Nike - Plate Shoe?

[Thunderheads]

With Nike taking over the MLB contract, and now the guys are wearing Nike's in the field, ... does anyone have any inside scoop on if they're going to compete w/ NB on a plate shoe?   Just wondering .....

[FranklinT]

Wouldn’t be surprising.  There was a recent ESPN article about the MLB guys showing some “personalized style” and wearing a range of Jordan sneakers on the bases.  Fonzie admitted they were trying to think of a way to attach a met guard to wear them behind the plate.

That article and all the social media attention is all free publicity for Nike.

[boyinr]

I would not think that Nike would miss a logo placement opportunity like that.  The swoosh on a a pair of shoes can be much larger than on a shirt.  However, it is within the realm of possibility that these are going to be like the Nike titanium masks and the Majestic jackets.  Made in small numbers with a very limited distribution.  I have no idea how many umpire plate shoes are sold in a year but, the demand can not be worth shifting production for.  IMO, we are lucky to have what we have for a reasonable price.     

[wolfe_man]

I'm in the never going to happen crowd.  It just isn't cost-effective for Nike to do it.  If they do make anything, I agree with @boyinr that it'll be like the masks and only be given to MLB umpires or something like that.  We just don't make a big enough market for them to invest their funds.

[Thunderheads]

2 hours ago, wolfe_man said:

I'm in the never going to happen crowd.  It just isn't cost-effective for Nike to do it.  If they do make anything, I agree with @boyinr that it'll be like the masks and only be given to MLB umpires or something like that.  We just don't make a big enough market for them to invest their funds.

...ok, but based on what figures?  How many amateur umpires in the country? 

[wolfe_man]

56 minutes ago, Thunderheads said:

...ok, but based on what figures?  How many amateur umpires in the country? 

But how many of those, let's say 50,000 amateur umpires, actually buy plate shoes every year?  It'd probably cost Nike in the ten's of thousands (minimally) to change over a production line for this, not counting design and marketing costs.   To recoup that, how many pairs of shoes would they need to sell every year?  Trust me, if they (or another shoe maker) could make profit, then they'd be crazy not to be doing it, right?  I mean who passes on easy, free money?

[boyinr]

17 minutes ago, wolfe_man said:

Trust me, if they (or another shoe maker) could make profit, then they'd be crazy not to be doing it, right?  I mean who passes on easy, free money?

     That's why Smittys did what they did to offer an alternative to NB.  Acquired the old model and remarketed it.  

[FranklinT]

Agreed nothing would ever be made available to consumers and it would be treated like the Nike Titanium mask…you see it at the professional level and that’s it.  It’s not worth their time or investment.

[ArchAngel72]

Personally, I do not care for Nike's shoes anyway they always seem to run on the narrow side for me

 

[umpstu]

29 minutes ago, ArchAngel72 said:

Personally, I do not care for Nike's shoes anyway they always seem to run on the narrow side for me

 

Agreed.  It would be fantastic to be able to find wide width Nike shoes for the bases.  I like my NB but just something different would be nice.

[SeeingEyeDog]

@FranklinT, Mizuno makes strap up met guards...

~Dawg

[Thunderheads]

[mention=976]FranklinT[/mention], Mizuno makes strap up met guards...
~Dawg

Need toe protection.....

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[SeeingEyeDog]

2 minutes ago, Thunderheads said:

Need toe protection.....

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 

Which begs the question, how are those to be used? We're going to add a met guard to a plate shoe with a hard toe that already has a met guard? That sounds like a bad Seinfeld bit...

~Dawg

[Thunderheads]

Which begs the question, how are those to be used? We're going to add a met guard to a plate shoe with a hard toe that already has a met guard? That sounds like a bad Seinfeld bit...
~Dawg

No, no ..... you cant just add a met guard to a base shoe because there wont be toe protection.... that was my point

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[FranklinT]

My bad I didn’t reference the right quote from Marquez:

 

This growing interest in footwear birthed a text chain featuring about 25 aspiring sneakerhead umpires. In the thread, umpires regularly share photos of their latest pickups and group shots of different crews wearing Jordans together. Currently, the only place where umpires can't wear sneakers is behind home plate, where steel-toe boots are necessary to protect from foul tips. The group, however, is trying to figure out how to get a steel-toe insert into a Jordan.

"Trust me, we have thought about it," Marquez said. "And if one of us is able to do it, we will do it."

