Reebok no longer going to offer umpire shoes

[Umpstradamus]

The umpire supplier at our Tennessee state rules meeting said that Reebok would no longer be making umpire shoes. Anyone else heard this? I kept waiting on zigs in the wide but now it looks like that will never happen.

[JaxRolo]

WHAT?????

 

Reebok is all I have ever worn!

[MadMax]

I could have told you this day was coming.

 

Reebok is a foreign company (originally British), now owned by Adidas (German). They're all about big dividends and profit margins on their product lines – not about a specialty product for a very select market (namely, us umpires) in a sport / activity they have very little presence in (baseball). There's probably a director (or team) in Adidas analyzing all their metrics, and writing off the plate shoe product line.

 

Same fate befell the Tanel 360 plate shoes, and it's also why Nike can't be bothered to make plate shoes. I'm relieved (but hopeful) that New Balance will continue to make plate shoes.

 

Thing is, though, we're in the Age of Rapid Prototyping, and Product Start-ups and Bespoke Products. There are more and more 3D Printers emerging day by day, and in a global economic and production structure, there are opportunities for small outfits to step in (bad pun) and design, develop, and bring-to-market a specialized product like plate shoes. The hinderance becomes the cost, because small-run, bespoke fashion shoes can usually fetch between $200-$500 per pair – you can just imagine what plate shoes may fetch. Still, though, an enterprising company could pull it off.

 

Ideally, though, I'd like to see UnderArmour or Warrior step onto the scene and take a shot at this.

[Rulekeep]

But...but...ZIGS!

[Platejob29]

I really hope this isn't true. I've used Reebok plate shoes my whole career and can't imagine making a switch to another plate shoe. Unless NB is going to come out with a low top plate shoe in the near future I'm about to have to stock up on Zig plate shoes.

[Tksjewelry]

@MadMax I'd seriously pay $500 for a pair of plate shoes. I've already cracked my foot once for the lack of them and I'm stuck at a rare 14u until I get some. Curse my midget feet!

[Rulekeep]

@MadMax I'd seriously pay $500 for a pair of plate shoes. I've already cracked my foot once for the lack of them and I'm stuck at a rare 14u until I get some. Curse my midget feet!

Just take a pair of your base shoes, find your local SCA group, ask to use their forge, and make metal plates to go on top of your shoes.

[Tksjewelry]

@MadMax I'd seriously pay $500 for a pair of plate shoes. I've already cracked my foot once for the lack of them and I'm stuck at a rare 14u until I get some. Curse my midget feet!

Just take a pair of your base shoes, find your local SCA group, ask to use their forge, and make metal plates to go on top of your shoes.

Way ahead of you! Hubs is a metal worker, he's already making me some. A viable alternative but still sucks a big one not to have proper uniform shoes like everyone else. One of these days I'll be brave enough to post a picture from very early in the season. Shin guards way to big, shirt three sizes too big, pants crotch hanging down to my knees, brown work boots. Chest guard down to my crotch. Yeah, it was a train wreck.

[gnhbua93]

This will be the next generation of plate shoes!

 

http://www.nautilusfootwear.com/our-brands/avenger-safety-footwear/avenger-7322-met-guard-boot.html

[JaxRolo]

This will be the next generation of plate shoes!

 

http://www.nautilusfootwear.com/our-brands/avenger-safety-footwear/avenger-7322-met-guard-boot.html

I like it. They even have Wide sizes.

[Thunderheads]

This will be the next generation of plate shoes!

 

http://www.nautilusfootwear.com/our-brands/avenger-safety-footwear/avenger-7322-met-guard-boot.html

Jim Reynolds used to wear those..........

[JasonPalo]

My first plate shoes where a pair of regular steel toe shoes I bought from my local department/grocery store back in 1999.

[Stan W.]

I currently wear Reebok after many years of wearing +POS.....and many of my friends rave about the NB....... ..I'm hoping that NIKE will eventually come out with Umpire products after many years of tinkering with umpire shoe projects.......although I haven't heard anything lately about the rumors that they were going to make a bid on supplying umpire uniforms to MLB/MiLB .....

[tiger49]

Adidas is getting Reebok out of team sports footware and clothing. They are going to have Reebok focus on the lifestyle and fitness markets. I wouldn't be surprised to see Adidas replace the Reeboks with an Adidas version.

Adidas currently makes a pretty good trainer that can be used as a base shoe.

[mr magoo]

I saw once on the Red Wing web site that they had a safety shoe that looks like plate shoes. Might be an alternative   

[Thunderheads]

I saw once on the Red Wing web site that they had a safety shoe that looks like plate shoes. Might be an alternative   

I just looked, didn't see anything

[gnhbua93]

I saw once on the Red Wing web site that they had a safety shoe that looks like plate shoes. Might be an alternative   

 

I saw once on the Red Wing web site that they had a safety shoe that looks like plate shoes. Might be an alternative   

Link

[Thunderheads]

 

I saw once on the Red Wing web site that they had a safety shoe that looks like plate shoes. Might be an alternative   

 

I saw once on the Red Wing web site that they had a safety shoe that looks like plate shoes. Might be an alternative   

Link

 

google is your friend

http://www.redwingsafety.com/safety-boot/5582-safe-us/5582-worx-mens-oxford-black/filter-worx

[elares]

I thought work boots with a throat guard laced to the top was the go-to substitution for "plate shoes".

[Majordave]

This conversation has turned to where it brings back some memories of when I coached baseball at a rural middle school back in the 90's we had "country boy" umpires, uncertified I am sure, in Blue mechanic shirts with their name over pockets ("Red" and "Bubba" were two of them-I kid you not) and they usually wore jeans, shinguards over the jeans, a raft/balloon for a CP, a red or royal blue mask with matching pads, a chew in their jaw and good ole' Red Wing Brand Metatarsal protective work boots in that reddish brown, oiled leather look Red Wing is famous for.  If memory serves, their calls were usually as bad as their appearance.  Ah, what memories......  Can't wait to get back to those days of umpires wearing work boots..........

[Rulekeep]

Can't wait to get back to those days of umpires wearing work boots..........

Those days aren't GONE. Never were. The best pair of plate shoes I ever had were a pair of all black matte finish steel toed Doctor Martens-only a season ago.

[Majordave]

@Rulekeep. Don't you know anything? Doc Marten's are the original punk rocker boots. Not for work. For stomping heads, creating anarchy in the UK, mosh pits and such. They've been around since way before you were born.

[midtnump]

I LOVE my Reebok Zigs plate shoes that I bought last year. IF this rumor is true, does this allow 3N2  Umpire shoes to step up and grab more market share?

[Rulekeep]

@Rulekeep. Don't you know anything? Doc Marten's are the original punk rocket boots. Not for work. For stomping heads, creating anarchy in the UK, mosh pits and such. They've been around since way before you were born.

I'M SO SORRY DAVE, I CAN'T HEAR YOUR RIGHTEOUS PUNK KNOWLEDGE OVER MY PUNK.

[Majordave]

I just bought Chris Hickman's used Mizuno Japanese Plate shoes. Pretty great shoe. Low cut but still nice. Real leather. He sold them to finance his newer model of Mizuno Plate Shoe. They are the real deal. He sent me pics. I called dibs when he wants to sell them.

At $259 for the new ones a bit cost prohibitive for many. However, if anyone at Mizuno marketing is listening......they are a huge player in baseball equipment for players and coaches here. Maybe they could fill a niche in umpire market if we could get the price down a bit. Just a thought.