F1 with sunglasses
 

I've never seen a pitcher wear sunglasses. I've never seen a rule prohibiting them. Is there something written somewhere against them.
PS, Don't jump on me if it's a stupid question.

There is no requirement for a pitcher to remove his sunglasses (Gustavo Chacin of the Blue Jays uses sunglasses), but they cannot be reflective. In other words, they cannot have a 'mirror' finish that reflects light.

ptmac,
could you please reference the rule that supports your statement about reflective lenses?

Thanks in advance.

There's no "official" specific rule on that. It's a general interp that the mirror woiuld be distracting, and is covered under 1.11(f) (and rules in other codes on "nothing distracting")

The only thing you'll find that addresses something reflective in OBR is 1.11(f)


The refference in FED would be 1-1-5.


Neither directly addresses reflective lenses on sunglasses.


Tim.

Thanks,

Appreciate the info

I had only one coach complain about a pitcher wearing sunglasses. This JC assistant starts chirping at me from the 3rd base coaching box about it being against the rules. I give the "*** coach" the stop sign, which he correctly understands to mean "shut up". I trot out the mound and confirm what I suspect that the glasses are prescription (and not reflective).

I call over the HC, explain the situation, he visits the '*** coach'. Not one more word about the sunglasses.

There's no rule against sunglasses, nor is there a need for them to be prescription. The only question would be if they are a distraction to the batter. It is a judgement call by the umpires.

I guess I needed to tell you what was said in my 'conversation' with the HC. It went like this.

Me:"Ed, there is no rule against a pitcher wearing sunglasses, and you know that, right?"
Ed: Yes.
Me: "Plus the glasses are prescription, would you like him to pitch without them?"
Ed: No.
Me: "Ed, tell your 3rd base coach to shut up, ok"
Ed: Ok.

If B complains, F1 needs to remove.

Since when? So you're going to let a batter dictate everything about a pitcher? Of course, batters would NEVER do anything just to mess with a pitcher's mind. :rolleyes:

Since I call the game, no and so what?

Anyone who says "If B complains..." ought to rethink his calling games period if he lets a batter dictate everything. Just be careful not to fall prey to a batter's true intentions.

We agree. I :D never do

You're kiddin', right?

Kei Igawa of the Yankees wears em too.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/147/4...2da77c90_o.jpg

Rule reference, please.

WOW hahahahaha

Hey Bob, under FED, there may be an issue if the batter complains. :rolleyes:

FED 1-4-2 states:

ART. 2 ... For individual players, uniform sleeve lengths may vary. However, sleeves of each individual player shall be approximately the same length and shall not be ragged, frayed or slit. If the pitcher's undershirt sleeves are exposed, they shall not be white or gray. A pitcher shall not wear any item on his hands, wrists or arms which may be distracting to the batter.

Now I've never gotten any complaints about F1 wearing normal sunglasses (never ran into the mirrored variety) but I am sure that some coach, somewhere may try to extend FED 1-4-2 to include sunglasses.

Personally, if F1 needs sunglasses in order to see properly, I am not going to say a word. Hell, the batter should be looking for the ball and that is usually somewhere around F1's hand, isn't it? :)

Kevin Gregg of the Florida Marlins started wearing reflective sunglasses while pitching, even at night. The shades have become his signature . . . and a key to his success, or so he says. Gregg wears them at night to reduce the glare from stadium lights, he said.

There's nothing in any MLB rule book or manual that prohibits the use of reflective sunglasses, that I'm aware of. Obviously, MLB hasn't done anything to prevent Kevin from wearing them.

Jerry

Unless the pitcher's wearing his sunglasses on his hands, wrists, or arms, I don't see how a coach could extend 1-4-2 to include sunglasses.


Tim.

Note the :rolleyes: following the post! Also, you know that a coach will use everything possible!

Besides, son't you wear sunglasses on your arms? I hear it's the latest rage on the West Coast! :D

Too true. A coach complaining about sunglasses would be an automatic 11.03(g) for me.


Tim.

You got one. The other is if I am PU, and I believe that there is an issue, I'm ripping those things off his face.

Nice pic. Don't seem to reflect.

Sorry, I don't think the quoted rule can be interpreted as "if the batter complains, F1 NEEDS TO remove" as you originally stated.

And, while I agree that if the umpire thinks there is an issue that the glasses should be removed, that's not the point I was making and is not relevant to the statement you made.

You asked for me to produce a rule, I said "you got one" and here it was.

http://forum.officiating.com/showpos...1&postcount=19

No need to restate it. FTM, you could call it UC. But if I have a B with a legitimate complaint, then off they go. Until then, on they stay unless they offend me.

You didn't produce a rule that applies.

I agree with this. It's not how I read what you said before.

Of course no batter would lie about it being distracting. No head game. It really is distracting Blue honest. Cross my heart.

Originally Posted by fitump56
But if I have a B with a legitimate complaint, then off they go. Until then, on they stay unless they offend me.

My bad then. :o

I'm PU, B claims its distracting, I should see it too. If not, maybe it's my angle to the sun, it shouldn't be hard to figure out.