2016 Shirts

[jdense]

The more I try and figure out which shirts to wear for upcoming collegiate season, the more confused i get.

The new Majestic without the side piping appears to be getting trashed, not very stylish

I saw a review on Honigs that said new shirts were running short in length.

Not sure about the quality of Smitty's products, if I was guessing they may be coming from shared manufacturer as Honigs.

Can anyone shed additional light on above products, though I wonder if new models for above will be rolled out next year....

[ChrisUrbz]

Officials choice has good shirts

[umpstu]

1 hour ago, jdense said:

The more I try and figure out which shirts to wear for upcoming collegiate season, the more confused i get.

The new Majestic without the side piping appears to be getting trashed, not very stylish

I saw a review on Honigs that said new shirts were running short in length.

Not sure about the quality of Smitty's products, if I was guessing they may be coming from shared manufacturer as Honigs.

Can anyone shed additional light on above products, though I wonder if new models for above will be rolled out next year....

That Majestic without the piping is the most comfortable umpire shirt I have ever worn.  Not sure why the trashing is going on. Smittys are a very good shirt.  I think they run a little on the large side.

[Thunderheads]

The pros are getting brand new Majestic shirts with larger white side panels.  The guys at Honigs were telling us about them at Southeast Michigan Umpire Camp a couple weekends ago ........

[maineump]

21 minutes ago, Thunderheads said:

The pros are getting brand new Majestic shirts with larger white side panels.  The guys at Honigs were telling us about them at Southeast Michigan Umpire Camp a couple weekends ago ........

Marketing tools - just like the teams getting alternative jerseys, so the fans can buy them - so goes the umpire shirts.

[maineump]

7 hours ago, jdense said:

The more I try and figure out which shirts to wear for upcoming collegiate season, the more confused i get.

The new Majestic without the side piping appears to be getting trashed, not very stylish

I saw a review on Honigs that said new shirts were running short in length.

Not sure about the quality of Smitty's products, if I was guessing they may be coming from shared manufacturer as Honigs.

Can anyone shed additional light on above products, though I wonder if new models for above will be rolled out next year....

You are not told what shirts you will wear? Which college board do you work for?

[maineump]

I don't understand why umpires need to have so many styles, colors etc for uniforms. I can see 3 maybe 4 colors and maybe a few styles, but now there are enough varieties to fill a closet, especially if you buy a plate and base shirt.

Every board I work for has something different with their logo on it. We now have 2 color jackets as a state (HS) option. Of course you have to have all of the options, to keep up with the rest of the guys. My car is full for HS and summer ball of all the colors we have to carry around. My college board is simple - wear what they tell you, 1 color shirt, jacket, pants and hat.

I am just a poor umpire trying to get by, gets old using all of my fees to by uniforms  (well not ALL of them). How many remember when we just had the button up light blue shirts? Then, we were so happy to get the navy pullovers.

[Thunderheads]

10 minutes ago, maineump said:

I don't understand why umpires need to have so many styles, colors etc for uniforms. I can see 3 maybe 4 colors and maybe a few styles, but now there are enough varieties to fill a closet, especially if you buy a plate and base shirt.

Every board I work for has something different with their logo on it. We now have 2 color jackets as a state (HS) option. Of course you have to have all of the options, to keep up with the rest of the guys. My car is full for HS and summer ball of all the colors we have to carry around. My college board is simple - wear what they tell you, 1 color shirt, jacket, pants and hat.

I am just a poor umpire trying to get by, gets old using all of my fees to by uniforms  (well not ALL of them). How many remember when we just had the button up light blue shirts? Then, we were so happy to get the navy pullovers.

When you do summer ball tournaments .......... and you're doing 4 games + per day.   More colors come in handy  

[Welpe]

Smitty and Honigs do not have the same manufacturer. They are slightly different materials and fit differently. I exclusively wear Smitty shirts and will especially after the poor quality I ran into with Honig's football shirts this year. Smitty runs a size large to accommodate a chest protector so order a size down for bases. That's always worked for me anyways.

The standard in my high school group is the black and blue MLB shirts with the piping but we can wear other colors as long as we match our partners.

I don't have a problem with the variety of shirts. I buy what I like and as long as we have the standard, we will always match with something.

I do think it is important that your group have at least the required minimum shirt styles.

