Communal gear

[BigUmpire]

Baltimore umpire posted under the ever popular thread " Mask Porn" regarding a question on the weight of one of his masks:

"I don't know, we don't have a scale. It feels light but i mostly use HSM's, to be honest this mask generally rides in my Mom's car, my brother plays and she carries umpire gear for when umpires don't show up. The league doesn't keep any at fields and I have older/lesser gear that she carries so who ever volunteers to umpire has something to use. Weight doesn't matter for a parent drafted from the stands it just needs to work. It feels lighter than my FM-25 that I got from Academy Sports(still is stock pads plus harness and frame)

A small league in my area is considering this because they have recruited 12 NEW umpires of an inhouse group BUT none of these guys 14 to 40 can or want to buy gear. This cash strapped league has already bought some guys unis from Walmart.

 

Is it common to have communal gear somewhere, back of the concession stand, moms car, field gear room OR wherever to have gear available for umpires?

 

Comments please.

[Stan W.]

it was the norm when I started out 20+ years ago....and it was why I bought my own gear.........i took over the plate and was handed a soaking wet balloon and a reeking wet mask to do my game.....ahhhhh never again....

[Jocko]

Gross. No!!!!

[BaltimoreUmpire]

We did have that as I mentioned, a bubble a square mask(ill fine an image) and rotten shin guards. I used my own mask and shinnies from the start I didn't trust the shared stuff too old and gross. I bought a CP after two games too. Communal gear is AWFUL don't do it! My mom carries it because it is good for a sticky no-show situation and it stays nice because I take care of it as a gear head. If these umps are paid I suggest giving them each a set of "basic gear" and have them work to pay it off, then once it is pay them as normal from then on.

[Big_Mac14]

I know that our local town puts communal gear in a lock box at each field in the city, I have never used this gear however I know that every umpire that works for the local organization uses this gear.

Basic gear includes Diamond soft shell chest protector, featherweight shin guards, and a diamond mask. Umpires are required to buy a light blue dalco shirt, black Richardson hat and charcoal gray pants.

I hate how the city runs the umpiring organization and in large part it is the reason why I have never umpired for the local organization.

[grayhawk]

We used communal gear when I was UIC of the local LL. All umpires were volunteers. Each field had 2 nice Honigs CPs. 2 masks and there were a bunch of shin guards. We also provided shirts and there were enough where we only needed to do laundry once a week.

Having two of everything helped the gear dry out between games. We also gave the guys that worked at least 5 games their own shirt. It all worked pretty well.

[BigUmpire]

I know that our local town puts communal gear in a lock box at each field in the city, I have never used this gear however I know that every umpire that works for the local organization uses this gear.

Basic gear includes Diamond soft shell chest protector, featherweight shin guards, and a diamond mask. Umpires are required to buy a light blue dalco shirt, black Richardson hat and charcoal gray pants.

I hate how the city runs the umpiring organization and in large part it is the reason why I have never umpired for the local organization.

"puts communal gear in a lock box" Can you say mildew!

[Magic]

When I started umpiring in 1994 for the local Bobby Sox Softball league (my step daughter was playing) they had an Orange Catchers chest protector that almost touched the ground when I wore it, a beat up mask and catcher shin guards that didn't protect anything. Oh but I made $20/game. I wore that stuff for a season before I started investing in my own gear. And then I went to umpire my little brothers scrimmage one day and the UIC saw me and said I could make $40/game. I switched to baseball and never looked back.

[GerryB]

Yes, in the LLs I am familiar with. Mostly lock box.

[th3]

our LL keeps communal equipment for youth umps and for parents who ump each others games at the lower softball levels in an unlocked closet. almost all use the balloons provided

[MikeSafari]

When I started umpiring in the early 2000s there was generally a set of basic umpire gear in the lock box (mask, shin guards, CP of some sort--normally a balloon). My local association doesn't do this anymore, though, as the pay is good enough that you can buy a full set of your own gear with very few game fees.

 

EDIT: Also, if only one umpire shows up, he's doing the game alone. We never get spectators to take over. If nobody shows up, the game is cancelled and rescheduled.

[BigUmpire]

When I started umpiring in the early 2000s there was generally a set of basic umpire gear in the lock box (mask, shin guards, CP of some sort--normally a balloon). My local association doesn't do this anymore, though, as the pay is good enough that you can buy a full set of your own gear with very few game fees.

 

EDIT: Also, if only one umpire shows up, he's doing the game alone. We never get spectators to take over. If nobody shows up, the game is cancelled and rescheduled.

What is the pay?

[conbo61]

At our local league we brought in an association for the majors level and up. Non parents wanted to deal with the hassle. There was an old set of gear in the field house that I imagine had several generations of germs embedded.

The next level below that had volunteer umpires. They consisted of a representative from a third team working the plate and a volunteer from the one of the teams working the bases. The plate guy used the communal gear which was kept in the locked job box chained to the backstop. The gear was an old mask, balloon (with broken straps), two sets of shin guards, a brush and indicator.

