Additional Notes from Umpire Committee

[BretMan]

I have the Reebok plate shoes and love them. But the big white "REEBOK" across the back and the white Major League Baseball emblem had to go...

The "REEBOK" on the back is pretty easy to get rid of. A little nail polish remover and a little elbow grease and it's gone. After I wiped out the logo, I flushed the area pretty good with water. I didn't want any residual acetone to possibly damage the vinyl material of the shoe.

The MLB logo on front was a little tougher. It's not a screen printed logo, like the one on the back- it's more of a sewn-in vinyl insert. I started going over it with Sharpie and it looked pretty crappy- kind of streaky, not as dark as the surrounding black shoe material and you could still see it was there. So I went over the logo with black leather dye. A couple of coats and the logo is now fairly invisible.

While I'm on the subject of these shoes, several umpires have mentioned to me that they don't like the way the top plate "bows up" where it attaches near the front of the shoe (if you've tried these shoes, you probably know what I'm talking about). I didn't like that either, so I played around with tying them different ways. If you lace up the shoe like you would a normal shoe, then run the laces through the holes in the top plate last, after going through the last eyelets in the shoe, when you pull the lace tight it pulls the top plate back and it lays flat against the shoe.

These shoes are very comfortable and have proven durable through two seasons. As much as I like them, I like them even more now that they really are "all black" and that ugly bump in the front is gone!

[IRISHMAFIA]

I have no problem with all black shoes. I've seen umpires wearing shoes with white stripes/swooshes. Reminds me of the Sea World commercial with Shamu gliding through the water.

If everyone is wearing black, they are all going to match and I AM a firm believer in umpires being alike and not individually styling on the field.

[NCASAUmp]

Originally Posted by IRISHMAFIA

I have no problem with all black shoes. I've seen umpires wearing shoes with white stripes/swooshes. Reminds me of the Sea World commercial with Shamu gliding through the water.

If everyone is wearing black, they are all going to match and I AM a firm believer in umpires being alike and not individually styling on the field.

I'm not sure wearing proper footwear that's common in our professional circles in their straight-from-the-box form is "styling." New Balance isn't a flashy brand, and I don't think the silver "N" on their shoes draw attention to the umpire any more than the bright "ASA" letters do on a navy ball bag.

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by NCASAUmp

I'm not sure wearing proper footwear that's common in our professional circles in their straight-from-the-box form is "styling." New Balance isn't a flashy brand, and I don't think the silver "N" on their shoes draw attention to the umpire any more than the bright "ASA" letters do on a navy ball bag.

I agree, I think the ASA on the ball bag is atrocious, but I guarantee you any bright color on the shoe is going to stand out and draw attention. I've seen it too often at all levels.

[robbie]

Tanel...............

[Tru_in_Blu]

Originally Posted by robbie

Tanel...............

Last I heard, they didn't make wide width shoes. Has that changed?

[DaveASA/FED]

Originally Posted by NCASAUmp

I'm not sure wearing proper footwear that's common in our professional circles in their straight-from-the-box form is "styling." New Balance isn't a flashy brand, and I don't think the silver "N" on their shoes draw attention to the umpire any more than the bright "ASA" letters do on a navy ball bag.

ASA on the ball bag draws attention to the organization not the umpire. And every home plate umpire has the 'same' ball bag with the same ASA on it. I know I have been approached as a UIC about that umpire with the white marks on their shoes. So I know for a fact people seperate umpires by their shoes, among other things, (brown pads on their mask, carrying a red water bottle, etc.) so again all black shoes is just one more thing to keep us looking the same. Still I don't see the big deal, I have had 4 pairs of shoes that I can think of right now (probably more that part-timers is kicking in) that I have had to remove white from in my career. Not a huge deal next to trying them on, it was the first thing I did when I got them.

[CecilOne]

I have always found all-black shoes that fit, support and wear well. As I remember - Reebok, NB, Riddell and now 3N2.