The Holy Grail of umpire gear

[BretMan]

Garth, I believe that you are right about the Nike titanium. As I mentioned here last week, our local association was lucky enough to have MLB umpire Tim Timmons address our last meeting. Tim is from this area, his father was a longtime member of out association and both came up through our ranks. Both remain honorary members. Tim is kind enough to stop in each year before heading south for Florida.

The subject of masks came up last night and we were told that Nike produced a limited run of only 300 titaniums. Most all were earmarked for use in MLB.

Tim also told us that he went to a helmet a few years ago, but found it personally uncomfortable in the heat. He went to a lightweight mask and got his bell rung a couple of times, then switched the Nike mask and hasn't had any problems.

Being exotic material and in limited production, we were told that the NIKE's ran $1000 a copy!

[johnnyg08]

well, it will only be the MLB guys who can afford those at $1000 a pop...Nike can keep 'em at that...I'll keep my +POS ultralite...when I've been blasted, mine has also twisted off.

[JJ]

Originally Posted by BretMan

Being exotic material and in limited production, we were told that the NIKE's ran $1000 a copy!

Will they take a check?

JJ

[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

The graphite mask being discussed that +POS sold under its nameplate was made by AllStar. I have one with the AllStar nameplate. I bought it brand new from Torch's Referee & Umpire's Supplies in 1998. It is extremely light but I do not use it in cold weather. I used to use it for both baseball and fastpitch softball but have used exclusively for fastpitch softball the last three years. I have taken numerous shots to the face and have never had a problem.

The stories about how guys have had their graphite masks crack when it by a batted ball coming back at them probably happened during cold weather. Torch even had a customer who suffered a broken nose when his graphite mask broke after being hit by a batted ball Spring 2001. The ironic thing is that the summer of 2001, I umpired for Torch in the AAU Boys' 16U National Inv. Baseball Tourn. and he was behind the backstop when I took a shot square the face. The sound was very load and he had a very shocked look on his face. But I just looked back at him and grinned. I hadn't felt a thing.

MTD, Sr.

[kylejt]

There were two Nike masks on eBay last month. If I recall correctly one went for $180, and the other a little less.

http://www.hitrunscore.com/12720706-...face-mask.html

http://www.gerrydavis.com/Merchant2/...egory_Code=MSK

http://www.ump-attire.com/Merchant2/...DIAMOND-UMPIRE

Look closely and you can see that these are all using the same frame. I've got a Schutt, and although I love the lack of weight, I did get knocked pretty hard in chin last year. I think the padding is a bit on the pansy side, and I'll upgrade that pretty soon. I still wear my WV when I know I'm facing a fireballer.

[GarthB]

Originally Posted by kylejt

There were two Nike masks on eBay last month. If I recall correctly one went for $180, and the other a little less.

I doubt they were Nike titantium masks. If they were, sombody got a great deal.

[kylejt]

Originally Posted by GarthB

I doubt they were Nike titantium masks. If they were, sombody got a great deal.

They sure looked like the one that Posada was wearing last year. The listing has expired, or I would have posted the link. I'm not sure what would make them so desirable, aside from the cool factor. Surely not 600 dollars worth of cool, but you never know. Of course the same could be said of that Douglas West Vest I sold for nearly three bills. It's like P.T. Barnham said......

[DG]

I have 4 Honigs K91's with doeskin pads. I have taken several direct shots and never left the game or taken more than a minute to recover. Only one shot bent the frame and I put it on a table vise and bent it back and it is still in use. No concussions, no headaches.

My wife says I have CRS disease (can't remember sh*t) but I think that is more age related than shots to the mask related.

[GarthB]

Originally Posted by kylejt

They sure looked like the one that Posada was wearing last year. The listing has expired, or I would have posted the link. I'm not sure what would make them so desirable, aside from the cool factor. Surely not 600 dollars worth of cool, but you never know. Of course the same could be said of that Douglas West Vest I sold for nearly three bills. It's like P.T. Barnham said......

I've spoken with a couple of MiLB guys who were offered the Nike Titanium for $300. So far, however, I have not spoken with anyone who purchased one.

[GarthB]

Originally Posted by BretMan

Being exotic material and in limited production, we were told that the NIKE's ran $1000 a copy!

I think that's a slight exaggeration. A Nike rep told me that they would wholesale for $300 and that a MiLB umpire paid $600 for his.