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Colored masks acceptable?


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I need to get a new mask. I'm thinking of getting the Force3 V2 as I've seen great reviews on it. Are colored masks acceptable, or can umpires only use black/tan pads? I've seen some with blue or red that look sharp such as this one, but not sure if these are meant for catchers only, or if we can use them? 12006?src=F3DASK_BN.png

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Can you? Sure.

The "gotcha" is that if you do something that isn't standard, like the blue above, and you are umpiring a game between a team that's in red, and one that's in the same color blue as you have there. How many people from the red team are going to think you're part of "the other team" based on your pad color?

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In Ohio, we wear navy blue shirts and I have a silver mask with navy pads.   Last year, I used a navy mask with tan pads. 

Honestly, if they can't figure out who the umpire is because he has a unique mask, then they have bigger problems than a black or silver mask can fix.

To each their own.

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Ask your assignor/whoever you report to. If they're cool with it, you're good to go. 

 

Or just do your own thing at your own risk. Anything within reason is probably fine. Personally I have no issue with the mask pictured above, but my opinion doesn't carry any weight where you are. 

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Guest Guest

Can anyone confirm if these are in fact umpire masks? A friend was telling me these were catcher’s  only masks and different than what umpires use. 

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13 hours ago, Guest Guest said:

Can anyone confirm if these are in fact umpire masks? A friend was telling me these were catcher’s  only masks and different than what umpires use. 

The F3 frame is the same for both umpire and catcher.  The pads are the same also.  The only difference with the mask above is in the pad color. 

Typically, MLB, MiLB, NCAA and possibly some(most?) high school associations request umpires wear silver or black frames with tan, black or grey pads. Remember, they also mostly wear MLB blue and black shirts only as well. 

You will see other shirt, mask and mask pad colors at different levels - and certainly where travel ball is found.

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Here are the Ohio regulations below.  Note there is nothing concerning mask (or pad) color.

 

Baseball
The approved uniform for interscholastic baseball umpires is gray pants (either Heather Gray or Charcoal Gray for the regular season, sectional or district games. For Regional and State games, Charcoal Gray pants are to be worn by all members of the crew) with an MLU navy shirt with the OHSAA embroidered logo on the right breast. Undershirts or t-shirts shall be red. When needed, a navy jacket with red shoulder stripes and OHSAA logo shall be worn. Official OHSAA logo officials apparel shall be purchased from one of the authorized dealers listed above. All umpires on a crew must be dressed alike. Navy caps with the OHSAA logo on the crown must be worn and shall be purchased only from authorized dealers. Any other emblems or patches are not permitted on the officiating uniform. EXCEPTION: An American flag may be worn appropriately. Jewelry may not be worn except wedding band, medical ID, or religious medal.
     Penalty - Fine not to exceed $100.

 

Softball

Gray Pants, either Heather Gray or Charcoal Gray, all umpires in a game shall be dressed alike. In the event the umpires do not agree heather gray pants shall be worn. This will allow the umpires to wear either pants color but both must be dressed alike. MLU navy shirt with the OHSAA embroidered or sublimated logo on the right breast. It is not permissible to wear a long sleeve garment under the short sleeve shirt. Undershirts or t-shirts shall be red.  Predominately black plate or base shoes with black laces. Black leather belt 1 ½ to 2 inches wide with plain buckle.  Navy cap with OHSAA logo embroidered on the crown. A jacket, if worn shall be the “red shoulder stripe” model; navy with red/white trim on the shoulder. The OHSAA logo shall be properly placed on the jacket. The OHSAA embroidered logo is the only logo permitted on uniform, shirts, jackets and hats. OHSAA logo “patches” are not permitted. There is no authorized OHSAA patch. No other logos, patches, emblems or numbers are permitted on the officiating uniform. If, for a special occasion, a commemorative or memorial patch is worn on the shirt, it must meet the rule book requirements and be approved by the OHSAA. Exception: An American Flag patch/emblem is optional and if worn shall be on the left sleeve approximately two inches below the shoulder with the star field facing to the front. Jewelry shall not be worn except for a wedding band and/or a medical alert necklace or bracelet. A religious medallion which is not visible is permitted. A watch is permitted only when an official has a duty for timing during the contest. All umpires on a crew must be dressed alike. The plate umpire shall wear all protective equipment as specified by rule. Dark blue or gray ball bags if working as the Plate Umpire. If two ball bags are worn, they shall be of the same color.

