Best count indiator to buy
 

Im looking at buying a new indicator. Ive decided on the stainless steel or aluminum indicator, which one is the most durable over time.
thanks

This is one thing each umpire has to decide on their own. This is purely an individual choice.

Personally, for the past 42 years, I preferred, and have exclusively used the three-wheel, stainless steel. Don't like the plastic or a useless fourth wheel, but that is me. :cool:

And I prefer the plastic 4-wheel indicator (simply because our scorekeepers fall asleep on the job most of the time). ;)

I have one plastic indicator that's about 25-27 years old. Still works, though I did have to re-paint the numbers. Three times.

Jeez... all your pennies must be concave by now! :eek:

Nah, I don't use it anymore. It used to be my dad's when he called games, but I snatched it up after he retired. I've got 4 or 5 others. I do keep it in my bag for good luck, though. :)

How many times does this have to be pointed out?

The fourth wheel is most definitely useful. It is that second wheel I question... :D

You can get it in two styles:

http://sabian.whispers.org/indicator.jpghttp://sabian.whispers.org/indicator2.jpg

I was wondering why my bandwidth was getting a little slow. ;)

I use markworts (sp) 4 wheel stainless... they last forever..... I usually end up giving away 2-3 a year to younger umpires.... its a little bigger, but feels comfortable in my huge paws

When was the last time the winning team continued to play after they won the game?

The ONLY time I worry about the inning is if a slaughter rule may come into play. As a UIC, the only time I worry about the inning is if a game is running long and screwing up the schedule. ;)

I prefer an indicator that does not provide needless information (ie. ball 4, strike 3 or our 3).

Around here? Plenty! The scorekeepers take almost an entire inning (or more) to update the scoreboard with the correct runs and outs, and there have been a number of instances when this delay caused problems with umpires who didn't keep track of runs. Either the score showed that it was a tie (and the teams played an extra inning) or the score showed that someone won (when it was really a tie).

So yeah, with each runner that crosses the plate, I use the Innings (AKA - Hot Moms) wheel to keep track of the runs. After all, it goes from 0 to 9, just like our base-10 mathematics. :)

We've complained over and over again to the organizers of the league, but they don't seem to do anything about it. Well, they did remove the TV...

What is a scoreboard? A person who keeps track of runs is a scorekeeper, not an umpire.

Then maybe you shouldn't be doing someone else's job.

Believe me, I'd love to not have to worry about this. Unfortunately, we've got the scorekeepers up in a tower who don't even know who's up to bat next because they're on the phone with their girlfriends or wives, reading the paper or, in the past, watching TV. The other league in our area keeps the scorekeepers right behind the backstop, and they have one person working the board with another person keeping the books. A MUCH better system, as the teams can resolve score discrepancies right away.

I've gone to the one with Larger Numbers
Getting old sucks!:D

I use this one:

http://www.officialgear.com/images/ump530s.jpg

I bought it at officalgear.com. It's a 3/2/2 indicator. I velcroved a watch on the reverse side.