HSM and Hats
 

I have used an HSM for several years, and do not use a hat. I will be working a tournament later this summer, and the information provided indicates a hat is required in the following situations:
1. When entering and leaving the field, and
2. Between innings.

One is not required to be worn under the HSM.

My question is, what do I do with the hat while not wearing it? I have experimented with two locations, and neither were optimal. I tried my left side ball bag and tried my back right pocket. Any other HSM users have suggestions?

You wouldn't have that issue in Alabama, because the hat would be on your head. :p

I wouldn't work the tournament or would use a mask. Simple answer.

I use the HSM and wear my 'beanie' or the 4-stitch hat. Takes some getting used to but after a couple of games you can get the HSM off and on when needed.

It's something I will never get used to. The mask is designed to be worn without a hat and that's how I wear it.

Ed Hickox always cracks me up when I see him take his helmet off and see the hat underneath! He reminds me of Rick Moranis in Spaceballs :) . The bill of the hat is there to support the traditional mask, which is necessary for a proper fitting mask. Otherwise, the mask would fall down on one's face. It is totally unnecessary (and a bit silly looking) to wear a hat with the HSM, IMO, YMMV, LSMFT.:cool:

Lucky Strike Means Fine Tobacco, Steve? :)

You could try doing what I saw an NCAA umpire do and wear a "blocked" hat during pregame and between innings. As the inning would start, he would fold it up and put it in his left ball bag. Seemed to work well enough for him.

Sold American!

I think an appropriate navy-blue or black 'do-rag would work equally well.

HSM and plate hat
 

Try the 'Western Fold' on the hat and carry in your ballbag.

You wouldn't have that issue in Alabama, because the hat would be on your head.

Uh, oh.

And the Fechheimer tag would be in your pants. Ha ha.

Actually,LMan, at the State Camp, Greg Brewer announed that a hat would no longer be required under the HSM. I was shocked.....

Interesting! :cool:

Who will I make fun of now?

If you take a third ball bag and label HAT ONLY, so you do not get mixed up, there is room between your 2 pant loops on your back. Between innings you can remove your HSM and hang it with a S hook on another free belt loop (If there are any) and then quickly reach behind and pop out that 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8 stitch hat.

If there are no extra belt loops for your HSM, well I guess we can handle that in another thread. Way too complicated for this one????????????????

Anyway, just before the pitcher reaches his 5th warmup, you can perform a flickindicker folderholder manuaver on your hat and just pop that little sucker right in back to the bag labeled BAG ONLY.

Works like a charm all the time and does not violate any stupid ethical, local, municipal, State or jurisdictional rules some idiot could think of.

I didn't know Deion Sanders was an umpire...

He is not but, his Uncle was a Col.

We'll always have Arkansas.

Wouldn't it just be easier to wear a small-beak cap, or to not wear one at all? I'd rather not have to take all that time putting the hat and mask in the right place, then having the mask dangling from my belt loop all the time.

Someones sarcasmonometer is on the fritz............



Tim.

Someone else's is on the fritz as well;) . I was joking too.

The difference is that we could tell that jicecone was joking :p .

Hey, watch the ethnic slurs, amigo.

In our area there is an exception for the hat requirement for the few who choose to use a HSM.

If a girl with a pony tail can wear it then we can too. Wearing a hat isnt going to be as obtrusive as a pony tail.... so I agree. wear a 4 stich and give yourself a little more room in your mask

Just the fact that if you have a big head wearing a hat will make the HSM beyond uncomfortable.

HSM aren't designed to be worn with a hat. Feelings toward them need to change to reflect this. Clinging to an archaic rule such as this in the name of tradition does nothing but deter innovators from coming up with great products like the HSM.

so you shouldnt look professional on the field because its an archaic rule? hmmm next you might want to wear jeans on friday night games and brown loafers.... or maybe flip flops depending on who you are

Actually, the HSM I tried *did* hang up on my ponytail, so I went back to the mask. Your mileage may vary....

LMan,

Good to see your sense of humor didn't atrophy during your recent hiatus. ;)

JM

You still wear a hat with your mask though? ..... look bottom line is wear a hat with whatever you wear ... btw the hsm hung up on my liberty spiked mohawk too

I find it unprofessional to wear a that with a HSM. It's properly worn without a hat and wearing something improperly, to me, is unprofessional.

Standing around with messed up hair while talking to a coach with no hat on is unprofessional... which looks worse?

Says who? You'd better tell that to all-but-one of the Major League umpires that wear a helmet, then. Or officials in other sports that don't wear hats.

Wearing the mask too loosely (and potentially improperly) to squeeze a hat in there is stoopid. The only way that really works inside a helmet is backwards, so the bill can come out the gaps in the back panel. And that would be even worse to look at.

Besides, I keep my hair trimmed very short during baseball season.

I have mine professionally thinned, but that's beside the point. I'd find out who the Powers that Be were and talk with them about the hat requirement. Maybe I'd poll other HSM users in my area and find out what they think, and take that info as well to the higher-ups.

JJ

as do I but wearing a helmet with a hat does not comprimise the safety of it any more than wearing a mask with a hat

Eh, I just wouldn't work if this was a requirement OR I'd wear a mask.

But I'm not that passionate about the helmet to care about this except to say that it wasn't designed to wear with a hat, so why would people even try?

