You guys wear pants? Not shorts??
:D

Shorts are only appropriate when we are wearing our hawaiin shirts.

You guys can knock those Sears slacks, but they're really really close, in texture and in color, to +POS gray umpire pants. I recommended them the kids starting out, because they outgrow them so quickly.

I only have heather and if my partner wants to wear dark I would have to tell him I only have heather and hope he would get out his heather too, since I feel sure he has.

Those Sears pants are what I wore when I first started out years ago, doing Little League (for free). They are an excellent pant, and not one other umpire could tell they weren't real umpire pants.

Now I wear Combo Pants on the bases. I find that the back of the pant leg doesn't get caught in the back of my low top shoes as much as a regular cut base pant. Plus, you get a little more room to get into an athletic stance, than in a regular cut pant. A regular cut base pant can get a little tight around the knee and thigh when you get set.

I do not see the point of paying $80 for a pair of plate pants, not to mention whatever it would cost to buy base pants. I got mine from some clothing store, bought a couple greys, and they work fine other than the fact that the bottoms are too baggy. Anyone know how I can deal with that? Grand total of at most $50 including taxes. I doubt coaches and players are going to care or notice if I am not wearing real umpires' pants. At this point in my career, learning the rules, positioning and making good judgement calls are much more important than wearing the right kind of pants.

the only answer i know of is to buy umpire pants

Wrong. You only get a chance to make a first impression one time.

Umpire pants are made for umpires, period. Reinforced seats, stitching, etc., they are made to move in, accomodate shin guards, longer in the stride to accomodate a cup, etc. etc.

Buy umpire pants.

And therein lies just one problem.

Here's the problem as I see it. Take for example my partner on Thursday.

We talk via cell phone, prior to the game, I have the plate so I ask him to meet me in the parking log for a pre-game as we have never worked before. So, I get to the game, start getting geared up and there is no partner in sight. I assume I'm working solo, and start walking to the field.

I get to the field, 'greet' the coaches, head to the plate for the plate conference. Out from behind the bleachers comes what I believe to be my partner, eating a sandwich, in those "Sear's" pants, a wrinkled old powder blue shirt (I'm wearing Navy), and a hat that looks like he just unfolded it from his pocket. Now, if that is the first impression I GET from this guy, then what do you think the coaches and players get????

Heres the flip side of this coin. The game went off without a hitch. He actually nailed an OBS call and explained it properly to the coach. We really shouldn't judge a book by the cover but unfortunately in our business it is done all the time.