DanAKAL

Or perhaps they are reading these forums. I have no first hand experience but I have been told by more than one vendor that what we write here gets more attention than we realize. Not necessarily isolated to UE but internet forums in general. If I were a supplier I know that I would want these places singing my praise.

Nate, the first thing that comes to mind watching that video is the whole arguing with a pig in the mud thing. The ump was certainly enjoying Earl.

I get my work boots from Nicks Boots as they are one of only a couple of manufacturers that make custom boots. I'm hoping to avoid having them make me a pair of $500 shoes to umpire baseball. I wish I could wear regular Red Wing and Wolverine steel toe shoes but none of them fit. I can only hope there is enough give in the New Balance shoes that I can wear them for a few hours. Reebok...I don't buy their hockey gear either. For the same reasons as stated here. Graf skates are made to fit and I'll be going to these this year for hockey after several seasons or so-so fitting skates. Another $500 for footwear. I'm really hoping to at least find some so-so shoes for baseball. Dan

I ordered the 995 base shoes because they came in the EEEE width. MAybe they are more true to size than the 350/450. I even called to make sure they were EEEE and asked about returns. Should I have to send them back I'll let you guys know. I don't know what I'll do for plate shoes as I haven't found any that are EEEE. My shins have an instep guard but that doesn't do anything for the toe area. I'll see what I can do with my shoes and shins when I get them. Perhaps I can even fashion a removable extra long instep guard that I could velcro to my shoe laces. I'll just have to see what I can do when I get all of my equipment together. Dan

Uh Oh...my shoes are already ordered. I'll wear them awhile around the house and we'll see how they work. I asked before I ordered them so i know I can return them if need be. Thanks Michael. Dan

Shoes....These are a problem for me as I wear a size 11 F (that's wider than a EEEE). Most of my shoes have to be custom made in order to get my feet in them. I'll be giving the New Balance EEEE shoes a try but the jury is still out until I work with them some. As for the white logos...I think you guys already know how I feel about those.

UIC I believe the more I think on this that you have hit the nail on the head. While I am new to baseball officiating I'm not new to officiating and baseball and I have always been a traditionalist. Perhaps I just perfer things the way I remember them. IMHO if a company is making a quality and/or superior product they don't need a great deal of advertising as their products will stand by themselves. I am with the rest of you guys in that I simply won't sacrifice my level of protection. However, if brand A has enough logos on it to make me look like I'm purchasing their products because of who made them and brand B is of equal quality and doesn't have these logos I'll buy brand B every time. Even if it ends up costing me more as it did with my most recent purchase. Perhaps this is just a pet peeve but it really gets under my skin. Whatever we do lets don't get NASCAR involved. I grew up only miles south of Talladega and have raced cars most of my life. I finally just got sick of whatever NASCAR has become and sold my last race car in 2003. Again, I am a "blue collar" traditionalist and believe in dues paying which just doesn't happen anymore. Interesting stuff guys. All in all good info. Dan

Is it just me or do any of you guys find the visible labels and references to other leagues on our gear gaudy? Maybe its just me but I do not like this at all. I am pretty new to umpiring baseball but not officiating in general, particularly ice hockey. I go to a great deal of trouble to remove and mask over labels on my hockey gear and most other guys I know do this also. Tonight I placed an order for gear and had everything lined up and ready to push the button. However, I just couldn't bring myself to buy the mask and shins I had picked out. I could probably have removed or covered up these labels with tape and such but why should I when I can buy equally priced and effective gear that doesn't have the labels. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind a manufacturer putting labels on their equipment. But rather it is the lengths they go to for what seems to me like its being shoved down my throat. Now if they were supplying my equipment or the league I was in was being sponsored by the manufactuer that would be something different. But they aren't doing anything for me now and this is my money I'm spending. Furthermore, and again maybe its just me, but I don't care if they are the official gear of any league as this won't sway my decision one way or the other. For my way of thinking form follows function. Just advertising I suppose. This is starting to sound like a rant, and maybe it is, but it didn't start out to be a rant. How do you guys feel about this? Dan

