Matching your partners pants shade isn’t easy even at the MLB level

[Marcus6]

[The Man in Blue]

Yeah ... I have given up on that.

Guys can't even manage to match shirts when you expressly tell them which shirt.

[wolfe_man]

50 minutes ago, The Man in Blue said:

Yeah ... I have given up on that.

Guys can't even manage to match shirts when you expressly tell them which shirt.

Now, you said blue... do you mean MLB polo with black side panels or Carolina blue with black trim or powder blue with navy trim or powder with RW&B trim?   I KNOW you did NOT mean navy blue!

[H2PBlue]

3 hours ago, wolfe_man said:

Now, you said blue... do you mean MLB polo with black side panels or Carolina blue with black trim or powder blue with navy trim or powder with RW&B trim?   I KNOW you did NOT mean navy blue!

Just curious as a fairly new umpire who takes his appearance seriously, does anyone notice if the trim on the powder is off? I always assumed as long as it was the same shade blue it was close enough. 

[wolfe_man]

20 minutes ago, H2PBlue said:

Just curious as a fairly new umpire who takes his appearance seriously, does anyone notice if the trim on the powder is off? I always assumed as long as it was the same shade blue it was close enough. 

I do, but I'm OCD. LOL

To be fair, most probably don't notice as long as your main shirt color is close. Even different manufacturers, using the same color & trim, can be a little different - so just go as close as you can and don't stand too close together and you'll be okay.

Perfect example below, the PU has on a Smitty flex MLB blue with black color - the BU has on the same color & trim, but it is a Honig's.  They look the same, right?  Now, look closer at the trim on the sleeve and the neck and you'll see they are just a little different.  Smitty uses a bold stripe and Honig's does a thin one - but they're both MLB blue.  I have all of the powder blue shirts from Smitty and still couldn't match up with this guy!

(Please pardon my wrinkled pants.  They're also brand-new, first-wear, Smitty flex, but they didn't look that bad in action, but looking at this pic I need to spend some time with an iron on them evidently!  I guess I should have went with my poly-wools instead after seeing this pic.)

[The Man in Blue]

23 minutes ago, H2PBlue said:

Just curious as a fairly new umpire who takes his appearance seriously, does anyone notice if the trim on the powder is off? I always assumed as long as it was the same shade blue it was close enough. 

[MadMax]

57 minutes ago, wolfe_man said:

I have all of the powder blue shirts from Smitty and still couldn't match up with this guy!

You’re forgiven… but why is your BU wearing a navy hat?? 

I knew the umpire world was circling the drain when college associations were directing (*cough* mandating *cough*) their member umpires to get a particular type and brand of pant, for the expressed reason so everyone sent to a ballgame are completely and utterly matching, even in shade of pant… 

… but still will NOT supply any piece of the uniform. 🤬

[wolfe_man]

43 minutes ago, MadMax said:

You’re forgiven… but why is your BU wearing a navy hat?? 

I knew the umpire world was circling the drain when college associations were directing (*cough* mandating *cough*) their member umpires to get a particular type and brand of pant, for the expressed reason so everyone sent to a ballgame are completely and utterly matching, even in shade of pant… 

… but still will NOT supply any piece of the uniform. 🤬

I think it may be the light - but I noticed that too! 
 

Although, he does both sports. Almost 20 years of experience too.

[The Man in Blue]

6 hours ago, H2PBlue said:

Just curious as a fairly new umpire who takes his appearance seriously, does anyone notice if the trim on the powder is off? I always assumed as long as it was the same shade blue it was close enough. 

One powder is worn with navy, one powder is worn with black.  Don’t EVER mix them up!
 

NEVER mix navy and black together.  Then you end up with the monstrosity I saw a few weeks ago.  Young kid (16) had a navy shirt that had a black collar and black sleeve piping.  Other than that, it looked like a navy shirt with red and white.  He said he got it on Amazon, but I can’t even find a picture of this thing …

 

[SeeingEyeDog]

11 hours ago, The Man in Blue said:

Yeah ... I have given up on that.

Guys can't even manage to match shirts when you expressly tell them which shirt.

That's why one should just get ALL the shirts, ALL the caps and ALL the ballbags...

~Dawg

[H2PBlue]

7 hours ago, The Man in Blue said:

One powder is worn with navy, one powder is worn with black.  Don’t EVER mix them up!
 

NEVER mix navy and black together.  Then you end up with the monstrosity I saw a few weeks ago.  Young kid (16) had a navy shirt that had a black collar and black sleeve piping.  Other than that, it looked like a navy shirt with red and white.  He said he got it on Amazon, but I can’t even find a picture of this thing …

 

I hear you. I wouldn't mix navy and black, that's for sure. Our association still rocks heather gray and navy hats, but I do a lot of single man and we can basically do whatever we want. I don't wear a hat because I wear a HSM, so I just make sure to match my ball bags and undershirt to my trim. 

[MadMax]

1 hour ago, H2PBlue said:

but I do a lot of single man and we can basically do whatever we want.

