Under your plate coat
 

What do you wear underneath your chest protector when wearing a coat? I assume a navy blue long sleeve sweatshirt would be acceptable? I have never worn a plate coat so this is new to me.

When I owned a plate coat, I wore a navy short-sleeved T-shirt under the protector. It really doesn't matter, as the protector is all they're going to see anyway, since the coat is buttoned.

Colt Commander, .45 in a Bianchi shoulder holster.

I like the mock turtlenecks, so the collar on the jacket doesn't rub. Navy or red work for me. I've got long and shorts sleeves, but here in San Diego it has to get pretty cold to wear the long sleeve with the wool Fechheimer.

The lycra shirts are great, but there is a downside. They stink after you sweat. And that funkifies your wool plate coat. I use cotton with coat.

A friend of mine wears a powder blue turtleneck OVER his cp, and it looks quite snappy. Sounds goofy, but he's the best dressed umpire I've ever seen.

p.s. I prefer the Sig Sauer .40, with a custom underbelt holster.

Call me old-fashioned, but I would go with the MAC-10 with a M4 Load Bearing Shoulder Holster.

What's pretty cold in San Diego, like, 68 degrees? Brrrrrrrrrrr......;)

Well, it snowed here a couple weeks ago (first time in years, Los Angeles too). Is that cold enough? It has gotten down to the mid to high 20's overnight here the past few weeks. Not as cold as when I lived in Illinois, but quite chilly indeed.

The SIG is a fine weapon. MAC 10 can cause a little too much collateral damage for me. It's a little hard to pick off individuals on the bench, but it's great for clearing out a bleacher in short order....

( This is totally in jest, for those who are uncomfortable)

Back to "Under the Plate Coat" (hmmmmmm not a bad title for a soap opera)

In the warmer weather I wear Under-Armor Heat Gear either Navy or Red. In the cooler weather, there is nothing like a full turtleneck with a plate coat. I have both Navy and Red (I prefer the red) with the initials of our association embroidered on the collar of the turtleneck.

so this all goes UNDER your plate coat and the protector is exposed for all to see?

Yes, this should be nothing new.

"Real" umpires would ignore Kylejt's friend who wears a powder blue turtleneck over the protector.

I agree, the chest protector should be plainly visible, I think that the blue turtle neck will look good under the protector. Do you have any objections to the big west vest logo showing?

Nah, Glock 23 (compact), Desantis SOB (small of the back, not under the CP, easier access), 15-round mag loaded with Extreme Shock (anti terrorist ammo).

Nothing like feeling safe.

25mm triax chain gun for small game (just watch it take out a palm tree in south Baghdad); M109A2 (155 mm) with HE or Willy P for those more pesky problems.

Strikes. Outs. Beer.

If the shirt didn't stink when you put it on, but does when you take it off, it might no be the shirt... Glock 23.

I have a black UnderArmour long sleeve ColdGear turtleneck I wear in cold weather.

Ummm, yes. That's how the coat is worn.

Ok. I didn't know- which is why i asked. I wasn't trying to be a smart a$$. I've never seen anyone with a plate coat before (and i haven't payed close enough to the MLB umpires to know either).

Oh, he's as real as it gets. LL to Double A MiLB, and everything in between. The powder blue turtleneck is a throwback to the sixties, where it was the standard. Hell, we've broken out the Elbecos and bowties too. The navy blue Honigs gets a bit tiresome, and since we're pretty much stuck with grey slacks, ya throw a wrinkle in now and again. And since we're both bosses of our respective organizations, we wear want we want.

Like I said, it sounds goofy, but this guy pulls if off and looks good doing it.

You should throw a photo up here on the board.

It's okay, Bossman72. It's nice to see someone actually taking an interest in using a plate coat.

You simply gear up as normal but instead of putting on a shirt or a pullover, the last thing you put on is the plate coat. As a matter of fact, the WV symbol was originally designed to be plainly visible through the "V" of the plate coat! The line-up card & pen go in the breast pocket (or the inside pocket if you wish) and game balls are balanced between the left & right side pockets. I keep my plate brush in my right rear pants pocket whether I wear a plate coat or not.