More really good info. Thanks!! I have been joking about applying hockey rules to baseball here but that whistle thing I believe will be something that I will really have to work at. One of my co-workers, also a hockey ref, asked me to count how many times I reach for my whistle during a baseball game. As a guess I'll say it will probably be more than ten!! The guys who got me into this were very forthcoming with info on what they do and what the requirements are. It breaks down something like this for our area. For all levels our pants are heather grey, navy shirts for LL and HS, powder blue for softball, and any color shirt as long as you and your partner match for Legions. Thats about as far as I can expect to go for the foreseeable future so it narrows things down a bit. I'm sure evaluators for baseball will be much the same as for hockey. Even out on the ice orchastrating a ten man fight with sticks we are graded on appearance and equipment. Professionalism in conduct and appearance goes a long way to ones officiating career. Also, whether we believe or not, coaches, players, and fans notice. Not so much that they notice a professional, as this is expected of officials, but they certainly notice someone who isn't. Speaking of looking like a pro I think I will take some of your advice and pass on the combo pants. I'm 6'1" and 210 lbs so plate pants over triple knee shins will probably be much better for appearance sake. Thanks again for all of the great info and welcomes!! Dan

Guys Thanks for all of the great info!! I was wondering about reading material I should be looking into. Good to know that others my age have started for their first time or returned. I'm getting MEGO (My Eyes Glaze Over) pouring over equipment and gear. I can pretty well afford almost any of this gear but I'm being cost consious as well. Things like wondering if combo pants will fit well enough over three knee shins and such. I'll get it all nailed down soon enough. As I type I am remebering some of the bumps and bruises I used to get when being a human backstop for a hard throwing pitcher and that is indeed helping me make some decisions on which equipment to get. refump I'll try to avoid opening face offs at home plate! The five sided dot will probably be a quick indicator I'm playing the wrong game!! I expect managing a baseball game will not be quite like managing a hockey game. In a close hockey game we could call interference or roughing anytime we want. However, I am sure there will be methods where I'll have to set the standard of play in the early innings for the entire game, and I don't just mean how tight the strike zone is. I know for certain that should it come to fiticuffs I'll know who was the third man in! Does dropping the gloves constitute a baseball fight or must I wait until there are actually punches thrown? LOL Some habits may never die!! Thanks again for all of the info guys. I'm starting to really like it around here. Dan

Better late than never I suppose. I say that I’m late as I am over 40 and just getting started. One day just minding my own business I went to meet a couple of buddies at a Legions Game. Seems I was also in the company of one of the Legions Umpire’s while just watching the game with my buddies. Talking about the game and what was going on lead to the inevitable situational talk between us. After an hour of exchanges my new acquaintance stated that I must be an Umpire. After replying that no I wasn’t an Ump but had been a catcher he introduced me to his supervisor and you can put things together from there. Anyway, here I am looking forward to getting out on the diamond once again. I may have to unlearn some habits to call baseball though. I have been an ice hockey referee for some years and I certainly don’t want to get the two sports mixed up. Could you imagine an Ump stopping play because the batter played the ball with a high stick above his shoulders. I wonder just where I would place the ball for the face off!! And if for some reason the batter charges the mound to get at the pitcher can I just let them fight until they are tired before I move in to break it up? Just kidding I expect the lack of ice will clue me in pretty quick of which sport I’m calling. This is really a great web site. I have lurked around here for a few days and learned a wealth of information. A lot of do’s and don’ts and something quite important to me is what gear is most preferable. As a catcher I trusted Rawlings gear mostly but it sure seems that Wilson is one of the more preferred suppliers for Umps. There is one good thing I can say about starting now and that is I can afford the gear I want/need. I’ll be sending Ump-Attire an order in a few days. I always like to see a business owner, Jim Kirk, who will go to the guys who use his stuff and ask for opinions. Jim I haven’t even ordered from you yet but I like you already. There is another Jim that I buy from a great deal too. He sells hockey official’s equipment and does business pretty much the same as Jim Kirk. Needless to say he gets 95% of my business. Looking forward to getting out on the field again, as well as learning from you guys…even if I am a little late getting started. Dan