     Penalty - Fine not to exceed $100.

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16 hours ago, kylehutson said:

Can you? Sure.

The "gotcha" is that if you do something that isn't standard, like the blue above, and you are umpiring a game between a team that's in red, and one that's in the same color blue as you have there. How many people from the red team are going to think you're part of "the other team" based on your pad color?

none

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9 minutes ago, wolfe_man said:

Here are the Ohio regulations below.  Note there is nothing concerning mask (or pad) color.

 

Baseball
The approved uniform for interscholastic baseball umpires is gray pants (either Heather Gray or Charcoal Gray for the regular season, sectional or district games. For Regional and State games, Charcoal Gray pants are to be worn by all members of the crew) with an MLU navy shirt with the OHSAA embroidered logo on the right breast. Undershirts or t-shirts shall be red. When needed, a navy jacket with red shoulder stripes and OHSAA logo shall be worn. Official OHSAA logo officials apparel shall be purchased from one of the authorized dealers listed above. All umpires on a crew must be dressed alike. Navy caps with the OHSAA logo on the crown must be worn and shall be purchased only from authorized dealers. Any other emblems or patches are not permitted on the officiating uniform. EXCEPTION: An American flag may be worn appropriately. Jewelry may not be worn except wedding band, medical ID, or religious medal.
     Penalty - Fine not to exceed $100.

 

Softball

Gray Pants, either Heather Gray or Charcoal Gray, all umpires in a game shall be dressed alike. In the event the umpires do not agree heather gray pants shall be worn. This will allow the umpires to wear either pants color but both must be dressed alike. MLU navy shirt with the OHSAA embroidered or sublimated logo on the right breast. It is not permissible to wear a long sleeve garment under the short sleeve shirt. Undershirts or t-shirts shall be red.  Predominately black plate or base shoes with black laces. Black leather belt 1 ½ to 2 inches wide with plain buckle.  Navy cap with OHSAA logo embroidered on the crown. A jacket, if worn shall be the “red shoulder stripe” model; navy with red/white trim on the shoulder. The OHSAA logo shall be properly placed on the jacket. The OHSAA embroidered logo is the only logo permitted on uniform, shirts, jackets and hats. OHSAA logo “patches” are not permitted. There is no authorized OHSAA patch. No other logos, patches, emblems or numbers are permitted on the officiating uniform. If, for a special occasion, a commemorative or memorial patch is worn on the shirt, it must meet the rule book requirements and be approved by the OHSAA. Exception: An American Flag patch/emblem is optional and if worn shall be on the left sleeve approximately two inches below the shoulder with the star field facing to the front. Jewelry shall not be worn except for a wedding band and/or a medical alert necklace or bracelet. A religious medallion which is not visible is permitted. A watch is permitted only when an official has a duty for timing during the contest. All umpires on a crew must be dressed alike. The plate umpire shall wear all protective equipment as specified by rule. Dark blue or gray ball bags if working as the Plate Umpire. If two ball bags are worn, they shall be of the same color.

     Penalty - Fine not to exceed $100.

Fines ??? WOW!  Ohio ain't messin' around!

