POLY WOOLS ......

[Kevin Finnerty]

Dry clean only

[johnnyg08]

You're free to do as you wish, but you seem to be ignoring lots of sound advice from seasoned veterans. Can you still do as you wish? Sure. Why you'd choose to ignore great advice on how to properly wear your pants, well, that's your business too. Good luck!!

Is this a serious post? If there's something I think I am quite qualified to decide for myself, it's how my pants should fit. I got them fitted while wearing my shin guards and plate shoes, and got in various positions while the tailor marked the pants. You think someone over the internet can do better? No offense, but that's pretty looney.

Besides, it's not like I had them made into nut huggers. There's still plenty of room in them to move and get into my stance.

I'm 100% serious. There's not one person on here who has had the crotch area of their pants adjusted. You asked the question, now you argue with us because nobody agrees with you. Now that's confusing. As I posted above...do as you wish. I don't care if your pants don't fit.

[Kevin Finnerty]

Like Johnny said, do as you wish. We'll all leave the crotches in our polywools generously cut.

[yawetag]

All joking aside: I never noticed the extra room in the crotch of my Poly Wools. Maybe I hang a little lower and/or longer than the rest of you.

I don't own Poly-Wools.

[catsbackr]

Dry clean only

This guy disagrees with you http://midwestump.bl...rch/label/Pants .

[yawetag]

Dry clean only

This guy disagrees with you http://midwestump.bl...rch/label/Pants .

He was referring to the "wouldn't the leather get wet" comment, not in general.

I think. I'm not Kevin.

[Kevin Finnerty]

No, in general, actually.

Nothing anyone says or determines after a short time will convince me that washing these slacks will keep them as sharp for as long as dry cleaning will. Washing them and drying them--irrespective of how carefully--will shorten their life. That's all I'm really saying. You steam them to touch them up and you dry clean them when they require it. You'll be rewarded.

[Fittske24]

All joking aside: I never noticed the extra room in the crotch of my Poly Wools. Maybe I hang a little lower and/or longer than the rest of you.

I don't own Poly-Wools.

I actually have to get a few inches added to the crotch of my pol wools :-)

[Haid D' Salaami]

Dry clean only.

wash in cold water, dry on med heat for 10 mins.. hang dry.. Iron.. repeat all season.

repost.. you dont need to press them... unless you have tons of money. try to use a Iron.. they work...LOL

[AZump78]

Hey Fin, how many trips to the cleaners before you spend enough that you could have just bought a brand new pair?

Just sayin....

[johnnyg08]

Hey Fin, how many trips to the cleaners before you spend enough that you could have just bought a brand new pair?

Just sayin....

For me it's 11 trips to the cleaners which comes out to approximately three times per year. If you were supposed to wash them in a washing machine do you think they'd put "dry clean only" as washing instructions?

[AZump78]

No idea. I dry clean before/after the season and MAYBE during if I have a 4 or so day stretch between games.

I'd be shocked if yours lasted substantially longer or looked any crisper than mine. BUT-to each their own!

[johnnyg08]

No idea. I dry clean before/after the season and MAYBE during if I have a 4 or so day stretch between games. I'd be shocked if yours lasted substantially longer or looked any crisper than mine. BUT-to each their own!

You might be right. I have an older pair that I might be willing to use as an experiment in the washer...it would be great if that would work.

[kylejt]

I experimented with a couple of older pair in last year, well, by accident. I loaned my son a pair, and they got tossed in regular wash, and then the dryer.

They didn't shrink, which was my first concern. They did come out with shiney spots, due to the heat of the dryer. The lint filter was full of gray stuff too, thus wearing them out prematurely. I was able to iron them up to 90% of the looks of a freshly dry cleaned pair, in the end. Once I dry cleaned them, the shiney spot went away.

I took another pair, and ran them through the "Hand Wash" cycle of my machine, and the hung them up to dry. After an ironing, they were about 95%. Not as snappy, but without all the damage of the dryer.

So, this year I'll start the year at the dry cleaner, then hand wash them after every game. My plate pants are dirty, with either sweat, dirt or mud after most every game. Base pants usually get hung right up. I'll keep a set from the dry cleaner available at all times for "Big" games, just to look extra snappy.

[Haid D' Salaami]

I only dry clean mine at the beginning and then for post season. During the season .. like i said I will wash in cold.. hang to dry and iron on low heat. I have a pair that is going on 5 yrs and another 4 yrs.. they look just like the other pairs...

[NWA_UMP]

I don't have a dog in this fight...I don't own a set of poly-wool yet as no one in my area uses them, it all Davis.

