too much
 

I am going to throw this out to the gang as a warning. If I ramble some, bear with me.
Most of us aren't 20 any more, so let's start acting & thinking with some maturity or at least with some common sense. We've got a love for this game and we make a few bucks - BUT not enough to take chances. I have a friend that worked a tournament this weekend in what was (for us Yankees) the first hot weekend of the year. I don't think he drank enough. I do know he was dumb enough to work all plate games on Saturday & Sunday - 2 on, 1 off - because he thought his partner was too inexperienced to handle the plate and he is a generous and caring guy. Monday morning, he was removed from an early game because he did not feel well. He was at a different complex, or I'd have kicked him squarely in the ***. Monday afternoon, being driven home, he had a stroke. Another ump & I had to take this dumb SOB to the hospital He's 53 and that's too damn young for the problems I suspect he will now deal with for the rest of his life. And that doesn't deal with the impact to his wife & kids - and the kids are grown & on their own and scattered across a wide area.

We've been over this before. Prepare to work these weekends. Drink - remember the military training that said "if you don't have to go, you need to drink." Eat right. Hit the gym - to lose some weight and tone up what's still there. And take one of these weekends off now & then.

Thanks, Steve...you just can't say this enough. The players get to spend half the game sitting in the shaded dugout with cold towels around their necks - we don't.

And - this good advice from Steve goes for everybody, even if you are 20-something and feel invincible!

I have to admit I'm guilty of doing too many games in the heat. I work outside everyday at my "job that pays the bills" so the heat doesn't bother me. I drink alot of water, up to a gallon a day, usually will finish off a liter bottle during any game I work the plate. I have seen umpires loose focus from doing too many in one day. That only effects the players. The money is alot of the reason we're there but the players deserve the best effort each game.

What use to be taboo in ASA, taking bottles of water inside the fences is gone in my area. I encourage umpires to take bottles of water onto the field. I just tell them to lay them in the grass at the bottom of the fence.

Even here in North Dakota, it can get extremely hot but even on chilly days, I take upwards of a gallon of ice water with me on the field. Last night did 4 games behind the plate (2 under the lights) but it was very warm and somewhat muggy and when I got home, there was very little of that gallon of water still in the jug. I was taking a few swallows after every inning and sometimes between batters. Still got done with 4 games in less than 4 hours. I love the 1 - 1 count! :D

Mike,
I encourage folks to do just that - I take a couple of bottles of water with me to each plate game. And one is gone by the 4th inning and the other usually gets finished on the way back to the van (changing room). I don't drink iced water - I drink it unchilled and that seems to work better for me.
It hasn't been that long since bringing water to the field was taboo. That's a good change.

I have wondered where to put the water bottle. I don't want to use a dugout, but I want the water close enough to drink between innings.

My water is kept in my bag that I hang from the side of the backstop. It's out of the way from any play that might happen in that area but it's easy access to me when I need it.

I personally like iced water because on hot days, it cools your core temperature and makes you feel cooler. Around here, it's usually pretty humid and you sweat quite a bit and the iced water help regulate your temperature. Water will do the trick by itself but I don't particularly care for warm, tepid water. The colder the better. I'll sometimes put a powdered sports drink in my water jug but that get's expensive after a while.

"I have wondered where to put the water bottle. I don't want to use a dugout, but I want the water close enough to drink between innings.
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TCBLUE13"

I use one of the dugouts as I do not want something of mine left laying in live ball areas.

I have a water bottle belt designed for joggers. I can hang it over a fence post or buckle it into a chain-link and generally keep it on the out-of-play side, but near me. It also has 2 side pockets where I can keep my keys, spare indicator, spare pen, etc.

Now, that's a good idea...

I have a half gallon insulated water bottle with a nylon cover and carrying strap that I take to games. I'll put it outside the field if at all possible. If not, I'll look for a place on the fence where I can hang it so it hangs on the outside of the fence. If the fence is too high for that, I'll look for a place where it is reasonably out of play and protected by a fence post, gate, etc. to minimize the possiblity of a batted ball hitting it.

For an article on heat management, check the handouts page of Softball Umpires

I have the same type of half gallon insulated bottle with a carrying strap. I bought one of those carbiner type clips at Home Depot for 99 cents. Works well for hanging the bottle on the chain link fence. Usually, there is a gate out of the field near the first base dugout. I hang the bottle just outside that gate.

Here in Phoenix, we also train our umpires that only one umpire at a time should be getting a drink between innings and the other umpire is watching the field.

I use a camelback... Works great.

I'm sure there's something out there but I should design a hydration system like I have in my hunting vest. It has a hot water bottle type container that hangs on your back with a drinking tube that runs up to the front. With this, you can take a drink of water whenever you want to and have nothing that would get in the way of doing your job.

Camelbacks
 

I think someone beat you to it with the Camelback (device Rattlehead is referring to). See this thread on the Baseball Forum for more information and/or discussion:

http://forum.officiating.com/showthread.php?t=26799