[Kaliix]

I think that there is a difference between rules with a legitimate purpose and rules for the sake of rules.

I understand the need for uniformity and I agree with it, to a point. Everyone should be wearing the same color shirt, agreed. But the when doing games with more than one umpire, you have the plate umpire who is wearing a bunch of protective gear and is moving around on every pitch. The base umpires move very little (when the ball is not hit) and have no additional protective gear. It would only make sense that the plate umpire might be perfectly warm while the base umpire is cold (and that is not taking into account different body types, ie. some people who are always hot or always cold).

Point is, why shouldn't umpires be allowed to wear long sleeves while the others aren't. Or be allowed to wear a short sleeves while others wear a jacket. I almost never get cold and haven't done a game this year in anything but short sleeves.

The hat thing I can understand for a traditional face mask. But the hockey style masks have many advantages over the traditional face mask. If umpires who get paid hundreds of thousands of dollars a year don't have to wear a hat under the hockey face masks, what sense does it make to require hats under them for guys just doing it on the side. Not making an exception to the hat rule is basically not allowing a mask that is safer, cooler, and gives a better view of the strike zone. And that doesn't make any sense to me.