Majordave

Underarmour makes football girdles with pockets for pads. Some models have built in hex pad like material. Nike does as well. Some with pads built in. Some with pockets for pads you choose the level of protection. When I coached high school football and first started umpiring and was working mostly JV and Freahman or middle school games I learned thigh protection was a necessity. I raided our equipment room and wore a football girdle with football thigh pads. Lifesaver but still doesn’t stop everything. Try Underarmour.com or google is your friend. Also eBay has a whole bunch of the football McDavid hexpads in various models and one pair of the umpire/catcher model in size Large asking $90 or best offer good luck I think it’s time to revive my plans for an umpire full body hard shell suit like the Star Wars stormtrooper suits. Might even draw in some new younger umpires who would dig the cool suit versus the baggy gray pants and golf shirts. Maybe.

Hahahaaaa. It’s the Dirty Thirty plus two to you Bucko! You’re right on the remarkable. I went and looked at officiating.com baseball forum and umpire.org forums the other day. Dead. Almost zero activity on either in the last year. This site literally ate the competition.

The ones that Warren posted are actually the ones I have been looking for but apparently they are no longer available from anywhere. The ones I bought are more traditional looking and wont cause you to have to answer too many questions. I bought some low cut used Mizuno's from @Chris Hickman on the buy/sell/trade forum here. They were real leather, pretty light and used two velcro straps instead of laces. I liked them but they were too wide for me so I sold them to my buddy Mike I mentioned earlier. I think Chris Hickman bought the ones that look like what Warren posted in the Reviews forum. I had to answer a lot of questions whenever I wore the older Mizuno velcro low cuts because they look so different. The did have a steel toe though. That's why I am a Mizuno plate shoes fan. Thanks for transferring/posting my review Warren. I forgot about that reborn feature of the website.

Thanks. Counting you I have the "Dirty Thirty-Two!" Excellent! Thanks for having a vision, for following through with it and giving us a place to share and learn.

So who are the original members please Warren? I joined on 18 FEB 2008 your personal invite to me from either the umpire.org or officiating.com baseball forum site. I simply cannot remember now. So glad you did. Have thoroughly enjoyed you and our members and the friends I've made from here, both virtual/online as well as those I have had the pleasure and good fortune to meet in person and work with over the last ten years. A true umpire community is what you have created. I am proud to be a part of it.

They are mid.

Do tell. Review what you’ve purchased.

So, I am definitely in a new umpire shoe buying mood lately. My buddy Mike told me about the new(ish) Samurai Gears website and I took a look. The site owner, So (that’s his first name) is very helpful, will answer any question and has very good English. (Way better than my Japanese). He worked extended spring training here in the US with a young local pro school graduate I work college games and high school games with here in KC area. Even sent me a photo of himself and Josh together I bought the Mizuno Pro plate shoes. I placed my order on 12/21/17. They were shipped on 12/26/17 and they arrived on 12/29/17. I think that was pretty quickly so the shipping charge ($54) was pricy but it was worth it in my opinion. The shoes are incredibly light. Synthetic leather with a shiny finish so I don’t think they will need any Leather Lustering in year one. Well padded inside. Large metatarsal plate. Grippy looking sole. AND.....the toe feels like it’s steel. I have the old NB 450’s made out of real leather with a steel toe so I know how steel toes are supposed to feel. I asked him by email and So confirmed that they are steel toes. The list price was $185 and So sent me a coupon code that saved me $27.75. Yep. $200+ for a pair of shoes. But, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I never cheat my feet. The weight, comfort, and the steel toes make it worth the price as far as I’m concerned. So also sent me a pair of new SSK brand “toe socks” to try. They are comfortable but feel really weird on my feet. Will take some getting used to I think. So told me in an email that MLB umpire Dan Bellino loves them. Anyway, for me this site and its owner are a winner. I would love to try one of the Belgard and one of the Mizuno chest protectors one day. Maybe, if I win the lottery?

@grayhawk Nice plan. That’s exactly what I did to get invited to college ball AND to get selected for HS post season.

Touché

@grayhawk Steve, I'm sittin' here lookin' at your numbers at the bottom of your signature block on your posts man, and I just gotta say....those are rookie numbers man! Ya' gotta pump those numbers up man!

