Stan W.

oh good, then you never saw me umpire in rural Georgia in the 80's........whew.......... the uniform was a T-shirt that said ........wait for it..........Umpire........blue 2 snap polyester coach shorts.........an Elmer Fudd foam snap back cap.....that said.........wait for it.......Umpire...you worked every night....6-8 was baseball and 9-11 was softball.......... (I knows what is smitty, cause I were one) Here is the standard question to ask yourself to determine when its required to wear real umpire pants......... "If the game is played with a white ball with red stitches, you should wear real umpire pants..............".

5 pitches and no HBP?................probably hard to justify anything more than BigUmpires above good comment........

agreed, .........and to add to that, Ive never heard anyone compliment an umpire colleague for being "good on the bases"..........the badge of honor is being called a "great ball and strike" guy.....

polywools.......thus........pleated..........

to the OP...... this is a nunya.........as in nunya bidness..............stay out of it....unless you are an officer in the association, stay far away................ as to myself, my son has agreed to let me know in no uncertian terms when it is time for me to be done...........i value his opinion above all others

welcome to the site!

I have them in black and blue and love them too....wish I could get new ones as well....

Sometimes the baseball gods look down favorably and bail us all out.........

C is a given......

Agreed, the only game level I trust is my partners after the game, as we are doing post game......."hey, that was a pretty good game!".....is high praise indeed........

balloons?...............been there....done that......never looked back............I would never do a game with one ever again......

Remember years ago ol' Tim C. was working with NIKE on a prototype plate shoe.......was pretty far along in the development process as I recall, maybe the possibility of being the MLB supplier would push that project back onto the front burner.... Uniforms, caps and plate and base shoes.?........

I remember +POS having a Navy base jacket years ago that had the red gussets under the arm and back up the back shoulder.....was 1000% better tlooking than those Majestic jackets........ Those are just plain ugly..........

"those two are on you blue"...........I never tolerate being called a cheater............

welcome to the site.

welcome to the site!

Welcome back....you'll be back on the field in no time......dont skimp on the rehab!............its the key to a great result!

welcome to the site!...........your thoughts mirror my own, I read everyday.......and post when I have something to contribute........I think its the best way to get started in a new forum..... To mimmick the old adage, you learn more from listening than talking....I learn far more from reading than I do posting........ again welcome to the site.

welcome to the site!

I was amazed as well. It was actually almost comical watching it unfold. It was a tournament "world series" where teams that had won previous tournaments were playing. So it was actually some pretty talented 10 year olds. The funny thing is that even though they recorded the out the DTHC still asked why I let the play go and didn't call him out earlier for running out of the baseline. I explained the rule. And his reply was "do you think anyone would have disagreed if you called him out". I just said "Well I prefer to call plays based on the rules not the potential reactions by fans and coaches". Outstanding!! Congratulations!.......... I just said "Well I prefer to call plays based on the rules not the potential reactions by fans and coaches". This is what a real umpire says and does.........

Outstanding......just outstanding........!

This is a great question.... In my association, when we are looking at pulling up an umpire to do higher levels we first assess whether or not they are "invested" in umpiring..........how do you judge investment?...... General Ability meeting attendence clinic attendence educational opportunities sought game managment skills meeting uniform standards proper gear committment to their schedule, (includes the travel needed to do that circut).... You cant buy your way to higher baseball.......top uniforms and gear only gets you to the point where your onfield performance will give you away......I know there is probably a good umpire out there who is shabbily dressed and uses old gear, but NONE of the Umpires I respect and admire and who have the resume I aspire to have, would ever do so........ AS to whether or not to spend the money on good uniforms and gear or good education its not either/or..........its AND.......imho.

Welcome to the site!.....you will find many members here from other sites as well......glad to have you....

I do remember that my first Navy pullover was a very thick polyester Cliff Keen and that it was very hot, but at that time I was just so happy to finally get on an updated uniform par with the rest of the umpire world, I didnt mind it that much....

Both are great protectors, but Important questions to ask yourself. which one do you wear the most? which is the oldest? which do you prefer? In the unlikely event that the retrofit came back unsatisfactory, which one would you be the most unhappy that it happend to?. personally, Id upgrade my favorite....