Umpire Gear

[AtlUmpSteve]

Originally Posted by Tru_in_Blu

The reason I brought this up is because a few weeks ago my partner and I were being evaluated for an NFHS game. He did the plate and had this hockey-style mask w/ little shock absorbers where the cage part meets the helmet part. Our evaluator referred to it as "helmet-cam".

In any case, he got dinged for putting the thing on the ground whenever he had to make an entry on lineup cards. We were told that the umpire's helmet should be under an arm while taking care of these tasks. No way with the "helmet-cam".

Regarding having a hat handy, I can only imagine what it would look like after a game or so. I don't have one, but can't see myself removing the thing, doing SOMETHING with it, putting on a hat from somewhere, recording whatever, putting the hat away, and getting the thing back on.

Seems like more trouble than it's worth, perhaps both in cost and usability.

One guy wore the old-style umpire cap - almost brimless - underneath it. Problem was the hat didn't have the ASA logo on it. I don't know if that would have warranted a demerit at some levels.

Frankly, I am not a fan of the hockey-style masks. Almost everything we are told to wear or not wear is to standardize, to be "uniform"; and that item just isn't a standard. The very few umpires I know that us it are often described by coaches as "you know, the guy with the hockey mask" ......

That said, there is a reason why a hat is a required part of the uniform; umpires simply look unprofessional, out of uniform, incomplete, when standing bare-headed. So, if you want to wear a hockey mask, you may have to so something that is a bit more trouble, like having a hat accessible.

To your last point, I have always considered the one or two stitch beanie to be a joke, not a uniform part; and ASA stopped selling them decades ago (I guess they think umpires shouldn't wear them, either), so there really wouldn't be much chance of having one with ASA. Certainly not one with the newer (last 10 years or so) two tone ASA. But, you also said he was being evaluated for NFHS, so that shouldn't be a black mark.