equipment
 

Since years before I became an official I have been an advocate for getting at minimum a hockey-style helmet for officials, especially the ones who end up in the middle of the field. I know that means more money to spend on equipment, but we don't seem to care about chest protectors for baseball.

Yes we do. I do not see a need honestly. Maybe if they get more agile individuals, this would not happen. The problem is the age and mobility of the officials, not just a helmet.

Peace

Or they need less-agile guys who are able to take a hit. ;)

Heck, in my last game, I got hit/run into by players on 4 separate occasions. Luckily for me, I'm 6'4", 270 and I can absorb it. In one case, I think I (accidentally) knocked the guy over. I even had a couple of players apologize to me for running into me.

In all seriousness though, agility and mobility are a big asset to the umpire, along with being able to anticipate what's going to happen. But there are times where you'll still get caught in a bad spot, and there's not much you can do about it.

I've heard rumblings of possibly moving the U to a position behind the offense, opposite the R. I'm not sure if I like that idea or not. It would be a safer position, to be sure, but I'm concerned that we would be less able to see the action that we need to see to officiate properly.

Mike Pereira addressed this on the NFL Network the other day, and he said changes are coming. They're not sure if it will be to move the umpire to a safer spot or to actually put equipment on them.