Baby needs new shoes (plate)

[dportz]

I have been looking at getting some plate shoes.... So far I have been lucky and haven't been hit in the toes this year.

Any suggestions? I was thinking of going with a higher top for ankle support.

Do they fit like normal running shoes? I have to order them so I don't get to try them on.

Which supplier is the most reputable? I have only dealt with Ump Attire so far and liked them.

Thanks in advance

Dean

[Bigdog]

Hey all,

The top three I can think of(in no particular alphabetical order):

1. Gerry Davis patent leather

2. New Balance 450's

3. Tanel 360's

Jim at Ump-Attire.com is a great guy with a great business. VERY customer oriented and willing to talk to you if you have any questions.

Bigdog:cool:

[Umpire in Chief]

Hey all,

The top three I can think of(in no particular alphabetical order):

1. Gerry Davis patent leather

2. New Balance 450's

3. Tanel 360's

Jim at Ump-Attire.com is a great guy with a great business. VERY customer oriented and willing to talk to you if you have any questions.

Bigdog:cool:

I second all of the above.

I'm biased towards the New Balance, but love the look of the Davis Patent Leather ones.

[Kyle_Stevens]

I bought the New Balance 450's and love them. They are my first pair of actual plate shoes. They clean up very easy. My only negative about the NB 450's is the shoe laces, mine wore out in about a month. I have some very strong military rope that is about the size of shoe laces and they have done the trick. When it comes to sizing, I really needed 12.5 but I don't believe they make half sizes that large (I am not sure if they don't make them or the supplier didn't have them), so I ordered 13's. They fit just fine and have not had any problems.

I really do like the look of the patent leather and know some gents that have them and a damp cloth gets them shiny. I am not sure how easy patent leather is fix if they are stepped on by a catcher and he puts a gash on one.

My $.02.

[blue32]

NB! NB! NB! 'nuff said.

[Majordave]

You won't regret it. Get new laces from Wally World and re-lace. Buy Kiwi paste polish and put about four or five coats with brush shine on them AFTER you have broken in the shoes. (which will occur on the first game you wear them.) Then wipe them down with a damp rag or paper towel after use and put Kiwi liquid polish on them after every wearing which will shine very nicely and take about five minutes or less. (not including drying time which about ten to twenty minutes.) I usually get a complement about how shiny my shoes are at start of a game even though the first batter gets them dusty. I start the game looking as good as I can. Easy, no muss, no fuss. The shoes are so light and comfortable you will not mind coming out from behind the plate. Hell, you might even feel like a little race with the catcher and batter-runner down to first a couple times a game like I do.

My two cents. Your mileage may vary.

DCT

[Kyle_Stevens]

Majordave or others,

Have you blacked out the entire shoe with your NB? I have been thinking about blacking out mine but I am not real sure how they will turn out.

[Umpire in Chief]

Majordave or others,

Have you blacked out the entire shoe with your NB? I have been thinking about blacking out mine but I am not real sure how they will turn out.

I thought about doing that, but decided against it. I think it looks sharp, and eventhough my association's and others mandate black only plate shoues, I think the tide is turning, which began some time back with the +POS plate shoes with their white logo on them.

[Bigdog]

Hey all,

Sounds like a mandate that requires updating.

Bigdog:cool:

[Majordave]

I have zero white showing on the shoe. The only white left is the words New Balance embroidered on the tongue which is hidden under my pants leg. I did it more for convenience than anything else. Easier to smear polish all over the shoe and get total coverage. For those of you Army guys who went to jump school anytime in the black boot era (for me 1985) think boot black. This was a guy you paid around $15 for the three weeks of jump school and every night you picked up a pair of highly shined boots on your way back to your barracks or BOQ. He had a vat of black liquified polish and he cleaned your boots, dried them, smeared the black stuff on your boots and let them dry in the hot Georgia sun. You had highly shined boots without spending hours on them when you could and should be sleeping or resting. It was worth it to me. The Blackhats (Airborne Instructors-All Sergeants with stars and wreath halos on their jump wings) would give a little extra "attention" to those who tried to shine their own boots. Thus what a killing that boot black guy made. He probably gave a kickback to the blackhats or at least did their stuff for free. My NB 450's look like the boot black dunked them in his high gloss liquid from the days of yore-All black, highly shined and no extra trouble.

[strike3scott]

I have worn +POS and Gerry Davis which are similar in construction. I wear the GD patent now and love them. They look sharp and are easy to take care of. I will say this though...I have a friend who wears the 450s and won't shut up about them! LOL

[Stan W.]

For years I have worn the +POS high tops and have loved them. I will soon be needing a new pair and will most likey be looking at the GD patents.

I've only heard good things about the NB, but to be honest, I find them ugly as sin.........something about that big grey moonboot sole.....

I am tempted to wait until the new Reebok plate shoes come available ( if ever, currently being tested by MLB) and finally giving up hope that NIKE will issue the shoe they tested a few years back........

[BrianC14]

New Balance 450, no question in my mind.

My feet are still thanking for me this past season.

:rolleyes:

[Umpire in Chief]

Now I love my NB 450's, but how many people have had the same issue I have with the shoes where they were a bit small in both length and with. I ordered my NB 350 base shoes the same day I ordered the NB 450 plate shoes from the same place and ordered both in 11 D. The base shoes fit perfectly. The plate shoes are a bit tight. I debated sending them back, but it wasn't that much of a problem and still more comfortable than my other plate shoes. Next time I will order the next size in both length & width.

[BrianC14]

I must have "off the rack" feet.

Both of my NB's are size 10, and both fit fine.

Now, the 350s (base) fit a tad looser than the plate shoes, but that's fine by me, I'd rather have the plate shoes a touch on the snug side, rather than loose.

Interestingly, I have several other pair of NB (trail runners, cross trainers) and those are all size 9.5, but same width.

:D

[blue32]

For years I have worn the +POS high tops and have loved them. I will soon be needing a new pair and will most likey be looking at the GD patents.

I've only heard good things about the NB, but to be honest, I find them ugly as sin.........something about that big grey moonboot sole.....

I am tempted to wait until the new Reebok plate shoes come available ( if ever, currently being tested by MLB) and finally giving up hope that NIKE will issue the shoe they tested a few years back........

Not trying to be a wise-guy or anything, but you prefer the huge reebok logo on the sides of those shoes to the N on the sides of the new balance? I would think it would be a heck of a lot easier to black out the N with polish like a lot of others have done than that big reebok thing.

[Stan W.]

I've never had a problem with the +pos Logo on the sides of my plate shoes. I always thought it was no issue.......but since the +POS are no longer an option........

I may try the davis shoes...........but if I ever go with the reebok or the NB I am definately blacking out the logos.....

The multiple reebok logos on the plate shoes currently being worn by some MLB umpires are tacky.........(IMHO)

Edited August 21, 2008 by Stan W.

[semperfiguy]

I too spit shine my plus pos plate shoes. I love them and they shine great but they are a bit heavier and I am starting to feel teh effects on my feet. I consider myself in excellent shape and I am sure teh nb will allow even more mobility. i look forward to them.