 

 

[ATXBlue]

8 hours ago, FranklinT said:

My bad I didn’t reference the right quote from Marquez:

 

This growing interest in footwear birthed a text chain featuring about 25 aspiring sneakerhead umpires. In the thread, umpires regularly share photos of their latest pickups and group shots of different crews wearing Jordans together. Currently, the only place where umpires can't wear sneakers is behind home plate, where steel-toe boots are necessary to protect from foul tips. The group, however, is trying to figure out how to get a steel-toe insert into a Jordan.

"Trust me, we have thought about it," Marquez said. "And if one of us is able to do it, we will do it."

 

 

So according to this journalist we are attaching the catchers mitt, to our steel toe boots, to catch the foul tips?

[MadMax]

21 hours ago, FranklinT said:

Agreed nothing would ever be made available to consumers and it would be treated like the Nike Titanium mask…you see it at the professional level and that’s it.  It’s not worth their time or investment.

Bingo. 

We can thank / blame Tiger Woods for this. The full story is fairly complex, but in a nutshell, Nike is now tremendously gun-shy about producing specialized hardware for a specialized sport, or aspect within that sport. They don’t make tennis rackets, they don’t make lacrosse sticks, they don’t make bats, and they really regret making golf clubs. 

Certainly, it’s unclear how Nike views plate shoes to be classified – hardware or footwear? Certainly, what’s helped plate shoes’ cause most has been the acceptance and adoption of soft-cleat technology into golf shoes – Nike (like most of the other companies) does not favor producing role-specific shoes, with specific features, that can only be used in specific places and applications. Today’s modern golf shoes can be worn on the drive to the course, on the entire 18-hole course, and to the clubhouse for dinner, too. 

Working somewhat in a plate shoe’s favor also is the dearly departed Reebok Zig – it proved that plate shoes could successfully parallel their sporty “field shoe” sibling. However, MLB Umpires do have a substantial influence as to whether this venture launches or fizzles out, and that has to do with style. They have to allow Nike to “shout” a bit, and roll out styles that may not be the all-black, spit-and-polish, work boot that... ahem... some guys prefer. 

[Mister B]

While there isn't a huge market for plate shoes. And Nike is pretty much into it for the profit. There is a point where is could work. Plate shoes don't change every year so if you spread the cost of tooling over a couple of years, there could start to be a profit there. 

[SeeingEyeDog]

There are maybe 100 recreational golfers who could ever benefit from the technical specifications of Tiger Woods' golf clubs. I used to play X-Stiff shafts because...you know...that's what the pros use. I finally paid for a fitting on my last set and was measured for med-flex shafts. My enthusiasm for the game and clean ball strikes are up and my scores are down.

Don't ever fall for the spokesman trap on any purchase. Evaluate the item, any item, for your needs and budget and make your purchasing decision.

~Dawg

[umpstu]

5 hours ago, MadMax said:

Bingo. 

We can thank / blame Tiger Woods for this. The full story is fairly complex, but in a nutshell, Nike is now tremendously gun-shy about producing specialized hardware for a specialized sport, or aspect within that sport. They don’t make tennis rackets, they don’t make lacrosse sticks, they don’t make bats, and they really regret making golf clubs. 

Certainly, it’s unclear how Nike views plate shoes to be classified – hardware or footwear? Certainly, what’s helped plate shoes’ cause most has been the acceptance and adoption of soft-cleat technology into golf shoes – Nike (like most of the other companies) does not favor producing role-specif Those guys probably wouldn't buy it forpoliticalreasoms\ic shoes, with specific features, that can only be used in specific places and applications. Today’s modern golf shoes can be worn on the drive to the course, on the entire 18-hole course, and to the clubhouse for dinner, too. 

Working somewhat in a plate shoe’s favor also is the dearly departed Reebok Zig – it proved that plate shoes could successfully parallel their sporty “field shoe” sibling. However, MLB Umpires do have a substantial influence as to whether this venture launches or fizzles out, and that has to do with style. They have to allow Nike to “shout” a bit, and roll out styles that may not be the all-black, spit-and-polish, work boot that... ahem... some guys prefer. 

So, will Nike issue a navy blue shirt?  Might as well get that all-black now white spit and polish group.  That group wouldn't buy them for political reasons.

[FranklinT]

23 hours ago, Mister B said:

While there isn't a huge market for plate shoes. And Nike is pretty much into it for the profit. There is a point where is could work. Plate shoes don't change every year so if you spread the cost of tooling over a couple of years, there could start to be a profit there. 

As a long time umpire and gear junkie, and someone who is interested by the behind the scenes aspect of businesses and processes, I think it’s important to look how the landscape of officiating retailers has changed in the past 20 or so years.

