Really...I have started looking at bigger cars because I'm running out of room for all my umpire stuff....:)

I drive a Jeep, and I've been looking at some of those safari racks they sell ... ;)

"Safari" in your area? Looking for bison, emu & ostrich?

Well, there are some bison just west of here... but no, they just sell these things to off-roaders who think they are crossing the Serengeti every time they hit gravel...

http://www.quadratec.com/Assets/Imag...0/18200-lg.jpg

there are called 3Ks in SP? *blink*

Backwards K in ASA SP is to be called no different that called strike 2, according to the UIC and staff of the last national I worked.

A. I personally feel, however 1) that it is somewhat ridiculous to take a called strike 3 in that game, and 2) if it was some amazing pitch that is the equivalent of a good defensive play for which you would award at least a punch of a sell-out somewhere else on the field, why not do it then?

B. How is taking a called strike three any different, ideologically and semantically, from taking a called strike three in a FP game? Why is it "unnecessary" extra showmanship in one, but not in the other? To anyone who says you're "showing up the batter" in one but not the other, or vice versa, please explain.

I've never received anything close to a good answer to B from any other SP umpire who argues against it - always just the old "we're not here to show up the batter" - To which I always want to reply, "That's weird, because you jump out of your shoes and holler loud enough for the scoreboard operator outside of the center field fence when you call a 12-year-old girl out for the same thing."

Those things being said, I don't sell out called strike 3 in SP.

Well, maybe the latter is no more right than the former. :confused:

But if you want an answer to B, look at A in your post. A called 3K in SP is, or at least should be, the anomaly since contacting the ball in FP is much more difficult. Then again, many may argue that hitting the strike zone in FP is more difficult than in SP.

Either way, I'm not a fan of the additional theatrics on a called 3rd strike in any game, but that's just me.

Because they snivel more than a 12 y/o? :confused:

Its not a pitching game... sell out is for selling an out and your zone on good pitches. The same as any other sell out call. Its not necessary for slow pitch.

Well, let's be clear in that what I was referring to was just the arm motion. My feet stay heel-toe. I'm simply making the crisp verbal "strike," signaling the strike, then dropping my arm from upper right to lower left, kinda like a throw (or as close to a throwing motion my torn rotator will allow). It's like a half throw, half downward punch.

Strike three does not need to be theatrics, but it does need to be final and leave no doubt. I would never ring up a novice, or a co-ed, but a man who should know better in a game for hitters? Not a problem.

so a novice gets only a single fist pump?

What is a "single fist pump"?

To be clear, are you saying you have no problem wringing up a male SP player, but are against the same for a female SP player?

Half of a double fist pump

*cringe* I'm actually going to side a little with pianoman here (and bear with me, I can only see what John quoted). Please, please forgive me, o' Lord.

I personally think it depends on the level of play. If it's more of a recreational league, that level of intensity strikes me as a little out of place. They're just there to have fun, and calls don't always need to be sold. Just call the strike or call the runner out, and let it be that. Most "fun" leagues are perfectly okay with that, and the simple calls are more appropriate to the environment. In higher levels of competition, selling your call is more appropriate, and is almost expected in a bang-bang play (or a called corner strike 3).

Last night, I called 2 women's games that were in the same league, same level. The first game, it was two teams that were clearly there just for recreation and fun. I never sold a call, and everyone had a good time. The second game was between two higher-level teams (a few travel team players were on both teams). I sold the few close calls there were, and everyone was fine with it - almost as though they expected it.

It's a question of intensity, and how it relates to the environment you're in. If your level of intensity doesn't match the environment, you'll stick out like a sore thumb, change the dynamic of the game, and you'll not be very well-received on the field.