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Posted

Curious on anyone’s experience with the new mlb style shirt that just came out.. I like the fabric but the cuts not great. My usual size is too small for the plate (super tight in the armpits) but baggy without a cp

Posted
18 minutes ago, The Man in Blue said:

Uh oh ... just ordered them the other day ... don't know yet.

Maybe it’s just me and my cp.. I still have range of motion to make calls but the fabric bunches up and looks bad.. will take some pictures and post tomorrow 

Posted
On 8/17/2023 at 9:48 PM, Sw-ump said:

Maybe it’s just me and my cp.. I still have range of motion to make calls but the fabric bunches up and looks bad.. will take some pictures and post tomorrow 

The best part of these shirts - no giant “S” logo 

IMG_1130.jpeg

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Posted
On 8/17/2023 at 8:48 PM, Sw-ump said:

Maybe it’s just me and my cp.. I still have range of motion to make calls but the fabric bunches up and looks bad.. will take some pictures and post tomorrow 

SW! You know the rule here at U-E… photos (posted), or it never happened! 😎 📸 

Posted

The fabric doesn’t have much give at all. I’ll find out when I work a game in one, but it doesn’t feel very breathable either. Also, I now see why a lot the mlb guys leave the black one unbuttoned. So far, unimpressed.

IMG_2712.jpeg

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Posted
1 hour ago, blue32 said:

The fabric doesn’t have much give at all. I’ll find out when I work a game in one, but it doesn’t feel very breathable either. Also, I now see why a lot the mlb guys leave the black one unbuttoned. So far, unimpressed.

IMG_2712.jpeg

Picked some up too and I agree - the shirts are very “uninspiring.” Feels like a step backwards from the V2 body flex material 

Posted

Here’s the pic of it on over my cp, not sure how well you can see it cutting in under the armpits. Not sure why they didn’t go with poly spandex 

IMG_5658.jpeg

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Posted
7 minutes ago, Sw-ump said:

Here’s the pic of it on over my cp, not sure how well you can see it cutting in under the armpits. Not sure why they didn’t go with poly spandex 

IMG_5658.jpeg

Looks “snug”

Posted
22 minutes ago, SeeingEyeDog said:

Pardon my ignorance...what's the beef with the Smitty "S" logo?

~Dawg

No beef but like stuff without logos. The football pants and shorts are worse, in my opinion, with a giant white S on the back belt loop. Just my $.02

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Posted

Looking at them in the package and thinking, “Not only is the style underwhelming, but the fabric is looking unimpressive.”

 

After seeing the comments here, these may go back unopened.

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Posted
3 hours ago, blue32 said:

The fabric doesn’t have much give at all. I’ll find out when I work a game in one, but it doesn’t feel very breathable either. Also, I now see why a lot the mlb guys leave the black one unbuttoned. So far, unimpressed.

IMG_2712.jpeg

Curious how the fabric performs.. first impression was it felt nice and soft but I’m not thinking it’ll breath well either, won’t be keeping them to test it out though 

Posted
11 hours ago, Sw-ump said:

Curious how the fabric performs.. first impression was it felt nice and soft but I’m not thinking it’ll breath well either, won’t be keeping them to test it out though 

Think Smitty made a mistake here making these in what I believe is the same/similar fabric as Rawlings makes for the actual MLB shirts. Never seen one in person but they market these as replica which I interpret are the same in terms of style and fabric.

I too will be sending them back to UA.

Posted

 

All these wretched shirts need now is the alligator logo.

 

 

Lacoste Men's Sport Short Ultra Dry-Raglan Sleeve Polo

 

 

JMO. These shirts look like F*#King dogSH*#. Why are we still stuck in the 1980's? Is this the best we can come up with? We can't have something more athletic?

I'm sick of looking like the Kinney Shoes salesman with our outdated shirts and stupid looking slacks.

 

 

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Posted
4 hours ago, JonnyCat said:

 

All these wretched shirts need now is the alligator logo.

 

 

Lacoste Men's Sport Short Ultra Dry-Raglan Sleeve Polo

 

 

JMO. These shirts look like F*#King dogSH*#. Why are we still stuck in the 1980's? Is this the best we can come up with? We can't have something more athletic?

I'm sick of looking like the Kinney Shoes salesman with our outdated shirts and stupid looking slacks.

 

 

What would you like to see?

Posted
22 minutes ago, FranklinT said:

What would you like to see?

This.