[gnhbua93]

Why Honig's is falling in a landslide? With what I read about the new Poly-Wool I'm not touching them with a 1,000 foot electrical pole.

With your statement about the football shirt this season makes me scare. I hope another company comes out with a better quality umpire uniform.

[scrounge]

26 minutes ago, gnhbua93 said:

Why Honig's is falling in a landslide? With what I read about the new Poly-Wool I'm not touching them with a 1,000 foot electrical pole.

With your statement about the football shirt this season makes me scare. I hope another company comes out with a better quality umpire uniform.

Nothing good comes out of Ann Arbor.

 

[gnhbua93]

5 minutes ago, scrounge said:

Nothing good comes out of Ann Arbor.

 

I don't know why, but I think this was directed to you @Thunderheads

 

[maineump]

1 hour ago, Thunderheads said:

When you do summer ball tournaments .......... and you're doing 4 games + per day.   More colors come in handy  

I guess we are 'lucky' that we don't have those tournaments that you guys do - the most we have to work is 2. 4+ games a day would kill me  . I have all of the colors, I have been doing HS and summer ball for over 25 years, but it is tough for a new person to make those purchases.

We recommend to new people, buy the required first, buy good equipment, then add the optional stuff later, as you get paid.

I agree with Welpe, there should be a standard - then if guys want to wear the other stuff (and it is approved), then feel free - just match each other.

[MadMax]

On February 25, 2016 at 9:00 AM, maineump said:

I guess we are 'lucky' that we don't have those tournaments that you guys do - the most we have to work is 2. 4+ games a day would kill me  . I have all of the colors, I have been doing HS and summer ball for over 25 years, but it is tough for a new person to make those purchases.

We recommend to new people, buy the required first, buy good equipment, then add the optional stuff later, as you get paid.

I agree with Welpe, there should be a standard - then if guys want to wear the other stuff (and it is approved), then feel free - just match each other.

To really be productive and profitable for all parties involved, tournaments here are routinely 6-7 games per day. 2-4 on that Friday, then up to 7 on Saturday and Sunday. Changing of shirts (colors) is not only practical, I have advised it is psychological – it helps your brain's understanding of context. It's a reset button.

The problem doesn't lie with the new people, @maineump, it lies with the tenured guys who resist change and insist that one way – their way, their preference – is the only way. I'm completely sympathetic to new/recent umpires who have limited gear and just some seed money to use, as you have to make priority purchases. I have utter disdain for guys / groups that, in their draconian bylaws, mandate "all ye must have..." and it begins and ends with that navy shirt, but still everyone has to go out to purchase it anyway because the stitched-on logo has been updated with red thread instead of white thread. So yeah, I hate Ohio.

The "just match each other" should be the first prerequisite. Standards should not include color specifics. I have every color in the spectrum because I choose to.

With that said, I still maintain the Majestic -brand shirts are the best. They hang best, they are cut best, and are incredibly survivable. Tough to find, though, and even because of it, they jack the median cost for shirts up. My opinion now is that The Officials Choice shirts are the next best thing, and trump everything else in color selection. The material and construction are top-notch. They get avoided by "young" guys because the website is a cognitive shambles, and they get shunned by the "old" guys because they have the audacity to offer colors beyond navy and powder. I have a Honig's shirt from 3 years ago, and after recently feelin' up one of the new ones, I would concur... the quality has dropped. More like the consistency. The Smitty shirts are decent, and all my "classic style" shirts are in this brand, as they hold up to punishment pretty well and certainly appeal to the wallet. I also have West Coast shirts, in support of a fellow umpire's endeavours. They are pretty good, too. Neck is a little small, but they work really well as a bases/field shirt. You may as well forget Dalco or Cliff Keen, as those haven't changed in 20 years... and feel like it.

[umpstu]

26 minutes ago, MadMax said:

To really be productive and profitable for all parties involved, tournaments here are routinely 6-7 games per day. 2-4 on that Friday, then up to 7 on Saturday and Sunday. Changing of shirts (colors) is not only practical, I have advised it is psychological – it helps your brain's understanding of context. It's a reset button.

The problem doesn't lie with the new people, @maineump, it lies with the tenured guys who resist change and insist that one way – their way, their preference – is the only way. I'm completely sympathetic to new/recent umpires who have limited gear and just some seed money to use, as you have to make priority purchases. I have utter disdain for guys / groups that, in their draconian bylaws, mandate "all ye must have..." and it begins and ends with that navy shirt, but still everyone has to go out to purchase it anyway because the stitched-on logo has been updated with red thread instead of white thread. So yeah, I hate Ohio.

