I haven't posted before this... just read a lot of what you guys say, but this one thing rings very true with me. I literally got into umpiring as soon as I could after seeing my son through high school as a coach. The umpiring was so poor and downright disrespectful to the game that I had to get into it just to make a contribution. And just by knowing the game very well and also being the best-dressed umpire I could I soared through the ranks fairly quickly. And most of the time I was advancing, my partners with the sweaty adjustable uncreased mesh caps, wrinkled and faded combo slacks, dusty shoes, and shiny nylon shirts ...or some combination of all of those things were always wondering aloud why they aren't getting evaluated or assigned to better games.

The participants that are just happy to have umpires show up don't care if they are adhering to our true standard so their audience doesn't care. But first tier varsity level H.S. and J.C. level participants and audience members expect us to look the part ... all shiny and creased. Youth ball which I still coach during the fall is definitely not seasoned enough audience wise to care or know better. So I guess they start caring somewhere between JV and varsity in high school.

I don't care what the players, coaches or fans think about how I dress. I'm the only one that counts, and I choose to look professional (actually, better than MLB guys) whenever I step on the field. It's a personal thing.

Whenever I am asked advice about anything regarding attire and equipment, I freely offer my advice to my partners. But if they don't ask what i think, I just let them go out there looking like they look. But I'm with you, I cant go out there unless I'm dressed to the nines.