slowpitch facemask
 

I did my 1st mens slowpitch game a few weeks ago. I noticed ALL the umps did not have a facemask on. So I did my games without it. But there were a few times that the ball was foul tipped and came straight back and I had to dodge the ball. Obviously Im a fast-pitch guy. I personally didnt feel safe without my mask. Any thoughts or comment you guys have would be great.

I imagine that one comment you'll get- so I'll jump in first and get it out of the way!- is that it is impossible (from a rules standpoint) for an umpire to get hit by a "foul tip"! ;)

Beyond that, I don't really do much slow pitch, probably only about three dozen games in my entire career, and am curious to see what others have to say.

Besides taking one off the nose, wouldn't you have the same concern with a foul ball (not a foul tip!) catching you in the collar bone or sternum? I cannot recall ever seeing a slow pitch umpire wearing a mask, but could understand the urge to use one. Even a lightweight chest protector- something like the Honigs softball model- would offer some protection. And what about a cup!

Or is there some unwritten slow pitch rule that would put your manhood into question for wearing these safety devices?

Damn it Brett! Now I have to go edit what I said. But at least you knew what I really meant...lol:D

I've worked SP games from the lowest level of Co-rec to the highest level available mens & womens games. I have never been hit by a foul ball. There have been a few close calls (less than a half dozen in 20 years), but I was always quick enough to avoid them.

I work a good, solid slot which is one of the last places a foul ball should go.

I work only SP games, and there are times when I've been hit with a foul ball or a ball that bounces up off the plate or ground. Usually, it hits my legs, and that's no big deal. Lately, I have been worried about taking one in the eye (probably because I recently DID take one in the eye), so I've been wearing some Coyote sunglasses (got 'em from Amazon.com for $20) that come with different lenses: dark, orange and clear. The orange helps with overcast games (any shooters out there will give the thumbs up to that one), and the clear lenses are good for night games. It's just one less thing for me to worry about.

Taking one off the collarbone is no big deal. I've had it happen once, and it didn't do anything. Forehead? No big deal. Nose? Mouth? Doesn't take much to break a nose or split a lip, so my advice is to only worry about that area and don't worry about all the rest (so long as you're wearing a cup, but if you do FP games, you probably already know that one).

Mike must have some Jedi or Matrix thing going on, because even though my reflexes are pretty darn good, I still get hit. Resign yourself to that fact, keep your head focused on where it's supposed to be (nice and still - don't dance), and you'll be fine. That cut on your lip should heal in 3-5 days. ;)

Though this does raise a good point: why DON'T we wear masks in SP? It's so easy to break a nose and have a pint of blood pour onto the field, and losing an umpire to a broken nose is just... well... silly.

Working a good slot can help as Mike pointed out. However, it's not always perfect.

Case in point - August of this year yours truely took one on the upper lip that made me think I'd lost teeth. I split my lip on the inside, and was spitting blood continuously for about an hour, and sporadically for at least 3 days. It's healed up now, but there's still a little bump on the inside of my lip.

First time I've been hit in the face working SP.

I believe bkbjones took one to the face this year as well....

It happens... but working the mechanics will help reduce the chance of getting hit.

Nothing special, just squared up, in the slot behind the catcher (if they are there).

If you want to wear one, what is stopping you?

At some levels, especially the lower Co-ed rec levels, it doesn't matter if you have a "perfect" slot set-up, you still run the risk of getting hit by the ball somehow. As for pitches coming back up and hitting you in the leg, that's a catcher concern. Some catchers are put back there because they're the worst fielder on the team. As for foul balls coming back to hit you, it's because they came off the handle of the bat, and the catcher didn't have the wisdom to try and catch the stupid thing. 9 times out of 10, the catcher will look at me and wonder if they should apologize or they will apologize, but not with so much sincerity in their voice.

