Baseball umpire pants
 

I need to buy some plate pants. Which do brand do you recommend?

There are a multitude of options available for pants. First, are you just starting out? Most of us when we first started umpiring just used a pair of regular grey slacks and didn't bother with the expense of umpire pants until we knew for sure that we liked it and was going to stick with it.

There are a number of manufacturers of plate pants out there. It's probably best to see what other umpires wear locally, though. If nobody wears Gerry Davis pants, you probably don't want to be the only one who does as the color is unlike any of the other pants on the market.

I just bought a set of the Honig's polywool pants for the first time this season. Looking forward to using them if the snow ever melts.

Get a good pair of plate pants. It's likely one of the least expensive parts of your gear...the poly-wools that Rich is writing about are the top-of-the-line and will last many years. Also, if you find out that umpiring isn't for you, your poly wool pants are an easy sell on the secondary market. Get them hemmed properly.

Honigs Poly Wool.
And have them dry cleaned.

The care tag for the polywools actually calls for washing and drying the pants.

I'll wash them, but let them hang dry. And I have them dry cleaned once in a while.

I don't like wearing dirty pants and I can't afford (mainly time-wise) to have them dry cleaned after every wearing. It would be a significant money cost, too.

Not disputing what yours say, but I just looked and mine from Honigs say "dry clean only."

I also do not like dirty pants but can get several games (usually) during a weekend tourney on a pair. $4.75 to clean ind I have other clothes at the cleaners every week.

They changed the tag recently.

and, you can wash the previous versions. Dry for about 5 minutes (with the rest of the stuff in the load), then hang to finish drying.

Yikes I wouldn't dry for that long. I can dry a full load of towels in my dryer in 45 minutes.

Sorry -- 5 minutes.

Fixed the original. You just want to get the excess water out from the washer.

(I have a top loading washer. A front loader might not need that much -- I think it spins faster)

I've been wondering recently why baseball umpires do not use the pants football officials wear these days considering baseball umpires have more foul weather games than football officials do.

I don't agree with your premise, but the reason football went to the current pants was to allow for "layering" underneath the pants. The old knickers made that difficult.

What's special about the football pants for foul weather? Maybe whatever that is could be added to the baseball pants?

Because they're not classy looking, like a sharp pair of polywool slacks.

If you umpire long enough, you'll buy the Honig's/Hardwick pants, as they are the standard. It's just a matter of when, and how many other pants you purchase in between.

I would welcome changing the notion that dress pants should be the standard for officiating anything. IOW, I think football has it exactly right. While the PW pants look great, nobody would argue that they are especially comfortable. My football black pants are INCREDIBLY comfortable.

And I say that with 4 pairs of polywool pants sitting on the desk in front of me awaiting the tailor.

Remember, it's better to look good, than to feel good.


http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/d...ando-Lamas.jpg

Gerry Davis. I also dry mine for about 5 minutes with other dark clothes and then hang from the leg end to finish drying.

Uh, wut?

I've yet to umpire a baseball game in a torrential downpour. I'm guaranteed at least one or two a season in football.

The local guy I always did business with carried Dalco brand uniforms. I found them to be of a very good quality. Bought some pants from him the last time, and they were as good as any of the top brands. Best thing was that they were more lightweight, and more comfortable in extremely hot temperatures. They were wash and wear, and held all creases just as well as all top name brands. I was very pleased, and satisfied. If you want I can try to check, and see if he is still alive and kicking.

I am not running a clown show if it matters to anyone.

Thank you.

Dalco? One tournament I worked bought Dalco shirts. Worst shirts I've ever seen. Can't say anything about the pants as I've never seen their pants.

I have one Dalco shirt and it is my least favorite shirt. Didn't even know that they sold pants.

Funny how the same two chime in every time I post something about uniforms.

I've compared them next to other shirts, and they didn't show any real difference to me unless you could spot something I didn't see.

OTOH, I've never bought anything from Officials Choice either to save a few dollars. Back when I always had pants from Cliff Keen, Fechheimer, or +POS. They had their flaws too. Different strokes for different folks.

I'm a gear junkie, so I reply to many equipment threads.

I think this may be a regional thing. :) My worst football game last year was an ice cold, but dry and sunny, Saturday morning game.

I know the baseball guys here have had worse already this season.

This isn't Houston. :D

Yes, but when it gets bad in baseball or softball, you send everyone to the dugouts. In football, you keep on playing.

Not when the "bad" in baseball or softball is just cold.

I did a high school girls softball game two weeks ago, and the temps were in the upper 20s with 20-30 mph wind gusts. No doubt the wind chill was in the teens. I thought for sure the school would call it. Nope.

I had the bases, and it was by far the coldest I can ever recall doing a game. The girls could at least keep themselves out of the wind when they weren't on the field, since the dugouts were completely enclosed by cinderblock walls. My partner and I, OTOH, had no shelter from that hawk, and we didn't have the benefit of a halftime to give us some respite.

The game lasted a good two hours. I literally could not feel my feet, and my ears were brutalized by the wind. I plan on ordering a couple of those pullover head-thingies that cover everything but my eyes.

