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Hello,
This is my first post here and please excuse my naivete. This is a serious inquiry.
I began umpiring at age 14 (1966) doing little-league games and progressing upward as perhaps most everybody here started out.I took my work extremely serious and had some very good instructors during the early years. I even considered becoming professional at one time but college got in the way and I started my career and then a family. In the 20 years that I umpired baseball (mostly high school and some small colleges), I never once lost control of a game and was often complemented by other coaches and administrators for my professionalism and quality of officiating. Obviously, like you folks, you love doing this.
In the early 1980's(?) other priorities got in the way and I packed my equiptment away for good. I am now 54, need to get in better shape, have some free time, and desire to umpire once again--perhaps at the high school or higher. Here's my delimma (and please don't laugh).
When I "retired", I still used an outside chest protector whenever I was behind the plate (remember those?). Obviously, in the past 25 years, the inside chest protector has been universally adopted. I however, feel absoultely naked and vulerable without the outside protector and , for the life of me, don't know how anybody made that transition 25 years ago. All I can remember is foul ball smashing me in the chest without even a flinch. Now, I don't kmow.
I've asked a few umpires about this subject from time to time, and they look at me as if I were from Mars. Would somebody please give me the lowdown on this piece of equiptment, how it works, techniques, etc. Does anybody still use an outside protector anymore? Help me out with any comments. Thanks.
Bill
(Michigan)
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