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numbers on my plate coats???


mac266
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This this upcoming year I'll be moving up to umpiring the Pecos League, an independent minor league.  It's a summer league, so I'll still be doing high school in the spring season, and back to high school travel ball in the fall. 

The Pecos League is asking us to put numbers on our umpire uniforms, which I'm perfectly fine with.  But I'm wondering about my plate coats.  As you know, they are very expensive and I probably wouldn't be able to use them anywhere else, because I would be the only umpire wearing a number.  My blue plate coat is a Fechheimer that was given to me by a retiring umpire, and is probably still worth a few hundred bucks.  My black one is an Out West, which I bought for myself, and I've only used for two games.  I think once I put numbers on them, the only place I'll ever be able to wear them is in the Pecos League.

This is a summer league -- June, July, and August -- so it tends to be hot.  But I will be umpiring in Colorado Springs, Trinidad (CO), and Roswell (NM).  The elevation is so high that when the sun goes down, it cools off drastically and you need to wear a jacket in the evening, even during those months.  All Pecos League games except for Sundays are in the evenings, so I do believe I will have plenty of opportunities to wear the plate coats.

What bothers me is that once I put numbers on the plate coats, I won't be able to wear them anywhere else.  Eeek.  But then again, I'm moving up.

What I'm thinking is this:  Put numbers on the black Out West Officials plate coat, but preserve the blue Fechheimer in its unaltered state. 

What are your thoughts, please?

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You should find out whether other umpires in that league wear plate coats and, if so, use numbers.

 

And, whether they tend to wear blue or black.

 

Unless it's prohibited in your other games, just wear the plate coat with the number-- my guess is that no one in those games really GAF.

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Numbers are very common on shirts and jackets. I've never heard of not being able to wear numbers at any level. No association in my area prohibits numbers. Like noumpere said, I don't think anyone would care.

Why would you think you cannot work games if you have numbers on your uniforms?

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18 minutes ago, JonnyCat said:

Numbers are very common on shirts and jackets. I've never heard of not being able to wear numbers at any level. No association in my area prohibits numbers. Like noumpere said, I don't think anyone would care.

Why would you think you cannot work games if you have numbers on your uniforms?

They are forbidden in both of my associations, which cover levels from HS to D1 between the two of them. So, if you want to work up in this state (and D2 or higher for this region of the country,) no numbers allowed.

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52 minutes ago, Matt said:

They are forbidden in both of my associations, which cover levels from HS to D1 between the two of them. So, if you want to work up in this state (and D2 or higher for this region of the country,) no numbers allowed.

Interesting. I wonder why they don't allow something so seemingly innocuous?

I don't know why anyone would give a crap about numbers. Must be the same people that are adamant about wearing an association logo that no one cares about.

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16 minutes ago, mac266 said:

Prohibited in my HS association as well as my fall league. 

Just don't know why anyone would get heartburn over numbers. I don't see the rational, but I don't make the rules.:lol:

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1) See if you can have the numbers sewn onto a patch the same color as your plate coat.  Then, use Velcro on the coat and the patch.

2)  Don't be the only umpire who wears a number.  A lot of your fellow umpires might think you are "big timing" them.  Don't be a voice in the wilderness!

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7 hours ago, mac266 said:

My blue plate coat is a Fechheimer that was given to me by a retiring umpire, and is probably still worth a few hundred bucks. 

If the Pecos league is professional baseball, you wouldn't be wearing a blue plate coat so don't sweat that one. 

7 hours ago, mac266 said:

My black one is an Out West, which I bought for myself, and I've only used for two games.  I think once I put numbers on them, the only place I'll ever be able to wear them is in the Pecos League.

Make a budget with this year's game fees to get a second black plate coat. If you can umpire from March through the end of September, that's $10 a week for 30 weeks. That doesn't seem unattainable.

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2 hours ago, mac266 said:

I guess you didn't read my post...at all.

Wrong.  You did say that the league uses numbers; you didn't say whether other umpires wear plate coats (and I've been in some leagues where wearing one would be viewed as incorrect) and if so, whether the numbers were used on plate coats (and I have seen that).

 

I guess the answer is that if one league needs numbers on plate coats,s and other leagues prohibit numbers on plate coats, you need to decide for which league you will wear the plate copat and for which league you will not.

 

Or, find a way to attache the numbers so they can be removed -- double sided tape, magnets, some craft tacky substance I can't remember the name of, etc.  I've seen all of those used to varying degrees of success.

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I’ve done the last 4 years of independent summer league baseball, with “my” number on all my uniforms… except one article – my WakeWear Plate Coat. I’ve worn that plate coat for each of the opening nights and each of the last plates (whether they be quarters, semis, or champs) I’ve done, and never have had numbers. 

It’s not needed. Everyone knows it’s me. 

I’ve used the plate coat on (early in season) HS night games, NAIA games, and even some adult and PG games… each without my number on it, but they wouldn’t give me crap if I did. I have a patch of each entity I work (extensively) for, and I magnet 🧲-attach that patch to my plate coat – and also a long sleeve shirt (on Plate) or my Majestic Coach’s ThermaBase jacket (on Bases) – when necessary, but I don’t need the number. Everyone knows it’s me. 

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17 hours ago, Kevin_K said:

Make a budget with this year's game fees to get a second black plate coat.

Kevin, on this one lone note, I gotta disagree with ya (it pains me to!). 

Here, instead of the capital expense of another plate coat, Velcro can be your friend! There are different grades of Velcro, so instead of just buying the first “cheap” Velcro from a Walmart or Ben Franklin, I’d go online or a JoAnn Fabrics or seek out a specialized source to get that super-thin Velcro (technically called “hook and loop closures”) that is used on high-end shoes and athletic wear. Put a section of Velcro on the sleeve of the plate coat, and the other on the back of the numbers. 

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20 hours ago, JonnyCat said:

Just don't know why anyone would get heartburn over numbers. I don't see the rational, but I don't make the rules.:lol:

No one has them (unless they move here from another area,) and there's no need to have them. (Also, with the reputation of the one adjoining association that does use numbers, an umpire in ours wearing it would be subconsciously presumed to be of lesser quality--their reputation is that bad.)

With 130ish umpires in my HS/D3 association and well more than that in the D3/D2/D1 association, someone is bound to just decide to have them added (the law of percentages...) This prevents that from happening and losing the uniformity.

Is a new umpire from a different area going to get in trouble if they have numbers on from their old group? Not in the "lower" association, which has a collaborative relationship with the "upper" association for mutual assigning (the upper association handles mainly D1 and shares D2 responsibilities with the lower associations while having it in its name. D3 is assigned by the lower associations with availabilities from any umpire that is in any association under the upper umbrella.) The upper association won't be assigning umpires (unless out of pro ball) to any of its games directly until they've got experience in their lower associations (which, being unnumbered, makes it a moot point by the time they do.)

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13 hours ago, MadMax said:

Kevin, on this one lone note, I gotta disagree with ya (it pains me to!). 

I hear ya @MadMax. I was just offering another option for something that is clearly eating at @mac266.

If this is the problem of the day, it seems that life is pretty good in the southwest.

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