New Pants (Heather Gray)

[willv28]

Making my wish list for next year. I need a second set of pants. Heather Gray for LL.

Right now I have a pair of Cliff Kleen base pants, which I find to be too narrow in the legs, especially my upper legs are somewhat bigger than normal. Also a pair of Fechheimer Plate Pants, I like the fit, don't like the feel and color of the fabric. When I crouch/squat the legs don't press against the shin guards molding around them, I hate that. So that's a req too that they don't.

What would you recommend that has more room in the legs for base pants and maybe something nicer in plate pants? I know the Honig's Poly-Wools on come in charcoal, so that's out.

Is there anything anyone know that might be new or changed for next season?

[Bigdog]

Hey all,

Why no charcoal? Charcoal has pretty much become the default/standard color for almost every organization out there.

Bigdog:cool:

[mstaylor]

Smitty and Davis are both making heather pants with the expandable waist. If you think the base pants are too tight try the combos on the bases and use plate for the plate.

[willv28]

No charcoal because we use heather here and I think LL still uses heather. All the games I see online and on TV they've been wearing heather. I think even the guy on ESPN2 for Big League Softball is wearing heather, but the lighting is odd to me.

ms. They're not tight, but close to almost being wrapped around my legs. I don't know if the Smitty pants have bigger leg holes, but I could wear combos if I had to.

[kylejt]

No charcoal because we use heather here and I think LL still uses heather. All the games I see online and on TV they've been wearing heather.

LL doesn't provide pants, so the crews go with what everyone has. Everyone has heather, but not everyone has charcoal.

Also, LL doesn't dictate what umpires wear. Witness the following:

[Nate]

I have charcoal pants and I'm the only person on my high school board that had them this year.. I was told by one of the executive board members that I need to get heather gray next year. So I plan on buying heather gray from gerry davis. They have some top quality pants. The smitty flex pants that I got this year weren't very good. Very thin, cheap feeling, and holds wrinkles. Also the elastic stretched out.. I got a 32 flex-fit and now they're like a 35. So they're very uncomfortable to wear.

Also I would feel embarrased to umpire on that crew. I get mad if I work with someone who wears a light blue shirt and doesn't tell me. We have a board policy that states if you're planning to wear another color other than dark blue, contact your partner ahead of time.

Nate

[willv28]

I'm more talking about the regionals, etc. All the crews have been uniform and all have been heather at least the ones in the east I've seen. So I assume it's the given/general idea, not a requirement. Since everyone else is wearing heather, esp in my district, I should too. I wanna match. I don't want to be the only "upgraded" person. I don't care if it's only LL, I wanna look as decent as I can afford.

[willv28]

I have charcoal pants and I'm the only person on my high school board that had them this year.. I was told by one of the executive board members that I need to get heather gray next year. So I plan on buying heather gray from gerry davis. They have some top quality pants. The smitty flex pants that I got this year weren't very good. Very thin, cheap feeling, and holds wrinkles. Also the elastic stretched out.. I got a 32 flex-fit and now they're like a 35. So they're very uncomfortable to wear.

Also I would feel embarrased to umpire on that crew. I get mad if I work with someone who wears a light blue shirt and doesn't tell me. We have a board policy that states if you're planning to wear another color other than dark blue, contact your partner ahead of time.

Nate

Nate, I've seen that photo before. It was a "special" day where they did that on purpose I think. Kinda funny. But I only have one color shirt, I plan to buy more. I would definitely like to wear charcoal, but I don't think that can happen because it doesn't work out with everyone else. Being single I can pickup something decent every once in a while. So I'm not that concerned.

My concern is getting good fitting/good quality stuff. Clothes fit me awkwardly, I rarely get a good fit, especially in the general area between the legs. I'm not fat, fat, but even when I wasn't over 240 lbs (which is all in the tire region above the waist, my legs were always mostly muscle, I did a lot of walking in my youth. So sometimes if I don't "buy big" the crotch seam gets pulled on when I spread my legs, so I need pants that are good in that area.

Kinda like the umpire shirts. With regular shirts for street wearing I buy XXL because though I measure for XL the sleeves are wrapped around my arms and they're usually too short. But that's modern sizing which is usually undersized. With umpire shirts, I buy XL and wear it on both bases and plate. With XL, the sleeves are tight. If I bought XXL it would be too baggy.

[kylejt]

Yeah, it was definitely a special occasion.

The big guy on the left is currently in San Bernadino, working the regional games. (Look for him on ESPN either Saturday or Sunday night.) I wanted him to get a chance to not only work a six man crew, but work each position to get used to it. So we rotated every inning. Now I know that any evaluator would have wet himself on the spot, but our ultimate customers are still talking about that night.

