Shoes Not what kind but .....
 

New to baseball and softball. I have searched the threads regarding plate and base shoes and didn't find the info I desired. My question is: patent or flat finish? and why?

I wear patent finish for basketball and volleyball but am wondering if anyone has had problems with them in baseball? Especially the plate shoes since the patent leather is so thin. Any helpful comments would be appreciated.

Patent Leather shoes were "trendy" a few years ago, but seem to be on the way out now (at least in this area).

Agreed. Patent leather shoes/belts never really "caught on" in my area as much as they did in MLB a few years ago but patent leather is on the decline and will be "phased out" in a few years I believe. For plate shoes, I would recommend the New Balance or Reebok plate shoes. In fact, Gerry Davis will stop producing and selling their patent leather shoes after this season.

DO NOT wear patent leather on the bases. Yuck. I've never worn patent on the plate, but I've worked with many who have. Personal preference. GD has been the standard for patent leather, and it appears (from a previous post) that they won't be amking them anymore. Take that for what it's worth. If NB made theirs in 15 I would have bought them. RBK does, and I just bought them last week. They are much lighter than I anticipated and I am looking forward to trying them out.

There is a guy in our association who bought a pair of the "Reebok Ref" patent leather basketball shoes and wears them on the bases. Its one of the most offensive things I have seen an umpire wear in a long time.

If you want to wear the same shoes for softball I would strongly suggest regular leather--and if they're not solid black, black out the white parts to make them that way.

As to why, most every softball organization discourages patent leather belts or shoes. They also require solid black shoes. Softball puts a lot of emphasis on a "uniform" uniform.

I bought my "base" shoes from Value Village for $7. They feel fine, they're in good condition, and with the first round of shoe polish nobody will notice that they're second hand. It's just one of those things I was able to save money on.

Patent leather is on the way out.

Careful with the new Reeboks: they may be great, but their logos make them unacceptable to most associations, which require all black shoes as was mentioned. I love the New Balance, but I love them even more after seeing the Reeboks. The N on the NBs blacks out very easily with model airplane paint and a few coats of cream polish. It looks like the factory did it. When I do association games that are lax about the logos, I have a standard pair that are un-doctored. It doesn't bother me either way, but when the association says no white, you black it out. But th Reeboks are way too full of white marks to doctor and make it look good.

i like the white. but you're right...if you're in an association that doesn't want white, the RBKs won't do.

Fortunately, the number of associations that can't tolerate white logos seems to be diminishing. In our particular case, I see a corelation between the number of members who attend either proschool or a classic where they are exposed to current trends in the pros, and the increase in tolerance to white logos on plate and base shoes.

thanks for the info.

I love my patents for basketball - light and easy to maintain. After a season or two I wear them for volleyball and get new basketball shoes. The old ones still look great but I've pounded them to death.

After reading these responses though - I don't think I'll go with the patents for softball/baseball.

I take some credit for the trend, going way back. I'm not sure if this goes here or in the "quirky" thread, but...

"Older" umpires remember a time when there were not a dozen gear houses to choose from, and on lots of things you took what you could get. The +POS plate shoes were the only ones offered in EEE (at least that I could find), and were WAY more comfortable than anything else my EE feet had ever worn. Of course, they had the prominent white logo. An assignor told me I couldn't wear them at games he assigned.

I said, "Like he!!"

He said, "We'll see."

This was when individual ADs cared about the quality of officiating, assignors didn't control 95% of the market, and I was getting most of my games on my own. He had one league in which I had been working for several years prior to it hiring him.

I called all five ADs and told them I was going to be removed from their games because I had white logos on my shoes, but I would be showing up and since I had signed contracts with all of them, I expected to be paid. Two called the assignor and said, paraphrasing, "WTF is wrong with you?"

Literally hundreds of incompetent and barely competent umpires in every state, but still high on the priority list of many is whether you have white on your shoes and the color of your shirt.

Aaah, the good 'ol days when we were truly independent contractors.

Comfortable Cleats
 

Ringor makes awesome spikes. THey are very comfortable and last a long time. I have had some for 3 years. They are made with real leather and the insole is removable which I put my orthodics in.

I'm actually a big fan of patent leather both on your belt and your plate shoes. They give you a great shine without having to dump a gallon of shoe shine on like you would if you had the regular leather.

But it's not an issue of one is bad and one is good. It's your personal preference because both are good. I personally think patent leather looks sharp, but to each his own.

Tim_C will disagree :)

The State of Alabama is allowing a "moderate amount" of white on shoes this season. I can't help but think the RBK's are above "moderate. But there are guys wearing them, so we'll see.