WOW!!!  A rule specifying protective equipment?! :HS 

 

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On 4/3/2019 at 2:06 PM, Guest Guest said:

I need to get a new mask. I'm thinking of getting the Force3 V2 as I've seen great reviews on it. Are colored masks acceptable, or can umpires only use black/tan pads? I've seen some with blue or red that look sharp such as this one, but not sure if these are meant for catchers only, or if we can use them? 12006?src=F3DASK_BN.png

Masks are masks are masks.  Umpire, catcher, makes no difference.  The ONLY time you'll see a manufacturer specify that a mask is either catcher or umpire is based on the harness that is used, period.   Do YOUR own thing.  If this mask above floats your boat and it matches or looks cool w/ your uniform/jersey, then ROCK IT proud! :nod: 

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9 minutes ago, Thunderheads said:

exactly .... I quoted wolfe_man's post coming from the Ohio rules

To be fair, the part I quoted was from OHSAA's main page. They also provide us with a "Blue Book" that's meant to be the manual for positioning and it has other requirements, but it doesn't get specific either.

"The plate umpire shall wear all protective equipment as specified by rule (plate shoes are required). Dark blue or gray ball bags shall be used."

 

Link to Blue Book:

https://ohsaa.org/Portals/0/Officiating/dod/BlueBookBB2019.pdf

 

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18 hours ago, Guest Guest said:

I'm thinking of getting the Force3 V2 as I've seen great reviews on it.

Well, I can add to your reviews that I LOVE MINE!!!  The only real difference that I have noticed is that because of the shape/style of the padding, it feels like it holds the bill of my hat lower in the mask.  NOT ENOUGH to obstruct any view though.  Maybe it's just me and adjusting to the new style.  Did I mention that I LOVE MINE?!!???!

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3 hours ago, Thunderheads said:

Fines ??? WOW!  Ohio ain't messin' around!

WOW!!!  A rule specifying protective equipment?! :HS 

 

No money to be made from requiring protective equipment....apparel however......LOTS of money to be made from requiring those things $$$$$.....

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5 hours ago, Thunderheads said:

Fines ??? WOW!  Ohio ain't messin' around!

WOW!!!  A rule specifying protective equipment?! :HS 

 

Is that really all that surprising? Since the state association provides us with insurance, it seems eminently reasonable that they require all reasonable and customer protective equipment to be worn. If some dolt insists on calling a game without a mask on, they wouldn't then - and shouldn't be - on the hook.

I guess I'm just not seeing the "WOW!!!" here...

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42 minutes ago, scrounge said:

Is that really all that surprising? Since the state association provides us with insurance, it seems eminently reasonable that they require all reasonable and customer protective equipment to be worn. If some dolt insists on calling a game without a mask on, they wouldn't then - and shouldn't be - on the hook.

I guess I'm just not seeing the "WOW!!!" here...

WHY SO SURPRISING?  Have you ever seen a rule telling what equipment you're supposed to wear? I've never, ...nor have I heard anyone else mention it.

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1 hour ago, Thunderheads said:

WHY SO SURPRISING?  Have you ever seen a rule telling what equipment you're supposed to wear? I've never, ...nor have I heard anyone else mention it.

This is from pg 27 of the current FHSAA official's guidebook. I didn't google every state - this was the first one I did, and it wasn't hard to find. I really don't think this is uncommon at all:

(6.) Home plate umpires must wear all necessary protective equipment

https://www.fhsaa.org/sites/default/files/attachments/2010/09/16/node-247/2018-19_fhsaa_officials_guidebook_6.pdf

Additionally, here they list exactly what that necessary equipment is:

http://www.becomeanofficial.org/sports/ba.asp

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16 hours ago, scrounge said:

This is from pg 27 of the current FHSAA official's guidebook. I didn't google every state - this was the first one I did, and it wasn't hard to find. I really don't think this is uncommon at all:

(6.) Home plate umpires must wear all necessary protective equipment

https://www.fhsaa.org/sites/default/files/attachments/2010/09/16/node-247/2018-19_fhsaa_officials_guidebook_6.pdf

Additionally, here they list exactly what that necessary equipment is:

http://www.becomeanofficial.org/sports/ba.asp

obviously this is new to me, but I guess it's not uncommon .... who knew? LOL

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10 hours ago, Thunderheads said:

obviously this is new to me, but I guess it's not uncommon .... who knew? LOL

This is the new CYA world.

