Keep your eyes on what matters

A couple of years ago when my large 3,2,2 ball/strike/out indicator began to lose its numbers from too much use, I decided not to spend money on a new one, but to fix the one I had. A fellow umpire told me how he had put notches in the wheel which were a lot easier to see than the fading numbers.

He started by marking the visible arc you can see on the white wheel when the “1” is showing, then when the “2 “ is showing and finally, when the “3 “ is showing on the ball wheel. Then he gently pried the two parts of the indicator apart, revealing the wheels.

Using a hacksaw and file. he just cut one notch on the wheel when the 1 is showing in the window, two for 2, and three for 3. Careful, the two and three are hard to distinguish with the thumb on the ‘ball’ wheel. The wheel doesn’t turn as much between numbers on the ‘ball’ wheel, for obvious
reasons, and it has the smallest exposed edge. .

Another benefit of the notches is that I can tell quickly without even lifting the indicator up or moving my head down, what the count is. The notches are easy to feel, and I can confidently keep track of the count with my thumb and finger while, at the same time, keep track of the ball with my eyes.