That stuff was FUNKY...

[BigUmpire]

"locked job box chained to the backstop"

 

 

Outside?

[MB_Ump]

"locked job box chained to the backstop"

 

 

Outside?

That's the way they do it here for LL as well, but it is ok because they wear the gear on the outside of their clothes anyway. ;-)

[BigUmpire]

"locked job box chained to the backstop"

Outside?

That's the way they do it here for LL as well, but it is ok because they wear the gear on the outside of their clothes anyway. ;-)

O my!

[JaxRolo]

So sad!

[MikeSafari]

 

When I started umpiring in the early 2000s there was generally a set of basic umpire gear in the lock box (mask, shin guards, CP of some sort--normally a balloon). My local association doesn't do this anymore, though, as the pay is good enough that you can buy a full set of your own gear with very few game fees.

 

EDIT: Also, if only one umpire shows up, he's doing the game alone. We never get spectators to take over. If nobody shows up, the game is cancelled and rescheduled.

What is the pay?

 

 

Just went up this year so now it starts at $20/game for T-ball/rookie ball (pitching machine) up to $65 for 9-inning midget/junior (17-20yr olds) games.

 

Half a dozen t-ball or rookie ball games and you can get a CP, mask, and shinguards. Done and done.

 

Granted, it's nothing near what a lot of you guys in the US get paid, but it's pretty good tax-free income for us. I've earned just under $2,000 so far this summer strictly from game fees, 49 games in. A bunch of that has gone to pay for my gear since I had to buy all new stuff this year (about $700 worth...) and the rest is just extra cash.

[basejester]

Is it common to have communal gear somewhere, back of the concession stand, moms car, field gear room OR wherever to have gear available for umpires?

Yes.  In the garage/umpire dressing room.

[MadMax]

Back when I was a 13U ballplayer, the local fields had lockboxes – outside (to @BigUmpire 's horror) – behind the backstops to hold the bases and a "set" of gear (definition of set varied) for an umpire. It was usually a balloon CP, a plate brush, a mask (frequently the heavy uni-bar fiberglass one) and a set of orange-knee shin guards. As local kids (at this point, 9-10 year olds), with nothing better to do (didn't have TV or console games), we would try to pick the locks for hours on end.

During the summer, those boxes would get scorching hot, so in the late afternoons, when our games would take place, the home coach and/or umpire would arrive and unlock that box, and the gear would be extracted – reminiscent of Alec Baldwin's Colonel Nicholson being extracted from his iron sweat box in The Bridge on the River Kwai.

We were smart kids, and started to figure out which type of umpire we'd have – serious ones would bring their own gear. Pushovers and patsies would use the gear in the lockbox.

Nowadays, I have discovered that the "gear in the lockbox" trend has been largely phased out. A few ballpark complexes (4+ fields) have their own groundskeeping structure, and typically have a loosely-defined set of umpire's gear in them. I think this is where my absolute disdain for the Navy shirt has its origins – the large majority of these "communal use" shirts, placed in these ballpark structures, are Navy. So too, my disgust for the HSM – most of the communal masks are either a beat-up Rawlings or Diamond HSM, or a trashed, beaten-up, vinyl-clad Rawlings LWMX or PWMX (worse).

I have never seen a Baseball Mom bring spare umpire gear to a game – that's a new one on me. I actually have multiples of everything, just in case I get an under-equipped or forgetful or impromptu (assigned five minutes ago) partner. 

[BaltimoreUmpire]

I have never seen a Baseball Mom bring spare umpire gear to a game – that's a new one on me. I actually have multiples of everything, just in case I get an under-equipped or forgetful or impromptu (assigned five minutes ago) partner.

She's the only one I know of who does, she got sick of seeing games where association umpires failed to showup, and the parent doing it uses a spare catchers helmet, no cp or leg guards. So she asked for my older gear(one of LWMX's which I have plenty of because I love them, a pair of old leguards that are VERY heavy, and a cooper softshell I got for $15 just to so I didn't need to use the bubble.) Now when a parent has to umpire one of my brothers games they have SOMETHING to use, and its not as bad as the communial gear you speak of because a gearhead(myself) washes it.

[BaltimoreUmpire]

For anyone who is interested, here is the cooper softshell that I trusted my life to for 1 and a half seasons(lucky I never got hit, this things worthless)

[Majordave]

Ah, what memories! Eh, BaltimoreUmp?

[BaltimoreUmpire]

Ah, what memories! Eh, BaltimoreUmp?

Yep, I felt 100% confidant in it, until I saw a hard shell never felt safe in it again. I use it still when I catch bullpens for the travel team though. Those are some memories though, makes me greatful I don't use it anymore. Its fun to look back at the gear you use to use, makes you appreciate the better and mid-tier stuff, puts it into perspective.

[Majordave]

I've sold ALL of my old/original gear except for plate brush. Not a bit nostalgic about old gear.

I know I have some T-shirts older than you though.