Since when can we agree on anything? especially something as important as fashion :)

I got two white shirts, four red shirts, six powder blue shirts with logos, three powder blue shirts without logos, two dark blue shirts with logos, one dark blue shirt without logos, and now I have a green shirt. I have four pair of navy pants, six pair of heather gray pants, four pair of black pants, two black shorts with a logo, one black shorts with a different logo, navy shorts with no logo. I also have three navy ball bags with a logo, a navy ball bags with no logo, four gray ball bags, two black ball bags with out logo, and one black ball bag with a logo. Caps, I got caps with short bills, with long bills, made of wool, and made of some kind of mesh, I have black ones, blue ones, red and black ones, with and without logos for three different outfits. I got white crew sox with three different logos, I got them without, I have so many black sox my wife freaks when she looks in my sock drawer. Don't get me started on shoes and protective gear. So what, part of umpiring is wearing the uniform. Each national association wants to brand name and type of ball, while it is a pain in the butt, uniform stuff is the least of our worries.

Incidentally I like the gray and powder blue the best, it shows the least amount of dust and is my favorite type of ball to boot.

Didnt I see you on Ebay?:D ...kudos on having good taste!

I will agree, there should be one and only one uniform, but the sanctioning body which registered you for this game and is providing benefits facilitating your task, has every right to demand they you wear their uniform.

Back when ASA included the navy over heather, all I was hearing from OKC staff was that this was an effort to help the HS & college umpires who had to buy additional uniforms for those games.

Well, I don't know about anywhere else, but HS games & college games pay 2-3 times what ASA pays per game. Seems to me, those working more than one association should be able to afford the extra uniforms. Instead, IMO, ASA is placing an undue burden on those umpire who exclusively work that association's games should they be assigned to a national in an area where powder over navy is not prevelant.

Yes, "the sanctioning body which registered you for this game and is providing benefits facilitating your task, has every right to demand they you wear their uniform" is true; but if they weren't all so turf-happy we could all wear the same.
It's not a question of affording it, as it being a waste of money, which could be used for something useful. Like buying the UIC a cold one. :D

Just to throw in another .5 cents, here the default uniform is powder blue over heather grey. If the umpires want, they can wear navy over heather grey.

We have quite a few Canadians come down and umpire with us. I love that Carolina Blue color of their shirts, but they do not like the shirts. They are sweattraps for many of them.

We do not force them to match us when they come down...most have only navy slacks.

Actually from the history of the game stand point umpires were called "blue" when the wore white shirts, correct spelling is blew
ie blew the call
it is not a term of endearment:rolleyes:

Wow! You must have money to throw around. That's about three cents too much! :D

I was there all weekend. It was nearly identical.

I worked at UNC for 4.5 years. Trust me, it's not the same. Close, but not quite. :)

I'm surprised to see even one person defend the blue pants, but hey, there's no accounting for taste.

Except for protective equipment, the baseball/softball umpire uniform is less a matter of function than in other sports. In basketball and even football, you have officials on the field standing next to players and they need to wear something obviously different to stand out so they don't, for example, receive a pass (though I've been passed the ball several times in hoops!!). In baseball/softball, you are pretty much off the field and contrast isn't a big deal. At that point, in my view, its just a matter of looking professional. In my opinion, navy blue pants with navy jackets that often don't match (not to mention a blue cap) doesn't look professional. That's why I think baseball is finally on to something with black. They have 2 colors: black and gray, and that's it (including shoes, with the occasional white trim). Black is also a good authority color.

But, as I said, that's just me. If you guys like them, great. I sort of thought that the general response would be something like, "yeah, we've been trying to get ASA to do that for years..."

Taste? Hell, from what I've read, all you taste is in your mouth! :D

Obviously, I disagree with your assessment. A properly worn, well maintained uniform is what makes the umpire look professional. Yes, some colors make it difficult, but I don't believe navy blue is one of them.

Also, as Steve M noted, the navy is much more forgiving. How professional does it look when an umpire is wearing grey and sweating like a bottle of cold water in the desert?

I don't necessarily disagree with your view of the jacket with the navy and I really don't have an answer to a possible change.

And I watched the UNC lacrosse team, in their all-blue uniforms, chase the Duke players around the field in Annapolis this past weekend. It isn't the same.

Of course it wasn't. They weren't carrying cameras asking about strippers! Sorry... Haven't worked at UNC for 11 months, but still can't get the Duke jokes out of my system. :)

western cut
 

I prefer the look of blue over grey. . . . however, I do not like the western cut/no pleats. . . and I haven't seen blue pants any other way. Haven't looked in awhile though.