To get on topic, since I do a lot of softball, especially ASA, I buy the Fechheimer pants that are ASA endorsed from OfficialGear.com. I use them for baseball when my partner is wearing heather grey. They're okay. My only complaint is that the website doesn't offer combo pants; they only sell plate or base pants, and I can't get my base pants over my shin guards.

pants
 

Are the polywool pants hotter than the other types in 95 degree weather?

In SE Louisiana it don't matter what your wearing during the summer, it's just freaking HOT.

What was it that made them so bad?

For starters, they're itchy and hot. I wore one today (the PU wanted to go red), and I had to dig it out of the bottom of my Plan B bag), and was not good in the direct sun.

Dude, they're 100% polyester. I suppose your shirts are made out of imported Italian polyester. Wear a t-shirt like everybody else.

I think this April has proven me right.

This is April?:confused: I was thinking it is still mid-December...between the weather and the fact that this part of Nebraska has NO highschool ball.

I don't think so.

Lots of cancellations, of course, but not so many "foul weather games"

Yes -- every Dalco shirt I've seen for any sport is awful. By far the worst of the lot. There are things I like and don't like about most brands but there is nothing I liked about Dalco.

HOWEVER: the pants are NOT that bad. They probably aren't the quality of the Honigs PW or the Davis but if you want to grab a lesser expensive pair for summer or youth leagues, you can't go wrong.

I don't see the difference in anything Honig's or Dalco sells except Honig's has their name sewn on the back. I've never encountered any problem with the umpire shirts. They hold up fine in the laundry, and on the field.

I think the pants are 100% polyester, not poly wool, and thus not as heavy. I thought they might wrinkle easy, but I just hung them up right out of the dryer, and they held their crease well, and didn't wrinkle or pucker.

I've been at district, and state meetings with the major vendors, and really never noticed any difference in shirts. Many people just use Honig's because they have easy access, and fast shipping. The guy I bought from was close by. Just easy to go by, and shop from.

Personally, I think you're doing Dalco a disservice by bashing them in public. Let the user decide what they want. I do remember several going gaga over the "cheap" shirts from Officials Choice. Several "Jeckyl and Hyde" comments ensued.

I think that officials posting their opinions of vendor products is one of the reasons a forum like this one exists.

Unless Dalco has changed their shirts, I'd steer clear of them -- when I got one a few years ago at a tournament, it was as heavy as the original Cliff Keen pullover shirts. CK has improved since then, however.

I've handled most major brands of shirts and the Dalco were some of the worst in my opinion. The fabric was similar to burlap in its consistency and it creased easily. For the money, Smitty shirts are some of the best I've found, they don't wrinkle easily, have a soft yet durable weave and wick moisture away very well. I think I'd rather have my first ever polo style umpire shirt which was the heavy Majestic dazzle shirt.

I will agree with you on Honig's except for their polywools which are pretty much the gold standard for pants these days. I still wear the 100% polyester Smitty pants and I like them well enough. The Dalco pants aren't terrible but not my first choice.

And there's a reason they're the gold standard. I bought my first four pair this season and had them tailored -- they are the best umpiring pants I've ever owned. I'll let you know how long they last.

The Honig's polywools are indeed the best pants you can buy. My older set was new in 2011 so they're on their third season and they are still in great shape. I bought a new set before this season and sold my oldest set of base/plate polywools from 2009 to someone on another forum and he was shocked at how good of shape they were still in.

Dalco shirts suck. I had them in 3-4 colors my first year and they wrinkle easily, don't fit well, and the material is bad.

Honig's and Smitty shirts are my favorites. Just got a new Smitty short sleeve black shirt and it is great. They reduced the width of the collar (My older one had a really big collar for some reason) and the material is really light and doesn't wrinkle.

I'm simply washing them (on a handwashing / delicate setting with cold water) and hanging them to dry. So far they are doing great, although I've only worked 10 games this season because of the weather here.

I'll probably dry clean them once a month or so to keep the crease good and sharp.

Seriously?? Over 40 messages about umpire pants? What the hell...

The shirts are 100% polyester, a man made material. Polyester is polyester. The material may be thicker or thinner. There is no variation.

Polyester can be woven in all sorts of variants. From itchy burlap (Dalco, Teamwork) to silky smooth (like old Cliff Keens). True, it starts like a lump o' plastic, but all polyester is not created equal.

Nobody is forced to read this, or any other, thread. Right?

We're talking about shirts too...

Burlap is made from the jute plant.

And silk usually comes from the Mulberry silk worm.

Oh, you're trying to be funny. Got it.

Unless you're in Utah:

Synthetic Silk - Synthetic Bioproducts Center - sbc.usu.edu

No burlap is similar to rope. The same type rope I use at the ranch. Their material is made by mother nature.

Too end this: My shirts are very well made, and comfortable. Nary a problem with a one. If they were as turrbull (Charles Barkley) as said, I wouldn't have always purchased the shirts. Unless something has changed over the years, I have no idea what the fuss from some is all about.