Figuring that was pretty goofy, I mandated we all wear different colored shirts. You'd have to work at my park to understand the mentality. We try to not take ourselves too seriously. Oh sure, we call a good game, and know the rules better than most (we've got a dozen WR school grads there), but we still know how to have fun.

And yes, I can count. There are seven guys in that photo. One guy rotated out, ate, drank, heckled and fetched food for the next guy. It was a pretty cool evening (note the MiLB mascot in the background. And yes, I danced the Chicken Dance with her). A packed house, we raised over a grand in the raffle and did $1500+ in the snackbar. Not bad for a Friday night.

Good fun.

[willv28]

That's great. Only thing that would have made it even more interesting is using all the non-standard shirt styles from Official's Choice.

That's great for him, I hope someday to be able to do that. Registration is certainly full for the next umpire training session for ER. But maybe one of the next year's ones when they open I'll go.

I try not to be TOO serious during the regular season, especially when two league teams are playing. But I often get back into being serious without even trying. But I like to have times where I can interact with the coaches/players, etc on a positive level. That is part of the point of LL after all and I hate feeling like I'm the one that has to be the one that doesn't say anything and feel like I'm being mean all the time.

Edited August 13, 2009 by willv28

[NWA_UMP]

Willv28-

I hear ya...I have Smitty in charcoal plate and they are tight in the seat and thighs. I have Davis in heather and they fit great...plenty of room and construction is solid. I know that Honigs makes a heather in athletic cut...never used. That maybe the route to take...they are not poly-wool.

I am struggling with a similar issue for next season. I will be using charcoal only for league and High School, most guys in our area do. I don't like the "look" of the Davis, Smitty's are tight, Honigs are some that I have yet to try...maybe. I really wish the Smitty fit better...rock solid construction, great look, nice fabric. The pair I have now have been re hemmed for base work and they are better, but still not roomy as I would like. They have held up well and I will use them as a back-up for next season. My Davis heather will get "retired" after this season.

[Kevin Finnerty]

Willv28-

I hear ya...I have Smitty in charcoal plate and they are tight in the seat and thighs. I have Davis in heather and they fit great...plenty of room and construction is solid. I know that Honigs makes a heather in athletic cut...never used. That maybe the route to take...they are not poly-wool.

There's a Honig's slacks line called "Ultimate" slacks. They have tuxedo buckles on the expanders, so you can set them. They're fairly roomy, and are really put together. But the unique thing is that the shade is somewhere between heather and charcoal, but they call them charcoal.

They're all polyester and only a few bucks more than the Gerry Davis. They're very nice (and durable).

[midmoump]

Willv28-

I hear ya...I have Smitty in charcoal plate and they are tight in the seat and thighs. I have Davis in heather and they fit great...plenty of room and construction is solid. I know that Honigs makes a heather in athletic cut...never used. That maybe the route to take...they are not poly-wool.

I am struggling with a similar issue for next season. I will be using charcoal only for league and High School, most guys in our area do. I don't like the "look" of the Davis, Smitty's are tight, Honigs are some that I have yet to try...maybe. I really wish the Smitty fit better...rock solid construction, great look, nice fabric. The pair I have now have been re hemmed for base work and they are better, but still not roomy as I would like. They have held up well and I will use them as a back-up for next season. My Davis heather will get "retired" after this season.

I agree 100% with the Smitty cut! I was able to review a pair of combos from Smittys and the cut was very narrow in the seat and thigh.

I also reviewed a pair of GD charcoals and found them extremely comfortable.

Stay away from Dalco as they are cheaply made and are not saddle stitched for the plate.

I own Honig's B1 and B2 pants and find them very comfortable and they wear well, but they tend to fade to pink over time. I suppose if I needed heather gray pants I would purchase some from GD.

As far as charcoal pants, buy the Honig's poly-wools. They are the best around.

[willv28]

Then that should settle it, I will try Davis pants. I'm definitely not looking for "the best bargain". So I will give them a try unless someone has something better.

[Kevin Finnerty]

Then that should settle it, I will try Davis pants. I'm definitely not looking for "the best bargain". So I will give them a try unless someone has something better.

AHEM!

They're all polyester and only a few bucks more than the Gerry Davis. They're very nice (and durable).

[midmoump]

Kevin-

Are the Honig's Charcoal Grey Ultimates the same color as their Poly Wools (lighter than the GD charcoals, but darker than heather?), or are they a lighter shade than the Poly-Wools?

[twjones]

I get mad if I work with someone who wears a light blue shirt and doesn't tell me. We have a board policy that states if you're planning to wear another color other than dark blue, contact your partner ahead of time.

Nate

Do as I do... bring all your shirts to the game. Sure it looks like you're living out of your car, but you don't have to worry about not matching. If they don't have other colors, navy is always an option.