It's a good day if the evaluator only cares about the brand of pants I'm wearing.

+1

Honig's polywools. 1 pair for the plate, 1 pair for the bases. I do about 75 college games a year, and throw the pants in the washer and dryer after nearly every game. They'll last me 3 years before I replace them (that's how long the last ones lasted). That's good enough for me....and my assignor...and the evaluators.....and my partners.....

JJ

You forgot the umpire groupies, John.

;)

Hate to drop this on you, but our association demands that our umpires dress in uniform as if in the military. That means we match each other when going on the field. Not only should they match but the uniforms must be neat, shirts tucked in at all times, no worn out ball bags or belts. If the crew doesn't match, both umpires are noted and if necessary, dealt with by the powers above. Just as the players and coaches wear identical uniforms, the umpire crew should take pride and do the same.

And as far as the brand of pants, our association decreed that we use GD charcoal, exclusively due to the mismatch of color across the other distributors. We have close to 60% college umpires who all have to have the GD brand, so we decided to go with the NCAA.

I want to come work in your association. That would give me an excuse to buy all new stuff that my wife couldn't argue with!

Drop all you want, I don't work in your area. I get all the college assignments I want and I own one brand of pants, the GD. Sometimes we match, sometimes we don't. I'm not buying other pants just so we can look like twins.

Do you require umpires wear the same shoes? Same brand shirts?

If that's good enough for you, John, that's certainly good enough for anyone else here. Or should be.

All of the college umpires in your area wear Davis pants? Do none of them wear polywools?