by, since it appears one feller didn't notice, the Discussion boards are offered free of charge.

For which one could be excused for thinking the correct response would be gratitude. . .

Bob James