Newbie Question
 

First year in FP SB. Working NFHS in Alabam. Most of the umpires in this association don not wear chest protectors. Is this wierd? Do most umps wear them? I bought a Pro-Nine CP...is this one OK? What would you all suggest?

Thanks

We had an ump show up to one of my daughters junior high games and he wore no equipment at all, including no face mask. He said junior high girls dont throw hard enough to get hurt. Little did he know that the pitcher could throw in the mid 50's.

I know a couple of guys that dont wear chest protectors, but, I dont like being hit and even a couple of the hits I have taken on the chest protector have still not been real comfortable. Cant imagine what they would have felt like with nothing on. My biggest worry would be taking a ball to a collar bone. Doubt much real damage would be done to ribs other than just hurt like heck, but taking a direct shot to a collar bone would certainly end up broken.

When I first started almost twenty years ago, it was rare that a fast pitch umpire would wear a chest protector. Over the years, I think wearing one is now more common. I used to go without one, until I took one right in the collarbone. I use the Shutt compression style cp designed for fp sb. I love it. Your Pro nine should work well.

Yes, it is extremely weird to me when people don't want to do everything in their power to prevent themselves from injury. The Pro 9 is an excellent chest protector if you are talking about this model. It is the one I use for all level of ball from college down to the kids.

I too use the Pro 9 like pictured in the previous post. I love it. Dave

Yes, going without a CP is weird to me. But a few years back our HS association actually had to tell everyone that it was mandatory--there were still a few veterans who did not wear one. I use the Honig's K1 for softball and baseball and love it.

There are a few guys in my area that don't use a CP. Quite a few (inlcuding me) use the Honig's K-2; kind of a "half" CP.

I went from the K2 to the Pro-nine last year.

The K2 worked fine as far as protection for the collarbone and sternum, but I got tires of those shots to the gut that stung for a little while. I like my new Pro-Nine.

I have heard from a reliable medical source that it only takes about 40 pounds of force to snap the collarbone. My opinion is that a foul ball straight back or even a high pitch that the catcher just doesn't get a glove on generates more than 40 pounds of force. Wear the equipment.

Not to mention that a hard enough shot to the chest at the right moment can stop your heart. Ask any Lacrosse player.

This equipment was made for a reason. :cool:

My thinking exactly. I tried going without once in a 10U game. I got all macho around some of the other umps. Of course I got nailed and had the bruise , left side of chest,for 10 days afterwards to prove it.

No brainer-I wear the equipment.

Can you say "not smart"!
 

I wear the K2 and I love it. Just the right amount of protection.

A friend of mine used to go without a cp. He took one right over his heart and suffered a bruised heart. It took well over a year for it to heal completely.

I can't imagine an umpire not using protective equipment.

When I lived in the Soprano State, we had a guy who wore no chest protector ever, and no mask for 12u and below, even in good tournaments. I'm sure we've all seen many a 12-year-old who can throw quite hard, sometimes teamed with a catcher who "stoppeth one in three," as Coleridge said. (In fact, 12u is probably where you take the worst beating, since by 14 the catchers are usually pretty good.) Anyway, I told this guy he was crazy, but he just shrugged and said that he'd never been hurt.

I wear the best protection I can, which to me means high-quality baseball gear. Still, I've taken shots that swelled my forearm to twice its size and gave my elbow a fluid bump as big as a golf ball. During the season, I always have at least one deep bruise on an arm. Any of the pitches that gave me those injuries could have broken a collarbone, not to mention smashing a nose or knocking out teeth.

But now I live in Alabama—in Blount Springs, derwil, about 25 miles north of you—and if I continue umpiring, I'll wear my stuff no matter what the other guys do.

(I will admit that for little kids I lighten up on the protection.)

Probably because he is always ducking and hiding. :rolleyes:

I was once on the field with a guy in SP who took a foul shot right in his kisser. Broke his nose, several teeth, and was just a plain ugly and painful sight to behold. Since I have always called FP, made me decide to start wearing the facemask even when calling SP. I didn't give a (expletive deleted) about the comments I constantly heard.

Wear the gear and stay healthy, can't call a game in the hospital.

