Helmet wearers
 

A question for those who wear a hardshell helmet for games, like FED mandates now for F2's. I might be the only guy I know in my area with one, I have never had a game with anyone who uses it. I just got mine and I was wondering:

When do you take it off? Do you take it off all the time like a regular mask, or do you keep it on most of the time? If you have a call at the plate, do you take it off or keep it on?

Thanks for the help! I am trying this as an experiemnt to see if my younger umpires would like to use it.

I took mine off after the fifth or sixth game I wore it and have never put it back on.

I take it off when I have to make a call, more because I want to avoid a problem not because I wouldn't be able to see. The vision is good and I will leave it on during routine plays. It does come off as easy as my old facemask, but it is more annoying to put back on. I took off my old mask whenever the ball was hit. I have seen others keep their helmets on much more often that the facemask.

Ed H

i dont wear a hockey helmet, but i would hope that people are taking them off at the same times they would with a traditional mask. if its a hassle to take off, dont use it.

The vision is so much better with the helmet, there is no need to flip it on and off all the time. There is also no need to take it off because that it the way it works with a facemask.

"so much better" is debatable, but ive made more posts on that vision aspect than i care to have made, so im out on that part

as for the second sentence, this doesnt seem "correct" to me to leave your helmet on "because thats the way it works."

Of course you should take your helmet off at the same times you would take off your traditional mask. The only time I can think of where you wouldn't is on a hot liner down the line and you have the fair/foul call, and to remove the mask may cost you your look. I wore the helmet for a few seasons, and always removed it when normally called for. I think it looks horrible to be standing there at the end of a play with your mask still on.

There is absolutely no reason to ever take your helmet off to make a call, due to the visibility of a helmet.

But...I take mine off in every situation I would take off a mask. Again, not because I need to, but as part of the "show" to keep the coaches, and Big "old" Dogs, happy.

Here is a link to my experience wearing a helmet for about 6 years now.

http://www.reegind.com/helmet.htm

It's actually easier to take off and put on than a mask. One hand for both on & off, and no hat to worry about.

My observation has been that at the D1 College level, the first 2 years helmets were being used, they weren't taking them off for calls. Then, in year 3, they started taking them off just like a mask. I can only speculate as to why.

I wear a HSM and I take it off everytime the same as if I would have taken off a traditional mask. There is no excuse to keep it on because it is harder to get on and off. IMHO I have always thought an umpire running down the first base line with a mask, traditional or HSM, on looks terrible. The other thing I hate seeing are umpires who wear the HSM and set it on the ground to have home plate conferences or make changes in their lineup. I believe if you are going to wear the HSM, you should always hold it and never put it down on the ground.

T. Farwig

I always leave it on when trailing a runner to first or when looking at a fly ball. Guess what, there isn't a single person watching the umpire during these situations, except maybe another umpire.

I have an HSM, and I would much rather wear it than the traditional hat/mask combo. It is a cooler solution in warm weather. When I wear it, I take it off just like I do my mask, only because I'm trained to do so.

I don't wear it all the time due to the thinness of my hair. Last summer I wore my HSM during a LLB Majors tourney, three plates in a row. By the time I was done, I had a nasty sunburn on the top of my head. Yeah, I know that some of you are thinking sunscreen. That would be a viable solution if I were willing to shave my head, which I'm not. I go with a #2 guard, and if I could find a suitable sunscreen which would not turn my hair white, I'd use it.

Another reason I like the HSM . . . if we are requiring our youth players to wear it for "safety reasons," then doesn't it seem consistant that the HSMs should be worn by blues as well?

This last paragraph is ridiculous, bordering on stupid.

Where in the hell is it required for players to wear a helmet (in the same vane) as the umpires wear? What rules set are you reading?

I will have to agree with Rich. Statements like this are the very reason many of the umpires that advocate them have very little credibility.

Peace

So you're saying we shouldn't sit on it during pitching changes, like Football players do their helmets on the sidelines ?