Back 20 years ago, we had Honigs, +POS, and Davis (who was a small player back then.). Honigs and +POS all has their own private label offerings of shirts, pants, plate shoes, jackets, protective gear, etc.  Heck Davis carried their Davis made in USA plate shoes (which I believe were generally the same as the +POS plate shoes with some minor changes including Davis’ patent leather finish) and Hardwick and Fechheimer were providing made in USA pants and plate coats.  Talk about a different era.

Now UA is the leading retailer but everybody offers primarily Smitty clothing.  Davis sells Cliff Keen but I can’t tell you the last time I saw a Cliff Keen shirt in the wild.  I understand there are slightly more protective gear options (Wilson, Diamond, All Star, Schutt, etc) but the market has contracted so much where there’s primarily one manufacturer for clothing and apparel.  

I think this shows how small the market is and it’s harder to make money by not going the Smitty retailer route.  I think for the same reasons a Nike plate shoe made available to the public would never happen.

[BT_Blue]

@FranklinT side tangent briefly...

The state shirts for Washington are the 2010 style Cliff Kean black shirts. They are dyed and sublimated and are among THE WORST SHIRTS I HAVE EVER WORN!

Thankfully, the state only requires us to wear them during high school games (varsity level is really the only one they care about). And that requirement only matters if going short sleeve. Which this being the Pacific Northwest, rarely happens. 

[FranklinT]

39 minutes ago, BT_Blue said:

@FranklinT side tangent briefly...

The state shirts for Washington are the 2010 style Cliff Kean black shirts. They are dyed and sublimated and are among THE WORST SHIRTS I HAVE EVER WORN!

Thankfully, the state only requires us to wear them during high school games (varsity level is really the only one they care about). And that requirement only matters if going short sleeve. Which this being the Pacific Northwest, rarely happens. 

You have to wear a CK shirt? Wow 

[MadMax]

On 6/10/2021 at 10:34 PM, BT_Blue said:

The state shirts for Washington are the 2010 style Cliff Kean black shirts. They are dyed and sublimated and are among THE WORST SHIRTS I HAVE EVER WORN!

Who would ever take a base white shirt, dye it black, and then mandate it must be purchased and worn for activity which is wholly out in sunlight (UV)??? And, sell it at $49??!! Who does this??!!

Why, state associations do! While they already leech umpires (ie. members) through fees and dues galore, there’s too much temptation to fatten their “administrative” arses with kickbacks from arrangements made between them and uniform suppliers. If the market average for an umpire shirt is $25, and a patch is $3, where is all that difference in money going??!! 

The single inefficiency that boils my blood faster than any other is unjustified expenditure, especially when it does nothing but pads someone else’s wallet. 

[BT_Blue]

On 6/10/2021 at 8:14 PM, FranklinT said:

You have to wear a CK shirt? Wow 

Some guys like them. I think they are cheap pieces of junk!

I will go out of my way to not wear it. So much so, I will go Phil Cuzzi with the pushed up long sleeves rather than wear that shirt. Or even better (cause I will wear this damn thing whenever I get the chance)... I will go with the zip off sleeve jacket.

15 minutes ago, MadMax said:

Who would ever take a base white shirt, dye it black, and then mandate it must be purchased and worn for activity which is wholly out in sunlight (UV)??? And, sell it at $49??!! Who does this??!!

Why, state associations do! While they already leech umpires (ie. members) through fees and dues galore, there’s too much temptation to fatten their “administrative” arses with kickbacks from arrangements made between them and uniform suppliers. If the market average for an umpire shirt is $25, and a patch is $3, where is all that difference in money going??!! 

The single inefficiency that boils my blood faster than any other is unjustified expenditure, especially when it does nothing but pads someone else’s wallet. 

I get the idea of everyone being uniform in style and color. No issues there at all. But when I heard we were going with Davis I knew we were going down the wrong road. Especially with single color shirts like Smitty or even Adams.

The shirts are terrible! If they crease at all (you know... like where we fold the collar over), the dye will "disappear" and show the white cloth. Even worse if it is on a visible part of the shirt! They are also double layered for some reason. So not only does it not seem to sit right while wearing it. On warm days that we get mid high school season (happens every year... rain to start and finish and 80 degrees for about 3 weeks in between) you are just uncomfortable because the "sweat wicking technology" on these shirts is simply ineffective.

I would much rather see the route that California has gone with their hats. Make us buy WOA hats and leave the shirts alone.