Even in slow pitch you have to watch out for those errant throws. Like the shot I took when I went set to call a throw on the runner from the relay that the SS brought his glove down just a tad soon to make the tag. Learned the value of a cup. Or the game working alone, had a play at the plate made the call hustled out 3rd base side of the mound, went set anticipating throw from catcher to 2nd, never have found protection for a shot in the a**!

its just dumb not to wear a chest protector ... even a 30 mph ball can break a clavicle (clooarbone) if it hits just right.

I find it totally stoopid that NFHS doesn't list a chest protector nor shin guards (if memory serves) as required umpire equipment.... maybe they want us to get hurt? :confused: or just maybe they think that COMMON sense would dictate what a umpire would wear?
We have a few guys in our association that wear nothing but a face mask (well ok, they wear the required uniform too ;) ) and I didn't start using a nad protective device till last year (deedudee, here's your sign) kinda weird how protecting the nads reduces flinching on low pitches ..lol

Wearing Chest Protector
 

It goes beyond the Ump getting hurt. We've contracted to officiate a game. We're the binding arbitrator (don't we wish the coaches and fans truly believed that). An umpire hurt becomes an umpire less efficient. An umpire hurt to the point of leaving a game leaves the game without proper coverage. The chest protector may be a little uncomfortable in the hottest of weather, but in general it's part of the assurance you bring to the game. Trying to be macho about it is, to me, putting ego before responsibility. Wear the CP.

Page 19 of the NFHS 2008 and 2009 Umpires Manual has the following:

A mask with a throat protector is required in FP...

The inside-style chest protector and leg guards are strongly recommended in both FP & SP.

Shoes should be solid black with no white or colored markings.

A ball bag is mandatory for the plate umpire.

The fitted cap shall be navy blue and is mandatory for all umpires. The fitted cap shall never be worn backwards.

Male umpires shall wear a protective cup.

So there are some clear requirements and some strong suggestions.

Ted

Curious as to why they're more interested in protecting our twigs 'n' giggleberries than they are in protecting our hearts, ribs and collarbones.

Perhaps they are hoping we will produce the future generations of arbiters. :D

Well, they may be right, considering my father was an umpire before me.

Guess its easier to administer resuscitation when your heart stops from a chest hit... than the former. (don't even know what kinda rehab you'd have to get for a lower unit shot) although one of my good friends told me about his lower unit getting mashed by a grounder that jumped up and bit him while he was working the bases (I've worn a cup ever since... on the plate... not the bases :D )

Don't know 'bout you, but I'm sure there are a few Hot Moms in the stands I'd love to see try. :D

Social experiment. If you're too stupid to not wear a chest protector, they want you thinned from the herd. The same concept should apply to warning labels. :)

I've always worn a cup, on plate and bases. Just one less thing to worry about.

I wear a cup, and I only call SP. On really bad nights, I even wear the small soccer-style shin guards. That ball doesn't hurt much the first time, but it always finds that same spot on my shin bone.

You've heard of "Chinese water torture." I call it "Slow Pitch Catcher Torture."

Ah yes, I know it well. Especially the catchers that are too afraid of being closer than 10 feet to the plate. :rolleyes:

on the bases too? dang. after a 6+ game day i'd be chaffed like a mofo. :D

What can I say, I like my boys. :D

Two anecdotal incidents...

This was about three years ago. In the men's fastpitch league where I play, they follow ASA rules in respect to catcher's equipment. There are always one or two grizzled old catcher's that skip the chest protector. Saw one take a foul ball right to the collar bone- snapped it like a twig. Finished his season and even now, a few years later, he is still having problems with that arm. And, he now wears a chest protector!

This one was last weekend where I work indoor games for a high school league. A couple of the other umpires I work with are FED-certified blues. A few of them are mainly just employees of the indoor facility who have done some rec ball.

One of the rec guys was behind the plate wearing an ill-fitted catcher's chest protector. I had always regarded this as an accident just waiting to happen. I showed him my "real" umpire CP and talked to him about wearing it properly in the past.

Sure enough, it finally happened. He took a foul ball where the CP had drooped down away from his neck. This one didn't break the bone- it dislocated the joint where the collar bone connects into the front of the shoulder.

Yesterday, his arm was in a sling and he will be laid up for an indefinite amount of time.

lol.. i feel ya... you.. not them. :D

I was chaffed like a mofo after the first day at Burlington. I waddled most of the time after that. OUCH!

Two words for you guys: Gold Bond.