A good, stiff garment brush takes care of cleaning the coat in between games because the only drawback to these coats is the are dry clean only! I send mine at the end of the summer leagues in August and again after the fall leagues in November. I usually don't need to go to the cleaners after the high school season unless it was an exceptionally wet season.

A man after my heart......
Mine would be a custom Caspian Commander with custom DeLfatti sharkskin IWB

Seems like the Smith and Wesson Model 29 .44-caliber Magnum revolver would be a good choice. Go ahead Coach. Make my day.

Hey all,

How about anything that Tackleberry from the Police Academy movies would carry?!?!;):):D:eek:

LomUmp:cool:

I'm surprised you don't send it in more often with all the dust flying around. At least they are navy/black so they hide the dirt well. I was thinking of getting one later in my umpiring career when i save up some money because i think they'd look sharp (and i'd be the only one in my assoc with one! haha).

If i do get one in the distant future, what color would you reccommend? Navy or Black?

Also, if you wear your plate coat, does that force your partner to wear the same color on the bases? In that case, i guess i should get navy since that's what everyone has.

I purchased a plate coat from Gerry Davis last year and love wearing it. Looks very sharp and I am one of few in my association that has one.

Both my plate coats came off of eBay, for less than one bill each. A +POS and a Fechheimer.

As for the smelly Under Armor, that's just a function of sweating and drying, over and over again. Or maybe the fans are right, and I do stink.

That is why I suggested using a stiff garment brush between games

I suggest Navy first then get a Black if you wish. It depends a lot on your association, too. If you do FED games here in CT, we have to stay on the Navy side per the State Board.

Your partner(s) can wear anything they want. The color of the plate coat has no bearing. I only own a Navy coat and many times (after FED season) my partners wear black or cream on the bases.

Now Tim C. will chime in and tell you that a Black coat would be better in that situation and he would be absolutely right. I just am not investing in another coat any more! :D

The Colt is Old School....you start with a bigger hole. In terms of causing leaks, bigger is better.

I don't understand it ?
 

Why in the world umpires don't wear a shirt over their CP when wearing a Plate Coat, I'll never understand ?

Isn't wearing a Coat, like dressing up for a formal occasion ?

So why look like a slob, with your equipment hanging out ?

Or is it the only chance we get to show off our equipment logo ? See, mine cost more than yours !

If we want our equipment to show, shouldn't we leave our fly un-zipped instead ?

Whenever I wear a jacket or coat, I always wear a standard shirt over my CP. Just like when I wear a Coat and Tie (collared shirt over my chest).

If for no other reason, what if I have to remove my jacket or coat ? I'm not going to work the game in my Intera-wear and CP only. Wear I live, the weather can change 20+ degrees during a game. Especially morning games. Starts out cold, then hits 80 degrees by the 6th inning.

Aw, come on Nick. The coat over the bare protector is the way it has always been done from MLB on down since the advent of the inside protector. If you start a ball game with your plate coat or jacket, finish the game with it on. What, do you wear a chest protector under your shirt and tie when dressing up, too? Your analogy is pretty weak here, I'm afraid. Also, comparing it to your fly being open is just plain ridiculous, don't you think?

Lee Weyer, God rest his soul, wore a cool, white chest protector with his plate coat, and it looked damn sharp, IMO. Joe West cuts a nice look in his as well. I think it looks totally b*tchin that way, myself.:cool:

Your point is well taken - back in MLB history. At one time, all the umpires (even the PU) wore a shirt, bow tie and a coat at every position. When the PU's were using the "raft", there was no problem. But once the NL went to the inside protector, they found that it was very uncomfortable to wear a shirt over the protector and a bow tie. They tried a shirt over the protector bot fully buttoned and open collared - both ways looked "un-presentable" according to the NL supervisor. They decided to remove the shirt and just use the protector and the coat. That style was immediately accepted both by the umpires and management of in the NL. When the AL went tot he inside protector, there was no question. Trust me, Nick, it looks stupid wearing a shirt over the protector when you are wearing a plate coat. And SanDiegoSteve is 100% correct in that if you start the game with it on, you finish the game with it on (with the only exception being gloves).

