ASA pants
 

Hey a post on another board got me thinking. We have to wear ASA pants at Nationals this year....ok I ask does anyone have access to their ASA pants.....where do they say ASA on them? I know they are made by Fecheimer but I don't remember seeing any ASA logo or tag on them, I might just be forgetting but if someone has a pair take a look and let me know....I am too impatient to wait till I get home to check mine out :)

They dont. But Is it really worth trying to get away with? (not saying that you are)

No ASA on my pants.

But does not every umpire have an ASA tattoo. :eek:

No its not worth it, and No I am not trying to get away with anything I buy all my pants from ASA, our state commis. brings stuff to every state get together so i get to try it on and take it home then, going this Sunday to buy 2 new pairs of plate pants(blue and gray, darn lights shrunk mine over winter)....my only point was 1) I didn't remember seeing anything ASA listed on them (scared about buying new pants for national) and 2) on another site there was concern about price fixing by ASA since we have to buy from them...I do already so i don't care, but if someone truly feels like this is price fixed they can just by Fecheimer pants from somewhere else and they should be fine.

You are correct. However, remember these pants are flat-panel front with western pockets.

If the shade of heather is different, it might give you away.

I doubt that, since NONE of the pants I currently have (all ASA) are the same shade!! and I doubt the pair I buy this year will match the pair I bought last year. I understand that ASA is working with Fecheimer to try to reduce their lot to lot variation in the heather gray...but there is a lot of variation currently. Also if you look closely in the ASA equipment book the two grays in there are NOT the same color!!

We, we COULD roll down the waistband of the pants, as is the fashion of many JO layers. If it doesn't say Fechheimer...busted

First, ASA has a legitimate issue with non-uniform uniforms. That said, specifying the vendor only, and even working with the vendor to reduce lot-to-lot variance will not solve the problem. Differences in gray is caused by:

1) Different manufacturer of pants,
2) Not even using umpiring pants (Dickies, JC Pennys, etc.)
3) Die variation at the same manufacturer

etc..., but even if you control ALL of those, that does not make the grays all the same. Because heather gray fades, badly and quickly. You could buy two pairs of official ASA lot-dye-controlled pants, put one in the closet and wear the other for a season. By the end of the season, they are a different color. Except, maybe for you guys in Seattle where you never have any sun... ;)

Dakota,
I agree here is most of my post from another board, talking about the requirement of ASA purchased pants as well as some peoples feelings of what that might cause:

Ya you are right I was at a NUS and that point was brought up by Kevin, the pictures in the book don't match!! He also said that Fecheimer (SP?) is going to work with them to try to make a more consistent heather gray, try to eliminate their lot to lot variation of material. I do think that this is a good and bad thing. 1) At my national last year there were several umpires wearing gray pleated dress pants. These are obviously noticably different from umpire pants, also several others had on gray pants with standard cut pockets, that were gapped open showing the white pocket material. I am not a uniform freak like a lot I have seen, but I do think at a National tournament you should look good. 2) I agree with the above statements that price fixing could be an issue...but has not been thus far. Personally my state commisioner brings equipment to EVERY state event to sell so I buy it from him (ASA pants), no shipping costs (I know they are wrapped in there somewhere) and I can try them on prior to buying them!! So to me it is not an issue.

So I do agree that the pants needed to be more uniform and this was their way of doing that. I also agree that there will still be issues because some people will have 20 year old pants worn thousands of times that they will say are ASA pants and it will be impossible to dispute IF they have Fecheimer on the tag. So this step will make it 85% better but there will still be a few that try to get by with old worn out equipment. Kevin's response was PLEASE if your equipment/uniform is worn out replace it.

Guys and gals, there is an easy fix. You can bet your bottom dollar that if we do NOT participate in the ASA program to attempt to have a more uniform gray pant worn by its umpires, we'll be looking at navy blue.

I am not speaking for any member of NUS, but I have heard them be very clear that we do have two options: wear the ASA heather gray purchased from ASA, who is working with Fechheimer to attain uniformity in its pants; or, it's navy blue.

We anal folks up here in Seattle Tacoma who are members of SMSUA have a great uniform program. We can purchase all of our equipment -- from protective cups to pants -- through our own uniform sales program. We receive what amounts to an interest-free loan to purchase our goods. The purchases are paid from our game fees collected by SMSUA.

