Hawkman

I've quit umpiring twice over the years, same with basketball. I came back with a better perspective both times; sometimes you can just get tired of doing something. I have found that working too much is a big cause of unhappiness for me, particularly with baseball. At this point the only baseball I call are high school games which in Iowa are all doubleheaders which can mean some long nights after work. I generally don't work more than 2 nights a week anymore with an occasional Saturday afternoon doubleheader thrown in there. I had several years where I'd work 4 or 5 nights a week and got to the point where I dreaded going to the park. Of course I know some guys that absolutely love working that much but we're all different; two doubleheaders a week is enough for me.

Some guys stay too long, others leave too early. I've quit officiating both baseball and basketball twice over the years because it had become a grind; I finally got the right work/life balance down and enjoy working both sports right now. I've found when I work too much I start to get tired of it. I've seen older guys (70's) who can still call a great game and others who should have retired years ago. There is an umpire in my area who is pushing 80 and still works a full D3 college and HS schedule every year. He can't move as well as he used to but he still gets around well enough and calls a really good game. His mind is still sharp and he knows the rules better than anyone around here. He should absolutely still be working if he wants to. He gave up varsity basketball about 10 years ago because he felt like he was no longer able to work that level effectively anymore; he still works jr high and jv games in basketball. On the other hand I've seen a few other guys in their 70's who clearly can't call a game anymore. Things just move too fast for them and they get confused; they can't move well enough to be in good position. It's sad to watch those guys and even sadder to work with them; most of them don't know they do a terrible job because nobody tells them. I have an agreement with a guy who is a good friend and also my baseball partner for many of my games. We've both always been brutally honest with each other about our performance on the field. We've both agreed that when the time comes where we think the other guys skills have declined to where he's starting to embarrass himself we will tell him he needs to hang it up. I'd much rather have a friend and fellow umpire tell me I stink and need to retire than make a fool of myself on the diamond. That said I hope to stay healthy enough to work games long past my retirement from my real job (another 9 years). I lift weights, run half marathons and stay active so I see no reason I couldn't umpire well into my 70's if I'm still enjoying it. I think umpiring will be even more fun when I no longer have to get up and go to work in the morning after working a doubleheader the previous night.

Surprised you found a pair. I looked far and wide before I finally found a pair of low tops a few years ago. I love them, absolutely superior in comfort to the New Balance.

I've been officiating baseball and basketball since 2001. For years I bought just about all of my gear from Honigs. Today I buy 95% of it from Ump Attire. Honigs got left behind in my opinion; kind of like an old guy who never bothered to learn how to use a computer, a smart phone or email. When do you remember having any kind of interaction with the head of Honigs online? When have they ever asked you what you were looking for in gear, what you liked or disliked? Never that I can recall. The perfect example is their website which is absolutely awful in its functionality. Contrast that with Jim Kirk of Ump Attire. He posts stuff on their website and here; he interacts with officials and listens to their opinions. He hires competent people, officials who give us reviews of their products. He's engaged with his customers; I couldn't tell you who actually runs Honigs anymore. They may end up going the way of Plus POS at some point. They need to learn how to adapt and change. Just because a business strategy worked 20 years ago doesn't mean it will work now.

Pretty much the same here. They play nearly their entire senior season after they have already graduated. It's ridiculous.

My HS season doesn't start here until May 22nd. HS is all I do anymore; personally I wish Iowa would move their start of the season up to early or mid April.

Already a lot of advice here. I wear the Nutty Buddy. I have their compression shorts with the cup pocket and the jock. Without question, the best way to wear it is over the top of a pair of compression shorts and under the jock. Most comfortable and stays in the right place. I found it didn't sit right inside the cup pocket of the compression shorts. Use the jock on top of compression shorts.

Nice review, thanks. I don't need a new CP right now but that doesn't mean I won't buy one.:) Looks like a solid product.

This. Balls in the right, other stuff in the left.

Sometimes a CP just isn't right for you. I've worn 5 different ones over the years. I tried the Gold and didn't like it either. Wore a Platinum for about 3 years and it fit me pretty well but was a bit short and heavy for my liking. A buddy I often umpire with tried out the Platinum and hated it. I currently wear a Champion which I really like. Wore an old Honigs K1 for about 8 years and loved it too; it probably fit me better than any protector I've ever owned. We're all built differently. Sometimes it's trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. I will say this about the WV models; for CP's that are so expensive they have the absolute worst harness systems on the market.

Same here, annoying as heck because the tab of the zipper is too small to get a grip on otherwise. Haven't checked if there is a hole in the tab but if there is I'm going to put a key ring through it for something to grab. Otherwise a good bag thus far and I've had it for two years.

Really? That's nuts. The state here dictates we wear navy shirts for postseason play (or did the last time I worked it in 2013) but otherwise just say grey pants and partners shirts should match. Guys wear all kinds of colors around here; I have navy, polo blue with black trim, light blue with black trim, black and grey shirts. Most guys wear charcoal pants now but I've still worked with a few guys that wear heather. Umpires are in demand around here, particularly at the jv level or any level at the smaller schools. They're lucky to get two guys to show up for jv games so not many uniform demands are made.

Agreed. Once you think you know it all you're probably in trouble. I'm critical of myself after every single game. Always in pursuit of that perfect game. Unfortunately I think most of us have worked with guys who think they know it all when they clearly need a lot of work. Self confidence is great and I think I have plenty of that too, but I know I can always get better and learn from others.

I understand where you're coming from but respectfully disagree. You can't force someone to want to improve, thus unsolicited and usually unappreciated advice is wasted on them. I've had plenty of guys who have asked me for feedback in both baseball and basketball and I try to give it to them in a constructive manner. I find it seems more natural to exchange information in basketball; most guys will do that at halftime and after the game. Baseball umpires don't seem as open to it for some reason in my experience.

It's different with every guy. For several years I worked about 85% of my games with the same guy which was great for the most part. We were friends, our communication was flawless since we worked together so often, and we could be brutally honest with each other without worrying about someone getting pissed off or hurt about it. We WANTED feedback from each other. The downside to the same partner every night is you miss out on picking up things from the new perspective a different partner might provide.Well I took a year off and then came back for the 2015 season. My old partner had picked up a new guy to work with so he and I don't do nearly as many games together now so I work with a lot of different partners. All that said, I prefer a regular partner because I think things go more smoothly that way. It's rare I get a bad partner for a varsity contest, but it's a crapshoot with JV games. I've worked with some truly awful umpires at the lower levels and most of them don't realize how bad they are. You never know how a stranger is going to respond to feedback so I never give any unless asked. If the guy I'm working with is someone I've worked with before and know to be a competent and experienced umpire I'll ask for honest feedback. There have been a few occasions when I feel I've been struggling with a certain part of the zone behind the dish (pitches at the knees, top of the zone, breaking balls) I'll ask my partner to take note of those pitches during the game and give me some postgame feedback. If a guy seems open to it I'll bring up some odd plays we may have had or situations where maybe our rotation was poor. If the guy seems like he doesn't care or thinks he knows it all already I just say see ya later and go my separate way. I've found that often the guys that need the most help and constructive criticism are the one who are the least willing to ask for or accept it. Good umpires like getting feedback on how to improve because they want to get better. Bottom line if they don't ask for it I don't give it. If they do ask I'll be honest with them. We can all improve.