Nick-O-las!
 

As my father taught me when dealing with wearing a suit coat or blazer:

If you select to wear one you don't take it off.

Same with a plate coat . . . your "area" is no different than any other area in America . . . even Oregon has large temperature changes during games . . .

I thought you were odd to wear a dangler with your HSM . . . this post adds to your legacy.

Regards,

I've got any Extra-Huge red mock turtleneck that I sometimes wear over my cp. It looks sharp, plus the cp don't get caught up on the inside of my plate coat. I've found that the buckles on my WV's sometimes catch the inside pockets. Not a big deal. But most of the time I roll with a mock turtle under the cp.

I don't go by what MLB umpires do. They aren't my heroes, and I don't have posters of them on my walls. Some of you guys gush over them like teenage girls. I swear, if Gary Darling had some sort of brain lapse, and wore his shin guards onside his pants, half you guys would be donning them the same way.

Me, I'd rather go with what the GLM's have to say when I walk on the field. "Damn, you look good" is far better than looking like Joe West. Me, I'm lucky that I don't have any goober association to tell me how to dress. So I go with what I think looks good. And what looks good on me, may look horrible on you. That's cool.

Now I've tried wearing a normal umpire shirt over my cp, and under the plate coat. The shirt collar just didn't sit right, and looked bad on me. Then I tried my Platinum under the coat, and I looked like a freakin' robot. For me, the original WV fits perfectly under the coat.

IOW YMMV

Well let's see. I wear a WV Platinum and I don't cover it with anything when I wear my plate coat. I get compliments from coaches, players and fans alike. My assigner likes it, I like it and my fellow umpires like it.

Most of us belong to associations which sometimes dictate what we wear and how we wear it. Many of us are NCAA or ex-NCAA talk about dictating! Many of us here are also MiLB or ex MiLB. What I am saying here is that the majority of us on this board are intelligent enough to go with the right way of doing things. Those such as yourself may be lucky being able to dress as you wish, but for example, here in CT, if you want to work High School and above, you will be an association (one of 4 in the State) or you will not work! In addition to the association dictating, the State FED Board also has dress requirements that we have to follow.

I agree with your right to opinion to wear what you want. I am just saying that it is not the accepted way. If you want to wear a red shirt with clown makeup while doing the plate, that's fine. But I I also have the right (by doing this crap for almost 30 years) to tell you that anyone who wears a shirt over the CP when wearing a plate coat looks like a rank amateur but before you get all upset rest assured that you probably look do look good......... to another rank amateur.

JMHO
Mario

I guess I just don't understand why someone would pay for a plate coat and then not wear it the right way.

I respect your opinion.

Me, I hate a white t-shirt under a black jersey. It makes MLB guys look like Archie Bunker. So I'm totally unprofessional when I wear red underneath. So be it. I'd rather look good, than look professional, I guess.

Kyle

FYI - I think I've worn a turtleneck on the outside once or twice. Once was at a Pony game, working with two D1 guys. They thought it looked good. A GLM in the front thought I looked HOT. I'm kinda leanin' toward the rank amateur look, I guess. ;)

Oh yeah, and for those of you who wear a regular shirt under your coat, and want to take it off mid-game, one thought. Ball bags.

I've been umping a loooong time, and I can say I've never seen anyone wearing a shirt of any kind over their chest protector UNDER their plate coat. I just thought that some guys were really barrel chested and didn't wear a chest protector under their plate coat. :D

JJ

My "dangler" has saves my life, several times each season.

Sounds to me like your dad was a classy guy, too bad it didn't rub off onto his son.

I have several other things I'd like to say to you, but they are things you only say to someone in person, rather than on a board where you can't get the crap beat the crap out of you for crossing the line.

OK Steve, how about this as a compromise...