Source American Football Referee Uniform Women's Referee Costume Womens  Sexy Cut-Out Referee Costume Set on m.alibaba.com

 

 

 

All kidding aside, I really thought we were moving in the right direction with the black with gray panels and the blue with black panels. Those are sharp looking shirts. These plain Smitty shirts are just a step backwards, IMO. They just look like Izod shirts of the 1980's. Add some flair to the jerseys. And properly cut them to accommodate a chest protector, don't just make them a larger size. Increase the area around the shoulders and chest. They make pants for plate and base, why not do the same for the shirts?

As far as pants go, I'd like to see us wear black pants. Maybe something like the NFL refs wear, minus the stripe (or not, the stripe might look cool). Maybe a different fabric and a more athletic cut. The slacks seem to be a holdover from when umpires wore more of a suit to work games. But definitely black. That way we would always have the same color no matter the brand, instead of the 27 shades of gray I see now.

Also, I think black would somewhat hide the bagginess of the plate pants. The gray slacks for plate pants often just don't look good, IMO.

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Posted
13 hours ago, JonnyCat said:

 

All these wretched shirts need now is the alligator logo.

 

 

Lacoste Men's Sport Short Ultra Dry-Raglan Sleeve Polo

 

 

JMO. These shirts look like F*#King dogSH*#. Why are we still stuck in the 1980's? Is this the best we can come up with? We can't have something more athletic?

I'm sick of looking like the Kinney Shoes salesman with our outdated shirts and stupid looking slacks.

 

 

Whoa...

"Kinney Shoes salesman"

 

peabody.jpg

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Posted
On 8/20/2023 at 9:18 PM, JonnyCat said:

All kidding aside, I really thought we were moving in the right direction with the black with gray panels and the blue with black panels. Those are sharp looking shirts. These plain Smitty shirts are just a step backwards, IMO. They just look like Izod shirts of the 1980's. Add some flair to the jerseys. And properly cut them to accommodate a chest protector, don't just make them a larger size. Increase the area around the shoulders and chest. They make pants for plate and base, why not do the same for the shirts?

As far as pants go, I'd like to see us wear black pants. Maybe something like the NFL refs wear, minus the stripe (or not, the stripe might look cool). Maybe a different fabric and a more athletic cut. The slacks seem to be a holdover from when umpires wore more of a suit to work games. But definitely black. That way we would always have the same color no matter the brand, instead of the 27 shades of gray I see now.

Also, I think black would somewhat hide the bagginess of the plate pants. The gray slacks for plate pants often just don't look good, IMO.

I would add, since we can dream, is to also be able to order shirts with pockets, and without.

Posted

The encouraging thing about this company though, is that they do seem to be interested in our feedback. Case in point: the wretched MLB V1 shirts as opposed to V2. I have always been a Majestic guy, and the Smitty MLB V2's were every bit as good as the Majestics, IMO. Hopefully these reviews will make it back to them soon, and they can look at a fabric revision at least, then start cranking them out.

Posted
16 minutes ago, blue32 said:

I would add, since we can dream, is to also be able to order shirts with pockets, and without.

Think Ump Attire tried this a long time ago with some shirts they carried (they might have had a "private label" brand a long long time ago) and the response wasn't overwhelming

Posted
14 minutes ago, blue32 said:

The encouraging thing about this company though, is that they do seem to be interested in our feedback.

Then they’re doing it wrong. Well, scratch that, they’re doing it… manipulatively. 

What they should be doing is putting out a survey, or identifying members of the buying public (ahem! Some of us here on U-E are candidates), or dissecting not only the “model” or “template” shirts they’re striving to replicate, but also everyone else’s versions. 

I don’t know about you, but I sure didn’t get an invite to a control group, nor did I get a survey link in my mailbox. Remember when All-Star was developing the Cobalt -line of products, and sent PoC prototypes out to various umpires for them to review and evaluate? I don’t know how many adjustments were made between those circulations and the first commensurate production run, but I applaud All-Star for the effort. I definitely believe that they produced a superior CP to the woeful, wizened Wilsons, if only because they trusted and valued our opinions up front. 

Know what this is like? It’s like you spending a week at a high-end AirBnB or VRBO property, that has these handcrafted oak bed frames. Rustic, solid, supportive. Really set the mark high. Big splash on all social media. You come to find out that the shop that makes those bed frames is about to “blow up”, and will be stepping up production to make more, but for right now, they’re $2K each, with a lead time of 6 weeks. 
Then, your spouse goes looking on Amazon, and finds a Chinese-made knockoff that is “similar” to that palatial bed frame, delivered in 6 days, for $500. Now, I’m not commenting about anyone’s relationship with their spouse… this is the conundrum – Do you purchase the $2K bed frame because you “just have to have that bed frame”, or do you purchase the $500 bed frame to make your spouse readily happy because she/you want the appearance of that bed frame, and want to show off to your friends / social media circle? Or… do you resist, and hold off, knowing that either A) there will be better replicas made by more reputable companies in the coming weeks / months, or B) the original craftsman will maximize and economize production, so that in 6 months, his bed frames, with all their desired features and structure, will only be $1K? 

