"FED Legal" Baseballs

[Kevin Finnerty]

I've seen Rawlings, Wilson, Diamond, Pro 9 and Champro but not Baden or Nike. Thankfully we don't have to use only one brand. Good grief.

[SanDiegoSteve]

Baden balls aren't too bad.

[RPatrino]

Honestly, if they are somewhat white and round, I don't really pay much attention to the baseballs. After a few innings they all look the same anyway.

[yawetag]

Originally Posted by dash_riprock

Our contract with the high schools requires line-up cards to be typed. Arguably, a card generated by a computer and a printer is not typed (not that I see many of those anyway). Ergo, under our present contract, there has never been a legally-played game.

I would be willing to bet that someone typed the names into the lineup card before printing it.

[griff901c]

Originally Posted by Kevin Finnerty

Same here in L.A.'s association, but the S.F. Valley assn. made no such edict.

When the rule came out, I bought two cases of NFHS Diamond baseballs, and I just carry them around. I had one school that had "official league" baseballs without the stamp. I just had them swap them out for six of mine with the stamp. Otherwise, if my unit didn't voice the must-have-the-stamp edict, then I would be the if-they're-hardballs-let's-play type of umpire. So in order to ensure that I can allow every game to be played, I bring my own.

So you don't have to be a "tight-@ssed, black and white, anal, rules book umpire," or an unintelligent umpire to enforce the rule plus written and spoken edict, you would merely be following the wishes of the guy who assigns all of the games for three different associations. I would say that's a sign of intelligence to do things his way.

Now, to avoid being a tight-@ssed, anal (the very same thing), black & white, by-the-book umpire on something so trivial, I bring my own baseballs.

For years I have been looking for an easy way to measure the mound height.

If it's not legal do you carry your own rake or use theirs?

[Kevin Finnerty]

Have you considered writing comedy?

No, really.

[Steven Tyler]

Originally Posted by griff901c

For years I have been looking for an easy way to measure the mound height.

If it's not legal do you carry your own rake or use theirs?

My biggest pet peeve is when the coaches boxes are not regulation size.

[griff901c]

Are you saying I'm funny..ha ha..or funny... peculiar..( don't help him Patrino)

To me buying NFHS stamped balls is both..

[Kevin Finnerty]

The word peculiar does not mean strange or odd, by the way.

I am a batting instructor and my son's a pitcher, so I always need dozens of baseballs. I just started buying the ones with the stamp once that edict came down.

So avoiding a problem with the most ridiculous rule ever enacted, and not wanting to draw attention for having an incident because of the most ridiculous rule ever enacted is the route I choose to take.

I have spent most of my entire adult life facilitating the safe and effective and respectful playing of the game of baseball. When this rule came out, and they were serious about enforcing it, I just averted any problems other guys allow to happen by devising a no-brainer solution. There are umpires who are out to take their check and do as little as they can get away with. I am out there to do as much as necessary, and often more.

[jicecone]

Originally Posted by Steven Tyler

My biggest pet peeve is when the coaches boxes are not regulation size.

Yea I know what you mean.

Luckily, I am an engineer. So 2 hours before every game I get my transit and tape and check each field for non-conformance with the prevailing rules. I believe over the couple of thousands of games I have officiated, at best 5 or 10 wolud actually have been played if I was really OOOOO.

Also luckily, I am not OOOOO.

[griff901c]

Originally Posted by Kevin Finnerty

The word peculiar does not mean strange or odd, by the way.

peculiar...uncommon, unusual.....

I am a batting instructor and my son's a pitcher, so I always need dozens of baseballs. I just started buying the ones with the stamp once that edict came down.

peculiar, I would say..

So avoiding a problem with the most ridiculous rule ever enacted, and not wanting to draw attention for having an incident because of the most ridiculous rule ever enacted is the route I choose to take.

I have spent most of my entire adult life facilitating the safe and effective and respectful playing of the game of baseball. When this rule came out, and they were serious about enforcing it, I just averted any problems other guys allow to happen by devising a no-brainer solution. There are umpires who are out to take their check and do as little as they can get away with. I am out there to do as much as necessary, and often more.

is mound height any different, according to your statement above? They are both in the same boat as far as I am concerned.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but to imply that allowing play with a non-stamped ball as getting away with doing as little as possible is insulting and arrogant on your part.

[RPatrino]

Peculiar?? Not particularly. Funny I'll buy!! Maybe we should have stamps with the FED logo made to stamp all these rogue baseballs we will be using and make them 'legal'?

[Kevin Finnerty]

Originally Posted by griff901c

is mound height any different, according to your statement above? They are both in the same boat as far as I am concerned.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but to imply that allowing play with a non-stamped ball as getting away with doing as little as possible is insulting and arrogant on your part.

And this isn't insulting and arrogant?? Good grief!

I wasn't implying anything. My statement was regarding the umpire who would refuse to play the game because of non-compliant baseballs. How did you get the polar opposite out of that?

You have a skewed sense of things. No mound height is not the same ... not even close, really. I don't know how you could associate the two. But it does make for an especially specious bit of grandstanding, there.

Anchored bases and an intact home plate are required for the playing of a game around here. For an at-bat, an intact, approved helmet and a certified bat are also required. Those are the main things I attend to and require compliance with. Mound height is definitely an entirely different subject, and one that is almost never addressed at the high school rules and compliance meetings. As a matter of fact, there are some freshman and lousy school JV and varsity games that are played at city parks without mounds. At the college level, none of these things are ever a concern.

Now, if the H.S. rules chairman demanded that we concern ourselves with mound height, then I guess I would be concerned with it. Otherwise, except to create an irrelevant comparison like yours, it's of virtually no concern.

[piaa_ump]

Originally Posted by RPatrino

DG, where do you work your games? In my part of the world, particuarly for non-varsity games, we take what we can get. I personally don't quibble about balls, bats, or lines. Some schools use City facilities and with budgets all messed up out here, field maintenance is sometimes non-existant.

I'm sure you would agree, the goal is to get them on the field and get the game played, right?

In my time, I have umpired quite a few rural HS teams that barely had uniforms..... I had a game a few years back when both teams had NO new baseballs to use for the game......nobody had thought to bring any......I went to my car, and brought out 2 new PONY league balls.....said to the coaches, we could play with these or you can reschedule.....(after they paid me of course....)

they agreed, we played the game......

[DG]

My state (not my association) expects us to require legal baseballs. They do not expect us to measure the height of the rubber above the plate. So, HS coaches always have the correct baseballs, and we don't worry about the mound height.

It sounds to me like you get what you ask for. If a state expects legal baseballs, they will instruct the coaches and umpires on that fact and they will get legal baseballs. If they don't expect it then coaches will supply whatever they have and umpires will not worry about what is supplied.

It seems evident here that some states don't care about enforcing the legal baseball rule, and therefore umpires don't care.