At the upper levels, I RARELY and I mean RARELY have a problem with this. If it does occur, it's because the ball took a weird spin that the catcher didn't anticipate. Those are usually followed by a sincere apology by the catcher and a "hmmm, that was weird" comment. I'm usually more forgiving because I know it took a weird bounce or spin and it caught both of us off-guard.

As for a mask, I wouldn't wear one, because I've only gotten one in the face in 15 years I've been doing this. Also, I wouldn't wear one because I don't want to hear our evaluators chirpping about how lame it looks, or how it looks just so wrong to see it in a slow-pitch game. I'm seriously considering shin guards (soccer type) for the lower level rec games next year, because it seems like the number of those bouncing shin smackers are increasing every year.

That darned "C" word. Con... Con... Consis... Blargh, I forgot it already. ;)

Amen to that brother!

I've had plenty of "balls" ( :p ) go whizzing past my left or right ear and have always been able to stay out of their way. Anything that goes off the ground (which happens very infrequently in SP) and my automatic "nut guard" deploys.

What I can't stand are the catchers that don't even bother to try and stop the incoming pitches. Those guys/gals are annoying to the N'th degree...

Ahhhh, the trusty automatic "nut guard". Using that usually makes the female catchers in co-ed realize the value of my family jewels. :D

Would an evaluator have the same issue with an umpire with a heart condition wearing a chest protector in a SP game?

As long has the umpire handles the mask as prescribed, it should not be an issue.

Yeppers, I did. It actually concussed me, to the point where the last thing I remembered was the ball coming toward me...and then I was leaning against the backstop, glasses somehow caught in my arm, wondering what the hell happened and where am I, oh yeah, Queen Anne. Doctor would release me to work only if I wore a mask. So, for the few games I worked afterwards, I wore a mask.

I work the slot, same in FP and SP. If I get hit with a foul in FP, it usually is in the shoulder and is a reminder to get my fat *** in the slot. This happening in SP was a combination of TWP factors (Z level co-ed, catcher who had never played before, male batter using a very old 29-inch bat, yada yada).

At least I didn't turn my head. We have had a couple umpires who turned their heads (both times in FP) and took it in the side of the head. They were out of action for a while. Even though most facial bones and cartilage are thin, it beats the heck out of being whacked in the side of the head.

Keep your face forward. If you wear a mask, make sure it is loose so it absorbs the shock. Don't ever ever ever turn your head.

We have an evaluation "team". They get assigned certain umpires to evaluate (if that's how I understand their system). There are a couple of egos on that "team" who have issues with certain things, like masks and chest protectors in slow-pitch. I even had a seasoned umpire who works primarily fast-pitch come in and work an upper level slow-pitch game with me who thought it was ridiculous that the pitcher was wearing a hockey goalie's helmet. I told him, at this level, I would be wearing one too. Seems like the guys who have been around since the old days think that slow-pitch teams should just show up with bats, balls, and gloves and nothing else for equipment.

If they cannot let that go, they should not be evaluating other umpires

Was their stealing? I have found there are some FP-oriented umpire who don't like the stealing in SP.

The evaluation committee usually consists of umpires who have worked nationals and are among the Elite in ASA. The UIC and his deputy are automatically members of it, and they pick the other members of it who are in that category I just mentioned, and usually are the ones who have attended NUS almost every year since they started. (I'm not trying to knock the system here, but I think it needs some tinkering) Pretty much all are fast-pitch who will do slow-pitch in a pinch. One of them is a fast-pitch guy who doesn't shy away from doing the slow-pitch stuff.

There used to be base-stealing in that league. The players voted it out after the year they tried it. They didn't feel it changed the game any, so it wasn't worth it. However, I did have a couple of guys that you described who thought it was ridiculous that these big former college athletes were trying to steal bases in slow-pitch when they aren't too sharp at it in the fast-pitch game. I had to figure that logic out. :(

I love the stealing leagues/tourneys in SP. So much more exciting and more for the BU/PU to do...