For those games I have worked solo, unless they are MiLB / MLB / NCAA sessions (where you want to be as discreet as possible), I trot out my most ~ unique ~ umpire shirt colors. The TOC ones, like Texas Burnt Orange, or Camo (3 different choices), or Green. Why? 

So there’s no mistaking that there’s only 1 umpire on this game! 🤨 

“Aw come on… Blue… I could see he was out from here!” 
“Do you have a purple shirt on?” 
“Wha…? Uh… no?” 
“Then your opinion doesn’t count. Color of this game is purple.” 

“Mad” is in the name, folks. 😝 

Sounds pretty ridiculous, huh? So’s having one umpire. 

[concertman1971]

10 hours ago, The Man in Blue said:

NEVER mix navy and black together.

Unless you umpire HS baseball in TN. Specifically, wear black ball bags and a blue shirt/hat .........

While you are at it, go buy all new shirts and jackets made from some old 1970s material they found in a warehouse.

[Velho]

2 hours ago, H2PBlue said:

so I just make sure to match my ball bags and undershirt to my trim. 

So, when (however rare it may be) you wear navy, you have red ball bags?

[The Man in Blue]

6 minutes ago, concertman1971 said:

Unless you umpire HS baseball in TN. Specifically, wear black ball bags and a blue shirt/hat .........

While you are at it, go buy all new shirts and jackets made from some old 1970s material they found in a warehouse.

What kind of Freaky Friday crap is that?!

So your purse matches your shoes?

[Marcus6]

On 6/9/2023 at 9:15 AM, FranklinT said:

Believe Torres is wearing the Fechheimer poly spandex they gave the MLB guys a few years ago and Kulpa is rocking the Smitty poly spandex which are much darker.

 

[MadMax]

3 hours ago, concertman1971 said:

While you are at it, go buy all new shirts and jackets made from some old 1970s material they found in a warehouse.

Hey, hey! That material matches ol’ Buddy’s shirt… 

… and Buddy is the association secretary. 

Collusion? 🤔 Nah. 

3 hours ago, concertman1971 said:

Specifically, wear black ball bags and a blue shirt/hat

Hey, hey! Ball bags are expensive. Ya gotta get one set per decade that allows you to do weekend tournament ball and high school ball. 

Got any grey ones?

[The Man in Blue]

How about I just do one of each?  That sounds like an economical solution.

 

Actually, I may be on to something … reversible with black on one side and navy on the other.  

[blue23ll]

Hey they are wearing pants, be thankful for little things

[Marcus6]

On 6/9/2023 at 5:42 PM, wolfe_man said:

 

(Please pardon my wrinkled pants.  They're also brand-new, first-wear, Smitty flex, but they didn't look that bad in action, but looking at this pic I need to spend some time with an iron on them evidently!  I guess I should have went with my poly-wools instead after seeing this pic.)

One of the most annoying things about the poly spandex pants (both Smitty and Davis) is how easy they wrinkle.

[TheRockawayKid]

16 hours ago, FranklinT said:

One of the most annoying things about the poly spandex pants (both Smitty and Davis) is how easy they wrinkle.

Oh god yes! 

I can get them dry cleaned and pressed, have them on a hanger, but if I look at them wrong, it appears as if I just pulled them from the bottom of my equipment bag. 

Also, it is impossible to get dirt off them with a spray bottle. 

[Thunderheads]

34 minutes ago, TheRockawayKid said:

Oh god yes! 

I can get them dry cleaned and pressed, have them on a hanger, but if I look at them wrong, it appears as if I just pulled them from the bottom of my equipment bag. 

Also, it is impossible to get dirt off them with a spray bottle. 

....and good luck keeping them on a hanger in the first place!  Very hard to get them situated neatly, and staying there!

[834k3r]

This appearance thread has my attention. Like @wolfe_man, I have a bit of OCD when it comes to appearance. Don't look the same as your partner? Have a faded black hat? Have faded pants? I think it's a terrible look.

Case in point, my son was playing in a Legion tournament this weekend and the umpires (two-man crew) couldn't match.

• PU:  Nasty faded High School Association hat, Smitty MLB Black shirt (with gray panels), charcoal pants
• BU:  Nasty faded Legion umpire hat, Smitty Flex shirt (double white stripes), heather gray pants.

Their on-field performance matched how they dressed.

I take my appearance seriously (perhaps a hold-over from my days in the military) and I find it frustrating how many of my peers don't care (one partner had the plate on back-to-back games and didn't clean his shoes between games).

[The Man in Blue]

2 hours ago, Thunderheads said:

....and good luck keeping them on a hanger in the first place!  Very hard to get them situated neatly, and staying there!

I use the "velvet" covered hangers and those seem to work alright.  I thought about clipping a binder clip on, but I think that might just add unwanted creases. 

[Thunderheads]

3 minutes ago, The Man in Blue said:

I use the "velvet" covered hangers and those seem to work alright.  I thought about clipping a binder clip on, but I think that might just add unwanted creases. 

2 things, .... 1, I use those hangers and they're "ok" ...   2; I worked w/ a guy who used chip clips on those hangers for his pants and it did work, you just need to place the clips properly