I think it boils done to how much do you value your gear and how much are you willing to spend on maintaining it. I can see a point from some of you that dry clean is the way to go...if you are working college ball of some sort. I can see washing and hang dry for those that work sub-par, dirt filled High School fields. Both situations you are going to look more professional than the level you call or at the least will be in line with expectations. In my area I could easily see assignments that I would NEVER take poly's to work..fields are terrible on a good day and almost unplayable on bad days. There would also be assignments that I NEVER take Davis pants to work...fields are great even on bad days.

I my area we have a cleaner that runs a special for pants, 3 for $10. If I clean at the end of season, keep them in the plastic cover until the season starts, dry clean once a month during High School season I will spend about $40 to do the special for 3 pants for the year to dry clean poly's. After approx. 6 seasons would I have spent enough per slack to purchase new ones. For me I would NEVER wear poly's for anything other than High School ball...unless I had a pair that were several years old and had replaced them with new ones. After HS for me at least, the level of play and the fields I work on are not compatable for poly's....

Just my $.02...YMMV

[AZump78]

Low heat is a must for the dryer. Gentle cycle in the washer. I know some pro guys that swear by washing with Woolite, but I've never given it a try.

If you take them out while the dryer is still running, you probably won't even need to use an iron.

Just my 2 cents. Your mileage may vary.

[grayhawk]

You're free to do as you wish, but you seem to be ignoring lots of sound advice from seasoned veterans. Can you still do as you wish? Sure. Why you'd choose to ignore great advice on how to properly wear your pants, well, that's your business too. Good luck!!

Is this a serious post? If there's something I think I am quite qualified to decide for myself, it's how my pants should fit. I got them fitted while wearing my shin guards and plate shoes, and got in various positions while the tailor marked the pants. You think someone over the internet can do better? No offense, but that's pretty looney.

Besides, it's not like I had them made into nut huggers. There's still plenty of room in them to move and get into my stance.

I'm 100% serious. There's not one person on here who has had the crotch area of their pants adjusted. You asked the question, now you argue with us because nobody agrees with you. Now that's confusing. As I posted above...do as you wish. I don't care if your pants don't fit.

I simply asked if anyone else had done it - I wasn't looking for people to agree with my decision. You made it sound like I was some newbie that was ignoring advice on mechanics or rules interpretations from seasoned veterans. For the record, I wore them for my first two games yesterday (I had two plates and two bases) and I couldn't be happier with them. I can see why people rave about them because they are the most comfortable pants I have worn as an umpire. I made the right decision, based on my build, to have the crotch brought in. If doing so isn't right for anyone else, then that's fine with me.

[grayhawk]

Everybody is built differently, thus the need to keep tailors employed. I get my plate coats taken in at the waist, as most are bit "universal" for my build.

The pants in that thumbnail were the first pair I ever bought, and I didn't have them hemmed low enough. I had the poly wools hemmed much lower.

grayhawk, from the thumbnail we can see those pants you're wearing riding pretty high, when you're in your stance. What's ideal is if you get them hemmed near your shoe level, when you drop into your stance. Sure they're baggy when your upright, but you won't show eight inches of socks and shin guards when you're working.

Another great tip I was taught was to hem up about 4-6" of material. That does two things. First, it gives them better resale value down the road, as they can fit more folks. But, more importantly, the extra weight at the bottom draws the pants down when standing up, making them less likely to stay hung up on the shin guards.

Kyle, I'm not sure why my reply got lost in your post. I replied from my iPhone, so maybe that has something to do with it. In any case, you are right about the pants in the thumbnail. Those were the first pair of ump pants I ever bought and had hemmed. While I wore my shin guards and plate shoes to the tailor, I didn't get into my stance when he was marking them, so they were hemmed too high. There is probably 4 inches of material left, so I will probably have them redone at some point. I had the Poly Wools hemmed much lower so the break is perfect on them.

[johnnyg08]

You're free to do as you wish, but you seem to be ignoring lots of sound advice from seasoned veterans. Can you still do as you wish? Sure. Why you'd choose to ignore great advice on how to properly wear your pants, well, that's your business too. Good luck!!

Is this a serious post? If there's something I think I am quite qualified to decide for myself, it's how my pants should fit. I got them fitted while wearing my shin guards and plate shoes, and got in various positions while the tailor marked the pants. You think someone over the internet can do better? No offense, but that's pretty looney.

Besides, it's not like I had them made into nut huggers. There's still plenty of room in them to move and get into my stance.