The "just match each other" should be the first prerequisite. Standards should not include color specifics. I have every color in the spectrum because I choose to.

With that said, I still maintain the Majestic -brand shirts are the best. They hang best, they are cut best, and are incredibly survivable. Tough to find, though, and even because of it, they jack the median cost for shirts up. My opinion now is that The Officials Choice shirts are the next best thing, and trump everything else in color selection. The material and construction are top-notch. They get avoided by "young" guys because the website is a cognitive shambles, and they get shunned by the "old" guys because they have the audacity to offer colors beyond navy and powder. I have a Honig's shirt from 3 years ago, and after recently feelin' up one of the new ones, I would concur... the quality has dropped. More like the consistency. The Smitty shirts are decent, and all my "classic style" shirts are in this brand, as they hold up to punishment pretty well and certainly appeal to the wallet. I also have West Coast shirts, in support of a fellow umpire's endeavours. They are pretty good, too. Neck is a little small, but they work really well as a bases/field shirt. You may as well forget Dalco or Cliff Keen, as those haven't changed in 20 years... and feel like it.

Great points, especially about the guys who refuse any type of change.  These are the same guys who can't adapt to anything new in their lives and it shows on the field.  Had issues with one of our umpires when pleated pants came on the scene and he refused to go a size larger in his shirt, even though his gut had gone 2 sizes larger.  Had one popped somebody would have lost an eye from one of his buttons.

[maineump]

1 hour ago, umpstu said:

Great points, especially about the guys who refuse any type of change.  These are the same guys who can't adapt to anything new in their lives and it shows on the field.  Had issues with one of our umpires when pleated pants came on the scene and he refused to go a size larger in his shirt, even though his gut had gone 2 sizes larger.  Had one popped somebody would have lost an eye from one of his buttons.

I totally agree with you and Maxx - it is the older guys that resist change. We just were 'authorized' by the State HS board to wear black jackets (finally). One of my jobs on our e-board is to keep everyone up to date with uniforms and gear checks. Basically I am a resource if they like (the guy with the rules  ) . I now have to approach the "old guys" with - Hey guys, you SHOULD buy another coat - and you NEED to have Charcoal pants!! Gonna be WW 3. Oh well, I will fight the fight. I have been on the HS board for 25 years or so, and I am still considered one of the 'young guys'. My 'era' of umpires is finally getting hold of the decision making positions, and we are trying to do our best. The older guys don't realize that a big part of respect can come from first impressions - how do you look in the uniform?

I too have all of the colors, because I choose to, and I like to change it up. But for the younger guys, we suggest the buy the mandated color(s) then upgrade as they get the $$'s.

Buying new stuff isn't an issue to me. I have made the commitment that, if I need to have it, then I buy it. When I first started doing college ball, I got a list from my assignor with required uniforms. It cost me nearly $1000.00 to get the stuff (one of the items was a required plate coat, undershirts in a few colors and multiple jackets). It all has the logo embroidered on it, so if your are seen without it doing one of his games, then a spanking occurs.

[zm1283]

I have three different manufacturers' shirts in the "newer" MLB shirts with the side piping. (Majestic, Smitty, Honigs) The Honigs version is the nicest of the three. Really soft, fits well, etc. They were both bought a year or more ago, so they probably have changed suppliers since then and their shirts may be junk like the rest of their stuff is now. 

The Majestics are nice too. The Smitty one I have is too baggy and fits like a tall kitchen trash bag, and the material is stiff.

[gnhbua93]

Majestic dropped the price for the all-black shirts from $50 to $30 per shirt. Also they offer free shipping on $50+ orders. Maybe Ump-Attire will adjust their price.

http://www.majesticathletic.com/mens-umpire-mlb-polo/d/10873_cl_30342

[kylejt]

What's great about the $30-50, all black Majestic shirt is that you can go to WalMart/Kmart/Sears/Marshalls/Ross/etc and buy an all black golf shirt for 12 bucks, and aside from the logo, nobody's going to know. Nor should anyone care.

 

Just match your partner(s) and forgo all the dopey patches. Any association requiring a patch does so because they're getting a cut.