When wearing a Plate Coat, you wear a CP that has a fake Tuxedo Shirt and Bow Tie painted on it !

Just having a little fun with this subject.

Take care, and have a great season.

One other thing Steve,

I am firmly against doing ANYTHING, just because "that's the way it's always been done".

That is not a reason, it's an EXCUSE.

When I worked in the Corporate Quality World, that was one of the biggest hurdles companies would face, that prevented them from improving. Once they would get past that, the flood gates of outstanding ideas would open.

Not that I feel strongly about that or anything. :D

That was funny.

Glad someone else is also having fun with this.

Saved your life? Really? Arent' you being just a tad melodramatic with that claim? I mean, how many umpires are out there who don't use danglers, who make it through their games - several times each season - without being killed by getting hit in the throat with a baseball?

I think it's a fairly large number. On the other hand, how many umpires are winding up in the morgue because they didn't wear a dangler?

So far, on these boards as long as these debates have been raging, the answer is zero.

I don't begrudge your wearing a dangler. I don't begrudge you wearing a belt with your suspenders. I do object to inaccurate, melodramatic life-or-death claims when there is virtually no substantiation for them.

Nickolaus wrote:

" . . . where you can't get the crap beat the crap out of you for crossing the line."

First, English must not be your first language . . . at least the written version.

Second, if you get so emotional about things I've written to you you must be quite the umpire.

Nickolaus continued in another post:

"My "dangler" has saves my life, several times each season."

". . . several times each season . . . "

Nick, if this statement is even close to true you're doing something wrong.

SDS and I had a very nice off line discussion about people who make this silly claim . . . while I do believe umpires get hit in the throat area, while I believe that many have balls hit danglers, while I believe the dangler has most likely has stopped an injury now and then I really can't remember EVER getting hit in the throat.

Nick, in my book you're down right silly when it comes to defending your need to wear armour.

Regards,

Back in college, my dangler got me in trouble from time to time, but since being married, it's been the restriction of the use of my dangler that's saved my life.

Yes, but it only dangles when it's not being used.

Someone please tell Tim C that I didn't read his reply.

Nick
 

You are assuming I care.

Regards,

Okay, and after that should I tell Betty Lou that you like her?

God, what a juvenile.

Kids don't make me pull this car over!

But you obviously noticed that he did reply.....

OK Dave, I will admit that I can not prove my Dangler "saved" my life.

It does prevent me from being hit in the throat several times each season.

Throat injuries can go in many directions, but if it is serious, and there isn't someone right there who knows how to open your air passage, guess what ?

I have been hit in my Dangler by inside fastballs that never were touched by the catcher, at the Varsity and Adult level. I sure as heck don't want to find out if one of them would have seriously injured me.

My son used to make fun of me for wearing a dangler, until he got hit in the throat last season. It scared the crap out of him. Knocked him down, and he lost his breath for a few moments. He ended up with one heck of a bruise, and a new Dangler that he never works without. He prefers a Mask, by the way.

Safety first, looks second.

You know what? Up to now, I thought you were just whining about the dingle-dangle. But now that I read that your son got hit too leads me to believe just one thing. Neither one of you set up properly! Don't get pi$$ed off - just listen to me.

The way you set up seems to expose your throat to danger. Maybe your masks are the old style, maybe neither of you where the CP properly. But something is wrong here any you are using a dangler to cover it up!

Ozzy,
 

Nick wears an HSM WITH A DANGLER. . . and claims he gets hit SEVERAL times a season in the throat area.

Regards,

:eek: YGTBSM!

The only thing that I can see here is he must be using a hyper-extended scissors and set way too low! I can not see any other way unless he is a BS artist (and I don't think that is the case)!

Wear the DANGLER
 

A fellow umpire was also hit in the throat. It scared the crap out of him in pretty much the same way. He said he wasn't too sure he was ever going to get that breath back. One of them moments when a second seems to last much longer than a second. I have heard stories about a high-level NCAA college umpire (local assignor) taking a shot to the throat. It wasn't pretty either. Not sure how long it took him to recover from the serious blow. {Surprisingly, :D } I don't know if their mechanics were at fault.