I'm 100% serious. There's not one person on here who has had the crotch area of their pants adjusted. You asked the question, now you argue with us because nobody agrees with you. Now that's confusing. As I posted above...do as you wish. I don't care if your pants don't fit.

I simply asked if anyone else had done it - I wasn't looking for people to agree with my decision. You made it sound like I was some newbie that was ignoring advice on mechanics or rules interpretations from seasoned veterans. For the record, I wore them for my first two games yesterday (I had two plates and two bases) and I couldn't be happier with them. I can see why people rave about them because they are the most comfortable pants I have worn as an umpire. I made the right decision, based on my build, to have the crotch brought in. If doing so isn't right for anyone else, then that's fine with me.

That's awesome! Glad it worked out for you!!! I'm a bit envious that you're already umpiring games. Three more months for me. *sigh

[Kevin Finnerty]

Hey Fin, how many trips to the cleaners before you spend enough that you could have just bought a brand new pair?

Just sayin....

For me it's 11 trips to the cleaners which comes out to approximately three times per year. If you were supposed to wash them in a washing machine do you think they'd put "dry clean only" as washing instructions?

I honestly don't count the trips. If they require it, I take them in. I have two sets. I bought the first set a year or so before the second set. I have steamed them and spot-cleaned them between trips to the cleaners, and all four pairs still look brand new. I rotate them constantly, which also helps prolong their life. I suppose I have had each pair dry-cleaned no more than once a month (if that), doing it only when they require it (which amounts to every six or eight games' use on each pair).

So, I guess it costs between $6 and $12 per month ($3 each cleaning), or approximately $100 per year (give or take). Four pairs of polywools, including hemming and tax comes to about $400. My cleaning costs will reach $400 after four years or more. And I will have polywools that still look new, whereas my colleagues who wash them and dry them will be replacing them, or wearing worn-out looking polywools.

So, although I don't really care how much it really costs, I would imagine that steaming them and spot-cleaning them between cleanings actually saves a little on actually washing them, which would allay some of the expense of dry-cleaning. But, like I said, caring for them properly is more important than the cost breakdown, because $3 is a negligible amount of money each time I lay it out.

Besides, my dry cleaner/tailor guy has a slow younger brother he has to support.

[Haid D' Salaami]

Kevin... i have a pair that i bought in feb 08'.. i held them up to my pair i bought a month ago.. i cant tell the difference...

And PBUC told us not to dry clean them, it breaks down the material in the pants..

How do MiLB guys dry clean there pants?.....

[Kevin Finnerty]

How do MiLB guys dry clean there pants?.....

Are you serious?

If I made $350,000 for nine months' work, I'd have 78 pairs of polywools to rotate.

[yawetag]

How do MiLB guys dry clean there pants?.....

Are you serious?

If I made $350,000 for nine months' work, I'd have 78 pairs of polywools to rotate.

MiLB umpires don't make that much change.

Plus, MLB umpires don't pay for their clothes.

[Marcus6]

Hey Fin, how many trips to the cleaners before you spend enough that you could have just bought a brand new pair?

Just sayin....

For me it's 11 trips to the cleaners which comes out to approximately three times per year. If you were supposed to wash them in a washing machine do you think they'd put "dry clean only" as washing instructions?

I honestly don't count the trips. If they require it, I take them in. I have two sets. I bought the first set a year or so before the second set. I have steamed them and spot-cleaned them between trips to the cleaners, and all four pairs still look brand new. I rotate them constantly, which also helps prolong their life. I suppose I have had each pair dry-cleaned no more than once a month (if that), doing it only when they require it (which amounts to every six or eight games' use on each pair).

So, I guess it costs between $6 and $12 per month ($3 each cleaning), or approximately $100 per year (give or take). Four pairs of polywools, including hemming and tax comes to about $400. My cleaning costs will reach $400 after four years or more. And I will have polywools that still look new, whereas my colleagues who wash them and dry them will be replacing them, or wearing worn-out looking polywools.

So, although I don't really care how much it really costs, I would imagine that steaming them and spot-cleaning them between cleanings actually saves a little on actually washing them, which would allay some of the expense of dry-cleaning. But, like I said, caring for them properly is more important than the cost breakdown, because $3 is a negligible amount of money each time I lay it out.

Besides, my dry cleaner/tailor guy has a slow younger brother he has to support.

I believe they put Dry Clean only as a CYA thing. I dont think washing these on gentle with a small amount of Woolite damages/harms the material in a noticeable way. I believe most MiLB guys wash their Poly Wools in a washing machine and dont dry clean them.