The program is also handy come tax time because you know exactly how much you spent on uniforms and other essentials.

We have this program in place for all of our members beginning with their second year in the association. It's a great program and, if your association doesn't have something similar in place may be something you want to consider.

Well bring on the blue!! I'm an Indiana guy, we wear blue pants all year for ASA. FED is still gray so I have the grays and wear them for FED and when I go to Nationals. Ok I am just kidding about the blue, sort of. I like blue it does show dirt more, but sweat less. I am a big feller, and I sweat a lot, so to me it is less embarassing to have some dust on my pants than it is to see the big sweat spots on my pants. Trade offs with both....

And as I mentioned above I am not against this idea, I am actually for it. Funny but as I was sitting here at my desk I looked up at the picture I have from Nationals last year, the "If" crew.....and yep you guessed it plate ump has on pleated pants, and the other base umpire has "normal" pockets (not western cut pockets)

You can tell because they are the ugliest umpire pants on the market. What they should do is buy from honigs if they want to be anal, so we can all have good pants.

Another pile of steaming horse****..but Im getting used to it.....

[hijack]

Actually...

Seattle is located at the most northern latitude of any major city in the USA outside of Alaska. As a result, summer days are long with 16 hours of daylight on June 21. On the other hand, winter days are dark, gloomy, and short with only 8.5 hours of daylight on December 21.

And we even have an "Odds It'll Rain" table, produced by one of our local weather guys.

Basically, we get more sun than the rest of you people think we do.

Ok I'm done. :)

[/hijack]

I've been telling people that for years. This "always rains in Seattle" is total bull. That is just a marketing ploy to keep the undesirables away :rolleyes:

Which is something from which ASA should have never strayed. This would be fine by me and many of the ASA umpires I know.

Ever been to seattle?

The undesirables already live there.

But then I might have to buy an extra couple pair of britches to go with my beaucoup different shirts, different hats, and other assorted junk with and without different logos and in navy, black, gray ... :eek:

But, on the bright side, my formerly gray pants could then be used for YEARS since nobody would be calling out the dye police... :rolleyes:

I, on the other hand, was never a fan, and was relieved when we were allowed to "stray." And I am sure that there are just as many umpires who feel this way.

Ok I have to ask. Does anyone have any official numbers? How many states have Navy blue pants as their official uniform? How many have gray as their official uniform? Surely someone has this info.... Or if not maybe someone needs to put together, in the spirit of this election year, a blue / gray map.

MN is gray.

Ca is gray.
Thankfully, blue looks attrocious.

Its divided here. (Arizona) Sp wears blue, the lesser umpires wear grey.

Grey has got to be the greatest monstrosity ever perpetrated on softball... big joke...

shorts?

Well, in my case it didn't work. In fact, they let me in twice.:eek:

In my 8 years in Seattle I have seen "real" rain twice, maybe three times. I have seen LOTS of drizzle.

Today (Thursday): Sunny, 62, no snow or ice storms predicted anytime in the coming decade. Skies are bluer than Boise State's football field.

Our western deputy and I will be on the field Friday for a NFHS game and looking forward to working on our sunburn. I trust those of you dealing with two feet of ice will stay safe and warm.
;)

You're from CA, what could you possible use to compare anything to when determining something is atrocious? :D

Actually, I wasn't talking about the homeless, but more along the line of the leftover hippies still hangin' in San Fran and the other "beautiful" people that just love to tell others how to run their lives.

Well, Tom, I know you've heard me say this before, but if an umpire works all those other associations, they can afford to buy their uniform.

BTW, I will tell you that DE is blue, but under certain circumstances, I will allow the dark blue over gray.

Technically, Texas is still blue as far as the state goes. However, most metro and even some state associations have adopted gray.

Yeah... I was making the same point, just in a different way... :)

They really fade here in East Texas. Pretty grey where the belt line is.

I don't really have a problem with the fading - I see a much bigger problem with the shrinkage.:D

My problem is the opposite. I have lost from 182 to 160 and 34 inch waist
would slip on me if I did not wear the shirt holding belt.

pffffff
lotta that going around in lots of places.. if you live in San Fran, you deserve what you get.

Sure wish I had that problem:D :( .

Wow, I passed 160 when I was 12 years old (and I ain't been back). ;)