Given the latest Fed POE on mandatory throat extensions, I find it ridiculous to ridicule someone for wearing one. It only takes one. I have taken many foul balls to the upper torso and mask, and a few to the the throat guard. I prefer the impact of the ball drilling my cheap plastic throat guard. I think it has something to do about the FORCE being spread out over a much larger area.

No argument here! I was hit in the throat by a bouncer my first year. Danglers were not available to my knowledge then. My stance was corrected the next day and almost 30 years later, that incident remains the only one!

Let me ask this. We get hit in the forearms on occasion. Should we all wear arm guards too?

in all fairness, a shot too the throat would be a more serious event than a shot to the forearm, i'm also a non user of a dangler, i would say this though, if one feels more comfortable than by all means i think they should wear one, after all confidence is a big part of the job.

steve

Well Not Everyone
 

Arm guards look funny. Caveats: It is pefectly okay to wear an arm guard after being hit in the forearm while the injury is healing. If you're psychic and know you're going to get hit on the arm, then wear an arm guard too.

One of the reasons I can't wear a HSM over my BIG head is the amount of HEAT generated. I guess I fear heat exhaustion more than being struck on the side or back of the head. Not everyone is as concerned about this as I am because some continue to wear the HSM. I would guess that they are more concerned about being struck on the sides and back of their head. HSM look funny too. Can't we get rid of them?

Hehehehe,
 

"Given the latest Fed POE on mandatory throat extensions . . . "

The "throat extension" is simply the extension that comes with all umpire masks. The wire extension. Danglers are not required or even mentiopned by the NFHS.

The "extension" comment came from the insurance company that handles the nation wide NFHS umpire insurance policy.

Regards,

I do too. That's why I haven't ridiculed anyone for wearing a dangler (unless you count a reference to it being akin to wearing a belt and suspenders to be "ridicule"). But I also find it ridiculous for those who advocate the use of danglers to describe those who don't as being motivated by "looks," or machismo, and who then insinuate that non-danglers are being reckless and negligently unsafe because of the tremendous risk of death or debilitating injury they are exposing themselves to.

As I've tried to point out dispassionately and respectfully, that dog just don't hunt.

Not pi$$ed off.

I use the GD. Studied the articles by Carl. Practiced it in the mirror. Had my wife video tape me to be sure I was doing it correctly during the games.

I wear a Honig's K1 CP, and All-Star Helmet. The way I wear my CP, it doesn't cover my throat up to my chin. I never really thought a CP was supposed to protect your throat.

I get hit in the Dangler several times per year. There's no way to say the ball would have hit my throat. I guess because I get hit on it, I am afraid to take it off, not knowing what would happen, or where the ball would end up hitting me.

Anyway, yeah, my Dangler may be overkill, but so what ? I also wear the new Hex Padded MacDavid Interawear. It has saved me many bruises also. Is that such a big deal ? (not referring to you)

If you think I might be doing something wrong with my stance, that is exposing my throat area, and causing me to get hit in the Danger so much, I'd be interested to hear about it. I really don't like wearing a Danger, as they are a pain in the rear.

Ah....now I see why it's getting hit with so many balls.

CCCCRRRRAAAACCCKKKK!!!!! IT'S OUTTA HERE!!!!!

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! :D

I've seen people wearing a CP so low that they could use it for crotch protection! I wear a WV Platinum. It is set so bottom of the mask cage is always overlapping the CP.

I think that you are really getting hit in the chest! Stop and think of were the dangler ends up when attached to a HSM - that is not the throat, that is the chest!

I am really confused. You are wearing an All-Star-Helmet (HSM) and using the GDS. The only thing that I can think of is that you are leaning over too far (forward). to correct that, either drop your butt when F1 is delivering or set up a little higher. Either way, your head should not be canted backward. This is the mistake most people make when using the GDS (canting the head backward). If you have to do that, you are not setting correctly.