[etbaseball]

PAblue87...

This is an interesting and usually controversal subject with the various groups I'm associated with here in Silicon Valley (No. California). Not critical, but controversal.

I find that there's a small faction of umpires who always want to emulate the MLB guys. "Whatever the 'big boys' do, I want to do as well." I wish they all had that sort of mentality as it relates to performance in addition to appearance.

Proffesional sports franchizes have discovered over the last couple of decades that there are mega bucks to be made by constantly 're-styling' the various pro uniforms, et al. I understand why some umpires want to keep up (stylize). I also understand the general economics behind umpiring expenses and, while many alledge they're not umpiring for the bucks, the expenses, if not kept in check, will tend to get out of hand with the cost of uniforms and equipment.

I manage a group of about 80 umpires and we've taken the middle ground on the issue. The same is true, I might add, for our local high school and college associations. That middle groud is: NAVY BLUE PULLOVER IS MANDATORY for all groups. UMPIRES MUST MATCH (excepting those situations where the 'plate ump' may be wearing a shirt and the 'base ump'a jacket). If shirts are worn by all umps, then they must 'match' ... the color can be navy blue, light blue or red ... some even have the cream color shirts now. The entire issue is to LOOK LIKE A TEAM ... (Helloooo! Isn't this the meaning for the word UNIFORM?)

Again I will reiterate ... the ultimate is to not only "look" like a team, but, even more importantly, "perform" like a team. A smart man would want both, but the latter is obviously of greater value.

I understand that MLB is considering a 'wine' color shirt, too. I hope it's a Pinot Noir, my favorite beverage.





[Edited by etbaseball on Mar 11th, 2002 at 03:14 PM]