Smitty just keeps striking me as that company that lists bed frames on Amazon, which are replicas of top-tier products, where appearance is > substance. They put a shirt out there at $40… why?? Is it to make the best (quality) shirt they can, or is it to recreate / capture the appearance of the (current) MLB shirt??

 

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Posted
25 minutes ago, MadMax said:

Smitty just keeps striking me as that company that lists bed frames on Amazon, which are replicas of top-tier products, where appearance is > substance. They put a shirt out there at $40… why?? Is it to make the best (quality) shirt they can, or is it to recreate / capture the appearance of the (current) MLB shirt??

I'm with you @MadMax, I too love asking questions I already know the answer to.

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Posted
15 minutes ago, MadMax said:

Then they’re doing it wrong. Well, scratch that, they’re doing it… manipulatively. 

What they should be doing is putting out a survey, or identifying members of the buying public (ahem! Some of us here on U-E are candidates), or dissecting not only the “model” or “template” shirts they’re striving to replicate, but also everyone else’s versions. 

I don’t know about you, but I sure didn’t get an invite to a control group, nor did I get a survey link in my mailbox. Remember when All-Star was developing the Cobalt -line of products, and sent PoC prototypes out to various umpires for them to review and evaluate? I don’t know how many adjustments were made between those circulations and the first commensurate production run, but I applaud All-Star for the effort. I definitely believe that they produced a superior CP to the woeful, wizened Wilsons, if only because they trusted and valued our opinions up front. 

Know what this is like? It’s like you spending a week at a high-end AirBnB or VRBO property, that has these handcrafted oak bed frames. Rustic, solid, supportive. Really set the mark high. Big splash on all social media. You come to find out that the shop that makes those bed frames is about to “blow up”, and will be stepping up production to make more, but for right now, they’re $2K each, with a lead time of 6 weeks. 
Then, your spouse goes looking on Amazon, and finds a Chinese-made knockoff that is “similar” to that palatial bed frame, delivered in 6 days, for $500. Now, I’m not commenting about anyone’s relationship with their spouse… this is the conundrum – Do you purchase the $2K bed frame because you “just have to have that bed frame”, or do you purchase the $500 bed frame to make your spouse readily happy because she/you want the appearance of that bed frame, and want to show off to your friends / social media circle? Or… do you resist, and hold off, knowing that either A) there will be better replicas made by more reputable companies in the coming weeks / months, or B) the original craftsman will maximize and economize production, so that in 6 months, his bed frames, with all their desired features and structure, will only be $1K? 

Smitty just keeps striking me as that company that lists bed frames on Amazon, which are replicas of top-tier products, where appearance is > substance. They put a shirt out there at $40… why?? Is it to make the best (quality) shirt they can, or is it to recreate / capture the appearance of the (current) MLB shirt??

 

Good points.  Anybody who has been around a while might remember when Smitty first came out with shirts/pants they were garbage.  I wouldn't have been caught dead in a Smitty shirt 15 or so years ago.  But then Honig's had problems, + POS went away (anybody remember + POS being the official supplier of MiLB umpires? And no that's not Purchase Officials Supplies LOL) and Smitty's low priced offerings caught on and filled a void.  Part of Smitty's lure is places like Ump Attire have no interest in manufacturing.  If you look at prices from 15-20 years ago, a decent umpire shirt should cost more than $30 now.  I remember Honig's made in USA shirts going for about $30 and state logo shirts going for like $35 and this is back in 2005 ish.  But they were solid and worth it.

Smitty's products have been better but I remember their knock offs of the New Balance third generation shoes, basically copying the exact shoe but swapping out logos.  Their first generation umpire shirts I felt were very heavy and uncomfortable and prickly to wear (the precursor to the current V2 body flex material).

Ive never felt or seen the actual MLB shirts this year the real MLB guys are wearing, but it seems like Smitty decided to make this a true "replica" in style and material.  The material seems similar if not identical to what the MLB guys are wearing.  I wonder if they save a fortune by basically copying the shirts and having them made by the same supplier (like they did with the NB plate shoes).  Id be curious to know how the manufacturing of these items work.

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