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 My Site News |
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Catchers Throat Protector
See the article written by Andy Konyar in the Handouts.
Lightning Procedures
Lightning is something we need to be very concerned about at CSLL. To help us, we purchased a lightning detector (shown here). Here's how the detector works:
1. The Officer on Duty should operate the detector anytime the weather outlook is for possible severe weather. Turn on the detector by pressing the power button, and keep it standing upright on a bleacher or scorer's booth.
2. Whenever the detector detects lightning, the detector beeps and the LED readout lights up for three seconds. If the lightning is 20-40 miles away, only the bottom LED will light. An 8-20 mile bolt will light up the bottom two LEDs at the same time. If it detects lightning 3-8 miles away, the bottom three LEDs light up together. And when it's 0-3 miles away, all four LEDs light up.
3. After the detector beeps and the LEDs light up for three seconds, one of the LEDs will start flashing. This tells you the distance of the last strike it detected. A flashing LED next to the 3-8 mile mark indicates the last strike was 3-8 miles away. If it then detects a strike 0-3 miles away, the 0-3 LED flashes. However, if it then detects a strike 8-20 miles away, the 0-3 continues to flash. It continues to flash for about 30 seconds.
At CSLL, anytime the detector registers a strike 8-20 miles away, the umpires will immediately clear the field. The players should go into the dugouts, do not hold bats, and STAY AWAY FROM THE FENCES. If it is clear that a significant storm is approaching, the umpires should send the players to safer areas, such as the board room or the parents' cars.
After the fields are cleared, we will wait at least ten (10) minutes until the last strike is detected. Each time the detector registers another strike 8-20 miles away or closer, the clock restarts. Do NOT put the kids back on the field until at least ten (10) minutes have passed since the last strike!
Also, do not depend only on the detector. If someone sees lightning, even if the detector does not register a strike, clear the field immediately. We don't want to take any chances!
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Saturday, August 18
Chief Umpire Observations
1. Injured player. If a player is injured he may come out of the line-up and is at-bat is just skipped. If before the end of the game he is ready to play again he may go back into the line-up in the same place in the batting order.
2. Timing, Timing... Guys and gals, TAKE YOUR TIME when calling Balls/Strikes and Safes/Outs. I saw a couple of incidents where umpires initially made an Out call, and then had to change to a Safe signal when the defensive player dropped the ball. There's no need to rush your calls. Just watch the pitch/play, take a brief moment to decide what you saw, THEN make the call.
3. It may be Called a "Foul Pole", but... I thought it was common knowledge that, just like the foul lines, the foul pole is in fair territory. So if you happen to see a fly ball hit the foul pole, let the batter circle the bases!
4. Coaches in the Bull Pen. One of our umpires asked a very good question: Can an adult coach be down in the bull pen area during the game? The answer is, Yes. Rule 3.09 allows a coach to go to the bull pen and observe a pitcher while he warms up. However, the requirement to have one adult in the dugouts at all times takes precedence. So if a team is batting and has two adult base coaches, the third adult must stay in the dugout.
5. Bats in the Dugout. This is the proverbial accident waiting to happen. Any time a child has a bat in his/her hand, he/she will undoubtedly want to hold the bat on the shoulder or start to swing it. Our dugouts are way too small to allow that. Thats why we have designated equipment areas for the bats to stay in. Do not allow batters to take bats into the dugout just because their turn is coming up to bat. Nobody has been able to convince me that it takes too long for a player to look for a bat in the equipment area. When you see it happen, make the correction immediately! If it happens again, consider giving the adult manager a warning that the next time it happens, one of the coaches (whoever is responsible for staying in the dugout at all times) will be ejected for failure to abide by your instructions. This is a SAFETY ISSUE that must be followed by everyone.
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