I'm not a slow pitch guy, but from the umpire's perspective, it would seem a benefit of a league with stealing is the catcher has to actually try to catch the ball!

Then I would have to believe the players are either not very smart, not very athletic or both.

I think the stealing adds a bundle to the game. It keeps a player in the catching position. It keeps the pitcher and catcher in the game because they can no longer think about the beer after the game :D .

It keeps the umpire on their toes, also.

This year in our states of all levels, the steal was a big part of the game including delayed steals of home.

It is so well liked by the "college" players, that every level wants it.

As long as it is on the bounce. Too many goofs back there want to reach up and catch the ball in flight and get clocked by the batter.

Which I've also seen. Last time the guy got it in the temple, and I though I was going to have to administer CPR. He went down like a sack of potatoes (a 260lb sack at that)...

Personally, I like stealing in the slow pitch game.

Going off topic a bit here...but I can remember my first time as a player playing in a league that allowed stealing. This was actually about 15 years ago and, if I'm remembering correctly, was an NSA league. I'm not sure if NSA allowed stealing under their standard rules back then or if it was something the league added on its own. I wasn't an umpire in those days so I didn't sweat those kind of details!

Our catcher was a good player, but was playing the catcher's position primarlily because a previous knee surgery had limited his mobility. He could catch the ball just fine, but had a hard time coming up from his crouch.

Once the other team caught on to this they began stealing bases at will! There was just no way our catcher could throw them out after struggling to his feet and getting in a good throwing position.

After the first inning and four or five steals, our coach pulled me from the shortstop position and stuck me behind the plate. Apparently the other team didn't pick up on the fact that there was a new catcher, or if they did just figured we had stuck another random warm body back there.

Their first batter hits a single and on the very next pitch heads for second. I pop up and fire and the throw beats the guy to the bag by a good twenty or thirty feet! The stunned look on his face as he was tagged out was priceless!

There were no more stolen bases the rest of game.

Normally, in games without stealing, the catcher's position isn't my favorite place to be. But on that night being behind the plate created on of my fondest playing memories!

I just finished my 15th year umpiring baseball and fastpitch softball. I only umpired slowpitch softball my first year of umpiring and I would even umpire a baseball game before I would umpire a fastpitch softball game. Having said that, I am suprised that major softball organizations such as ASA, USSSA, or NSA do not require catchers to wear a mask simply as a safety issue.

I attended the Univ. of Miami (the one in Coral Gables, FL, not the one in Oxford, OH, that one is Miami Univ.) in the mid-70's and the intramural sports department required all catchers and umpires in its slowpitch softball leagues stictly as a safety issue.

I am not a lawyer, but I know that no matter how quick one is, there is already that one time when a foul ball is going to come back and hit the plate umpire or the catcher in the face. And it only takes one foul ball to the face to ruin one's day. I was never comfortable behind the plate that year I umpired slowpitch softball.

Just my humble opinion.

MTD, Sr.

Actually, the only year it was used in any of our city leagues, it was used in the Open League (the top league in the city), which consists of the best players in the city. Many of these guys are former college athletes, including a few former Division I football and baseball players. Every team had a hell of an arm put behind the plate when the stealing rule was in effect to the point noone could even steal at all. I guess that wasn't the only reason they took it out of the league rules.

Other reason was those umpires who were not used to working the Open League weren't too sharp with the base stealing rule, either misapplying the ball location at home plate or not being on top of the play when it was at 2nd base. I had a couple of those nights. One I remember vividly because I was home plate and the pitch landed behind the plate clearly, and it was a called strike. It jumped up a little so the catcher had to reach for it and he was a little slow with the throw. Runner was on his way, and I hear "time" in the field. Partner on the bases told the runner to go back. I asked him why he did that. His answer (and to this day, I still groan when I think about it): the catcher was able to control it, it didn't go past the catcher. :mad: :confused: