New MLB umpire shirts

[Umpire in Chief]

Okay here's how much of a junkie I am...

While at camp last week I noticed the MLB umpires were wearing a new style of shirt. The vast majority of people probably wouldn't have noticed, but I'm a geek. I was told they were brand new and I think they look really sharp.

What I liked about them the most was the collar. I'm not a big fan of knit collars and these shirts' collars are made from the same material as the shirt and look similar to a men's dress shirt or maybe even closer to the collars of some of the newer men's golf shirts. These collars did not have any white trim on them.

The armbands were also a bit different. While they did have white trim, the white did not go all the way around the arm there was about 2'' directly under the logo which was all black and same for the arm with no logo.

There was also a narrow section of white trim going up the side from the waist to the arm.

I thought these shirts looked really sharp. But don't hold your breath on getting your hands on one of these.

I shot our friendly neighborhood uniform and equipment expert Jim Kirk an email asking if he had any information on these new shirts as Ump-Attire is one of only a few retailers who carry Majestic umpire shirts. He told me that unfortunately for the past few years Majestic has not made their new MLB umpire offerings available, including the jackets which many people have shown interest. But he's looking into it.

While they may not become publicly available, my hope is that they will start a trend away from knit collars which will expand to the other suppliers.

Keep your eyes open for these shirts.

[BT_Blue]

Warren, as I am not lucky enough to have MLB Network and thusly have not seen any spring training games, do you have a photo of these new shirts?

[Umpire in Chief]

Unfortunately I don't.

[slo8140]

I will try to grab a screen shot of a game from mlb.tv.

The shirt is as Warren describes. It does look a bit different. They were wearing them in the Mets/braves game yesterday, but in the Yankees/pirates today they were wearing the black convertible jackets since it was cooler.

[Umpire in Chief]

What did you think of the shirt?

[mazzamouth]

I saw these on a MLB spring training game.. they do look good, almost like a UA shirt with a collar.

[slo8140]

I like it. From what I could see on TV it is not that different from the black they had been wearing. Like you noted earlier, the major difference is the collar and the stripe on the sides.

I am sure it it made of a more moisture wicking fabric as well.

[Astrosdawg07]

pics...?????

[slo8140]

Patience is a virtue...I had to go back and try to grab a couple of captures from the Braves/Mets yesterday...not the best, but I have a side shot and a front shot. I will try to find some better ones as the games progress.

[Umpire in Chief]

Good pics you can see the collar pretty well, the piping and the armband I was speaking of.

Thanks!

I hope that if we demand it suppliers will make shirts similar to this.

[Umpire in Chief]

A friend of mine posted this on FB from spring training. But it shows the ump pretty well.

[Astrosdawg07]

Almost look like a pull over to me, especially with the stripe on the side.

[Kevin Finnerty]

It's gear junkie threads like this that, when my wife reads it, make her mock and deride me.

Then when it's time for the follow-up nagging, she'll say something like, "You're not thinking of buying more shirts, are you?"

Well, you know the deal.

[Marcus6]

Good pics you can see the collar pretty well, the piping and the armband I was speaking of.

Thanks!

I hope that if we demand it suppliers will make shirts similar to this.

Should drop a line to Jim Kirk & Honig's to see if there is any possibility of getting this shirt in the future.

[Umpire in Chief]

Already done and he's looking into it, but he wasn't too optimistic given Majestic's track record of releasing things to the public.

[Chris Hickman]

Sorry boys...... not going to be available to the general public. The new shirts are made of what Majestic calls their "Cool Base" material. I remember when the MLB guys switched to Navy in 1996. Everyone wanted those shirts. It is going to be a long time before this new design makes it to the public.

BTW, MiLB is going black this season, wasn't sure if the word was out there on that yet.

[kcfan102]

I thought it was only a matter of time until CoolBase made it's way to umpire attire. It's the same things all the BP uniforms and hats are made of. Wonder if their hats also changed? Probably not.

[Marcus6]

Already done and he's looking into it, but he wasn't too optimistic given Majestic's track record of releasing things to the public.

I meant to see if there was a possibility of getting this style made in the future....not necessarily from Majestic.

BTW, MiLB is going black this season, wasn't sure if the word was out there on that yet.

Very interesting to hear. I wonder if/when high school associations will start to follow.

Edited March 4, 2010 by mrm21711

[JamesC]

Warren, is your friend playing for one of the teams? Looks like the picture is taken from a very close range. Possibly the dugout?

[capnumpire]

It's gear junkie threads like this that, when my wife reads it, make her mock and deride me.

Then when it's time for the follow-up nagging, she'll say something like, "You're not thinking of buying more shirts, are you?"

Well, you know the deal.

That's funny, but I don't call it follow up nagging I call it incentive. Right before I hit the pay now button.:nod:

[Kevin Finnerty]

That's funny, but I don't call it follow up nagging I call it incentive. Right before I hit the pay now button.

Thatta' boy, Mark! Thatta' boy!

[kristoffae]

Very interesting to hear. I wonder if/when high school associations will start to follow.

My HS association down here has approved Black and Polo Blue for wear with Charcoal Gray pants this year. They also announced a 2 year phase out of the Navy and Powder Blue with Heather Gray pants.

[slo8140]

Down here in Texas all of the colors are approved for High School as long as you match your partner. We can wear Navy (Default), Black, Pro-Blue, Cream, Red, and they are rare, but some still wear the powder with the R/W/B trim.

They are not a stickler on the pants. I only wear charcoal, but most guys wear heather. All of my old heather pants were ruined and I was instructed only to buy charcoal as that will become the new standard.

[BT_Blue]

Down here in Texas all of the colors are approved for High School as long as you match your partner. We can wear Navy (Default), Black, Pro-Blue, Cream, Red, and they are rare, but some still wear the powder with the R/W/B trim.

They are not a stickler on the pants. I only wear charcoal, but most guys wear heather. All of my old heather pants were ruined and I was instructed only to buy charcoal as that will become the new standard.

Ditto for NW Oregon and SW Washington. The move to Charcoal has begun. I have been sitting in on the new umpire classes here for the refresher and when they talked about getting uniforms it was Navy shirts with charcoal pants. Not even a sniff of a mention of heather gray.

Now me personally. I wear the pro/college colors when ever I can. I am guessing I will have at least two games where I can do that in the first two weeks of the season. The other four or so games, not so sure.

[Kevin Finnerty]

I'm with you, Blue.

I wear the black every chance I get. I like gray second and polo third. When a partner requests navy, I relent to wearing it. But when I call the color, and my partner has only the navy & powder wardrobe, (if the vibes are right) I always offer my partner use of one of my black or gray shirts. A few times, the partner wound up buying one of the black ones. (When BaseballSavings.com ran their special on Majestic shirts, I grabbed up a bunch of them.)

Long live the black one, and may powder rest in peace.