I went to NB site, got froggy, loved the look of the shoes and went to the customized version because I did not like the white on the side/bottom between the shoe and sole and thought a silver N logo would look cooler than the white. Justification for spending $150 on base shoes: I haven't purchased new base shoes for several years. I still wear some awesome Puma Cell low cuts in full leather with white stripes I bought brand new, in-the-box from @Scott K 's professional umpire retirement surplus sale when he was coming off his AAA/MLB fill-in days and joining the college umpiring ranks in the now defunct SIUA(Southeast Independent Umpires Association) in Louisville, Kentucky waaaaay back in 2009 (Thanks Scott! Still LOVE those shoes). But, I need mid-cut on natural grass fields because I have very tender (read weak, girly) ankles from my youth and high school days. (over 20 separate ankle sprains from age 13 to 25 or so). Tell me what you think about these please. (still awaiting delivery). I know, I know.....way too expensive. But I learned a long time ago to NEVER CHEAT YOUR FEET!

C'mon Eileen!

I ordered some black leather mask pads at a sale/discounted price online last week. Order went through without a hitch and about three days later the pads were in a USPS priority mall large envelope in my mailbox and they look great. Seems like the ship has been righted. Great job Dan! Thanks.

Good luck. You shouldn't have any trouble selling all of them.

Yes you have Teddy Ballgame! I forgot to mention you. You are one of the guys I met there that I have worked with! Damn good catch. Tell your story man. It will most definitely encourage others and may get some of them to attend.

Call Jon Browar. I listed his contact in the OP. Can't hurt to ask.

I posted a longer description in the Free For All Forum. See PDF below for more info. I highly recommend this clinic for the value, the way you will be treated by the staff, the number of reps you will get in live games plus the on-field instruction and the quality of the instruction. 2017 Flyer.pdf

September 22-24, 2017. Our Kansas City Collegiate Umpires Alliance Leadership is conducting their 2017 Intro to 3-Man Umpire Clinic. Camp POC; Jon Browar, Assigner for MIAA and GLVC, NCAA Division II Conferences and Kansas Jayhawk Junior College Conference. jbrowar16@aol.com, 913-638-5212. I have attended this clinic along with many of my past and current collegiate baseball partners. Members on this board that have attended are ACPAR72, Ironman and I am sure several others. The instructor staff at this clinic are many of the same instructors that work other midwest umpire camps and clinics. All work college baseball and many worked professional baseball. There will be live games to work. In the recent past there have been both collegiate/junior college and high school level games to work. I have personally worked collegiate baseball with at least ten new to college baseball umpires that were assigned games because of their performance at this clinic. Past instructors include; current AAA Umpire Paul Clemons of Topeka, current AA Umpires Tyler Olsen and Grant Conrad. Former AAA and Major League Fill-in Umpire Seth Buckminster, 2017 NCAA Super Regional Umpires Bill McGuire of Omaha and Mark Wagers of Wichita. 2017 NCAA Regional Umpire and former minor league umpire Tim Cordill, Former minor league umpires Mark Hutchison, Carlos Martinez and others on staff in the Big XII, Big 10, Conference USA, Missouri Valley Division I Conferences. Highly recommend you attend if you are interested in learning the 3 man collegiate umpiring system. I am not being paid or otherwise rewarded or remunerated for this endorsement. I know that you will get great instruction, be treated well, meet lifelong colleagues and friends and learn a lot. It WILL make you a better umpire. PDF Flyer attached. 2017 Flyer.pdf

Bump

That's why he was "ejected" by us post-mortem. I've seen the videos. Several retired MLB umpires have written about how much of a jerk he was. Had to get that EJ for all of us.

Me and my college fraternity brother, Kevin, "ejecting" Earl Weaver's statue before the Cardinals at Orioles game on Father's Day this past Sunday. Fun but ridiculously hot day at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. My first trip there. Loved it!

Dude, your getting old. Or soft. Hahaha. Four in a day is tough

Worn my plate version of these three games now and base version at least 4. I think I need to pull out a thesaurus to make sure I cover all the superlative adjectives I'd like to use. Game changers! Amazing fit and feel and look. I'm a huge fan now. Really nice pants for hot weather. Probably will go to these for all conditions if they hold up. I'd still like to take a look at the new Smitty Poly-wools in person before I buy more of these golf pants but so far I think these are definitely worth the money.

Fore! you should get a free bowl of soup when you buy a pair of these!