You've done the double blind studies, then? Please share the results.

If the case that it does change it then every single person who wears one loosely or has a pony tail even players shouldnt be aloud to wear them at all unless they are tight enough...

Also think about the physics of it ... how can a 4 stich hat(2inch brim) change the safety of the helmet? is the metal all of a sudden going to crack because its 2 inches further from your face no the properties of metal dont change the further from your face they are... otherwise good by to my car maybe itl crack open today on my way to a tournement... there isnt going to bea gap in the bottom so a ball to the throat isnt an issue... so what exactly is the nature of the "Lack of safety"

Would a poll of umpires by umpires qualify as double blind? ;)

Do I get to pick the umpires? :D

It depends who is the arbiter of what's professional. You can hardly equate not wearing a hat under an HSM with wearing jeans, loafers, or flip flops.

Times change, equipment changes and rules need to change with them. And yes any rule that states you have to wear a hat under an HSM is archaic. Dare I say any such rule is also stupid?

I'm sure there are old umpires somewhere that think we should all be wearing Elbeco shirts because the newer styles are "unprofessional". Maybe we should chuck innovation and go back to working the plate with bubbles because inside protectors look too modern.

It just compromises the comfort and makes it so the HSM doesn't fit as the manufacturer intended.

Wearing a hat which causes an HSM to sit farther from your face negates one of the great advantages of an HSM which is better vision. The reason you can see so much better with an HSM is that it sits closer to your face than a regular mask.

I remember a guy like this. He'd get miffed that I owned no Elbecos when I was scheduled to work with him. This was in 1999, when the navy pullover was the default uniform where I lived, but the Elbeco was still an approved shirt. Once the default shirt changed, I gleefully trashed all my Elbecos.

I hated the Elbecos too. The pullovers are such a huge improvement.

Let's put it this way: Ed Hickox looks ridiculous to me. No hats with HSM, period.

Steve,

I usually agree with you, but, I completely disagree with you on this one.

An umpire on the field without a hat, IMO, looks terrible. And the hat under the HSM doesn't affect it's fit any more than the hat affects the way the mask fits.

And I do wear a regular mask. I like the HSM, but I choose to wear the mask anytime it is warm.

Absolutely, positively untrue.

Wearing a hat with my HSM makes it sit up higher which puts one of the bars right in my line of vision. It also doesn't sit correctly on my chin. My head is 7 1/2 and wearing a hat under my HSM is totally uncomfortable. The metal bit on the top of the hat is also uncomfortable.

Holy Shockers Batman, we can't use our Elbeco shirts anymore for umpiring.

Oh well, at least they haven't banned them yet at church or funerals.

By the way, does a heather gray tie or navy blue, look better with it.

Robin, calm down and sit back in the pew, and for heavens sake take off your hat under your mask before they realize were umpires and start saying a special mass for us.

[QUOTE=jicecone]
Oh well, at least they haven't banned them yet at church or funerals. [QUOTE]

Last year before a mission trip to Haiti I was told I needed a shirt and tie for Sunday services. The only short sleeved shirt I had that I could wear a tie with was the last Elbeco hanging in my closet. Thank God! :)

JJ

PS I did get asked about that IHSA patch, though...:rolleyes:

You're not wearing your HSM right then.

I wear a 7 7/8 hat, use the Easton HSM and have had absolutely no trouble with wearing a hat under the HSM. The hat stays put when the mask comes off and it fits fine.

Everything you described tells me you don't have your HSM fitted right.

It doesn't do that though.... what about someone who wears a 6 or 8 stich instead of a 4 stich behind the plate with a mask?

maybe you look rediculous to him;)

That's ridiculous, and don't you forget it!:)

Why don't they just customize umpiring hats so that they can be worn under the goalie mask?

Why should they? They serve no purpose. Under a regular mask, the hat helps keep the mask from sliding down.

Both the helmet and the mask? It'd be difficult.

I have bigger issues with the helmet. It's bulky and hot and I don't hate the view I get with my current mask. I have a helmet. It rides with me. I haven't used it since April.

Eh, I am just amused at all he passion. And the "rules" that people put in place because they hate the helmet (to discourage people from using it).

Maybe we can get the dude from the other thread who wears the inside protector under his raft to try out the idea.:)

Hsm
 

I wear a HSM, if your worried about messed up hair cut it short, if you wear your hair longer wear a hat and mask, with the foul tips I've been hit with wearing both the mask and HSM, never going back to the mask, our area has no preferance on hat or not but only a couple of us wear the HSM. I'm still relatively new, umping 5 years, is there a giudeline some where for the hat no hat and does it address the HSM or do they allow personal preferance? Thanks in advance for any help.

I've had three HSM's and all of them are fitted correctly. They are uncomfortable with the hat. Period. End of story.

The point is your opinion isn't all that matters. Others have feelings on the issue and just because they disagree with yours doesn't make them wrong.

In fact the obvious truth that the HSM is made to be worn WITHOUT a hat probably puts you on the wrong side of the argument.

Can I get an Amen?

More evidence confirming this opinion--if I were to wear a four-stitch hat underneath my HSM, it would still project further than the mask itself.

I would be willing to bet the farm that you have NEVER been hit with a foul tip.

My fault poor wording, foul balls:D