With the somewhat renewed interest in the helmet vs. mask thread, I thought this would be a good time to post the results of my observations of MLB umpires this season.

When watching a game or the highlights of it on Sportscenter, I've been keeping track of the umpires in MLB who wear hockey style masks.

I've seen the following umpires wear hockey style masks this season:

Mark Wegner
Gary Cederstrom
Bill Welke
Tim Welke
Larry Young
Mike Dimuro
CB Bucknor
Greg Gibson
Tim Timmons

That is 9 umpires out of a total of 68 (from the list of umpires on the MLB roster page I just looked at). That works out to slightly more than 13% of MLB umpires are wearing the hockey style helmets. I wonder how many guys in your current association wear them and if those numbers are comparable?

It will be interesting to see how the numbers move in MLB over the coming years. Maybe there is something to this hockey style mask thing?

this couldnt have been posted in the current hockey mask thread?

im probably not wearing a hockey mask until every single company stops making traditional masks, and my stock pile of traditonal masks all break. i am not a goalie.

Of course this thread could have been posted there, but I thought more people would read it if it was a new thread.

And by all means keep wearing your old mask. You certainly don't have to agree with me.

Just posting the numbers to get people thinking...

Kaliix,

Thank's for giving us the numbers. The association I belong to has around 45 active members. 12 of these individuals use the helmet style mask. This works out to around 26%.
This may be a little on the high side of the normal average because we have quite a few umpires under 35 years of age.

I switched to the Wilson by Itech mask several years ago, and I have not even considered going back to a traditional mask. I absolutely love the view that the helmet provides.

Tim.

our set
 

The HS and summer association that TMP44 and I belong to is made up of about 45 Umpires...None of us wear the hockey style mask..........

But we do have one very senior umpire who still uses the balloon chest protector...... old habits die hard..

Stan

[Edited by piaa_ump on Sep 20th, 2005 at 04:49 PM]

Larry Young switched to a normal mask.

Paul Emmel uses a hockey-style mask so does Ed Hickox but he isn't a full time ML Umpire

Another interesting statistic would be the percentage of Collegate umpires wearing helmets.

I think the trend started at that level, and then moved upwards to MLB, and downwards to Youth.

For the 2005 season, we had 87 umpires.

I know of two others that used helmets. Like me, all under the age of 50. The majority of our members are over age 50, with over half of them over 60 ! We have to talk really loud at our meetings so they can hear us. |:|o)

The two other moved out of the area this summer, so I'm back to being the only one.

I'll tell you, there is no mistaking me for someone else. Or not remembering me if I blow a call ! Since they never remember a perfect game ! (Have I had one of those ?)

In the association I belong, we have +/-125 members. I have seen 2 wear the goalie mask. One newbie and one because it was a free mask.

I work in Kansas and work with some guys from western Missouri and I am only aware of one guy who wears the hockey mask.

Personally, I don't care for them. I have not ever tried one on, I simply think it looks unprofessional to not have a hat on when you remove your mask. In addition, I think it shows a lack of interest in the game to leave the mask on while making a call.

Again, this is my personal opinion and I'm sure many will disagree with me.

Consiquently, I hear they are really comfortable to wear.

kraine27,

Try one, I think you'll love it. If not then you'll know. It has also been mentioned many, many times that you can wear a hat, even a 7-stitch hat with no problems under the helmet. So, you can easily remove it when making calls, just like a regular mask.

Give it a try!

See: Hickox, Ed

It is idiotic to equate wearing a hat with professionalism.

I have tried wearing a Beanie Cap and a Six Stitch Cap under my helmet, and found neither to not work at all. I have never seen anyone using a helmet at any level while wearing a cap.

Could someone who does wear a cap under their helmet please post some pictures. During a game would be great. I just can't imagine working a game in a helmet with a cap on.

The internal padding is designed for a head WITHOUT a cap. The Cooling System and Sweat Control Pad are also designed for a head WITHOUT a cap. You might as well use a Ballon protector over your Internal Chest Protector. They both defeat the purpose.

[Edited by nickrego on Sep 23rd, 2005 at 02:24 AM]