ozzy6900 wroteTo be blunt, it depends how fat you are! I wear pleats because I am a tad overweight. Non-pleated pants look better on young, slender bucks - not on old, fat farts (like most of us veterans)!
At 53 I'm not a young buck, but I am 5'10" and 150 pounds so I do qualify as slender. I wear pleated pants on the field because I like a little extra room and I find pleated pants more comfortable.
I've heard that some associations dictate flat front pants. Ours does not. It's mostly our local "old-timers" who stay with the flat front pants. They say it’s a more traditional look. But I've seen a few umpires wearing flat front pants who need to switch to pleated pants, buy some new flat front pants that are a size or two larger, or find a tailor who can "let out" a little extra room in the seat. I think flat front pants show if someone is sized challenged a little more than pleated pants.
Tim C wroteIn 2007 "Andy" (i.e. see "Ask Andy") reports that more pleated pants than flat front will be sold in America for the first time in history.
When it comes to "street dress" I usually wear flat front pants. Flat front pants in general are getting more difficult to locate even in some of the more "upscale" mens shops I frequent. In Dover, "upscale" is something better than Walmart.