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Of all the hundreds of umpires I've run across in my area, I can recall only one that doesn't wear a chest protector. He "compensates" by working on one knee and getting totally behind the catcher, instead of the slot. As a result of his positioning, his strike zone is really erratic, probably because he literally can't see half of it.
I've seen a couple of men's FP catchers that don't wear a chest protector. And I saw one take a foul straight to the collar bone, snapping it in two.
Last year I worked a few games with an newer umpire that had a flexible ribbed-type protector. The protection was minimal, but might have been adequate- if he had worn it properly! He had it very loose around the neck and it sagged down to where his collar bones were completely exposed. I mentioned it to him and told him he should probably cinch it up and for a better fit. He played me off with some sort of, "Girls can't throw that hard", kind of excuse.
Next game we work together, he's behind the plate. A foul went back and caught him right on the tip of the collar bone, where it connects into the shoulder. It didn't break the bone, but it disclocated it from the shoulder joint! The guy had his arm in a sling for almost a month and wasn't able to work his "real job" for about six weeks.
The vast majority of fastpitch umpires do wear a chest protector- no matter what Gerry Davis might think!
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Sat Nov 28, 2009, 08:45pm
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