Somewhere some umpire decided to call a game without a mask, took a foul ball to the face, and when he tried to claim his expenses was denied because he wasn't wearing a mask and he said "I didn't know I was supposed to wear a mask - nobody told me that."

 

5749543841_576d5d0f66_b.jpg

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On 4/3/2019 at 1:06 PM, Guest Guest said:

I need to get a new mask. I'm thinking of getting the Force3 V2 as I've seen great reviews on it. Are colored masks acceptable, or can umpires only use black/tan pads? I've seen some with blue or red that look sharp such as this one, but not sure if these are meant for catchers only, or if we can use them? 12006?src=F3DASK_BN.png

The higher the levels you work, the less you want to look like a pioneer. Take that for whatever it's worth. 

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1 minute ago, Matt said:

Except at the highest, especially if you own your own line.

My favorites are the power tripping coordinators/supervisors forcing guys to cut off the MLB patches on their shirts that are SOLD with the patches on there. Dumbest thing I've ever heard. 

"CUZ you're not an MLB umpire" Yeah...no SH*#. SMH

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On 4/3/2019 at 11:06 AM, Guest Guest said:

I've seen some with blue or red that look sharp such as this one,

Right, but do they "look sharp" because they are for catchers, or do they "look sharp" because they are for umpires?

Before you answer, there is a truth that must be divulged and understood – Umpires should strive to be as invisible and forgettable as possible. To be fair, we're (still) human, and there's no way that we can be uniform automatons (as much as those on both sides of the "Blue Line" want us to be).

On 4/3/2019 at 12:01 PM, wolfe_man said:

Honestly, if they can't figure out who the umpire is because he has a unique mask, then they have bigger problems than a black or silver mask can fix.

To each their own.

More often than not, it's not "they" viewing or participating in the game who have the biggest problem with such "style" choices. You know who the real "they" are. These are the same folks who have issue with some of us wearing a Father's Day Sky Blue sweatband... on Father's Day... inspired by the Major League guys who not only have worn Sky Blue sweatbands on Father's Day as well, but custom-colored masks and patches (? do I remember that right?). 

So is this mask:
madmask_diamondix3_doubleblack.jpg.6517f7684a1eadeae86d9bf79a88e615.jpg

... more protective than this mask?
madmask_poszrog_sky.jpg.c98a0be4851cb1e1f8be41ad2ab5f449.jpg

Is the wearer of that all-black mask a better umpire than the one who wears the sky-blue one? Some think so.

Let's go another direction. Several of you I know agree that a black hat and a navy shirt just looks... disjointed. So too, then, are a navy shirt, navy hat, and black ball bags. Something is just out of place. So why is an all-black mask with a navy shirt, navy hat, and navy ball bags acceptable or tolerable? Wouldn't this be much more cohesive, completed look?:
madmask_honigsk4_navy.jpg.5f86184fcb6076973c79b62ba3ffa1ec.jpg

Okay, I'll concede that not everyone needs to be such a nitpicker on details, and that I shouldn't berate you for your "unrefined" choice of an all-black mask on an otherwise color-coordinated uniform. I'll give you that... can we agree to that? Yes? Good! Now... with that agreed to... you shouldn't have a problem with me trotting this out:
madmask_honigsK8_navy.jpg.9476b3fc8b6948f7086ddca52f5371aa.jpg

... that coordinates splendidly with the navy & red-trimmed uniform!

Does it really matter???

On 4/5/2019 at 5:00 PM, johnnyg08 said:

The higher the levels you work, the less you want to look like a pioneer. Take that for whatever it's worth.

There's a great deal of validity to this point; however, keep in mind that vanity does still exist even at these levels, and it manifests in rather subtle ways.

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