Additional Notes from Umpire Committee
 

ASA Properties

New pull-over jacket with two thin powder blue stripes on the shoulder. Elastic waistband. Water repellent, but geared more toward wind resistant. Zippers from neck to chest with a "pouch" pocket in front. With or without logo is available. This is a jacket, not just a shell. These seem to be a little heavier than the present jacket.

Shirt will stay the same. They are testing a new material which is a lighter pattern but may not hold up.

Diamond Umpire Field Bag for use on the fence or backstop. You can find this on www.officialgear.com

Rule Book

The rule book and umpire manual may come in this year in two separate publications. At the same time, there will be only one rule book, not an umpire and team edition

Liked the jacket, but in my area, it's difficult to justify a $60 expense for something I might only need for a month or so out of the year.

Did not like the logo on the jacket as much..just the ASA in wihite with no border. It looks too gaudy to me. Much prefer the logao outlined in powder blue to not make it so garish.

Did they say when the jackets would be available?

Not that it matters to me right now. My last game of the year is tomorrow night, though we keep starting our spring season earlier and earlier...

I really hope that the ASA comes out with new fabric for their shirts. The ones we have now breath about as well as cast iron, and are nearly unwearable in high heat and humididty.

I agree. I always wear the Under Armour shirts underneath my powder blues, and that helps a lot. I don't get the heat rash after tourneys like I used to.

Mandated??? :rolleyes:

At nationals, probably

No, yes, maybe.

They have been looking, but cannot find anything as durable, according to them. Too many pill up or just wear quickly to the point that they wouldn't last a season.

They are continuing to look.

I havent found the current material to be all that durable. If you accidentally get any velcro from your plate equipment against it, especially your mask it snags the fabric badly.

I have shirts that are easily going on 3-4 years of constant use without issue.

In your tourneys, I wouldn't worry as much about the heat rash as I would heat stroke!

PM me or FB me when you can NC....

True, but I start hydrating myself for tourneys at least a week in advance.

Check your PM box. :)

The gentlemen from ASA Properties that spoke at the committee meeting noted that this has been a much requested item by the umpires. As Irish noted, the issue is durability vs price.

There are materials out there that have moisture wicking properties and are much lighter weight, but the cost of the shirt would increase signifigantly, and again, the durability issue comes up. they don't want to put a new shirt our there that costs more, but doesn't last as long. As an example, I purchased a new shirt with my HS association logo, it is much lighter weight, but costs twice as much as the ASA shirt.

The other thing to remember is that ASA has not raised the price of the shirt since it was introduced.

Some of that higher price may be due to the licensing agreement with the state HS athletic association. (And maybe some price gouging by the retailer).

In these parts, the HS logo is mandatory on shirts. I can buy a Cliff Keen shirt with the logo for $45. The same shirt without the logo is $35. Or, I can buy a Smitty's brand shirt (very lightweight, soft and comfortable) with the logo for $40. The same shirt without the logo can be found for $25-$30.

And there is one retailer that for the past few years has offered the Smitty shirts, with the state logo, at a "pre-season" sale price of $25!

My ASA shirts are cheap ($25), have proven durable and look good even after a few seasons. They are not nearly as soft, breathable or comfortable as other shirts I have. The fit is tighter than than other shirts of the same size, the sleeves tend to ride up on me and the collars seem too big and "flappy". But they do seem nearly bullet-proof- I'll give you that!

The lighter brand shirts with the wicking material that I have seem to be holding up fine. Personally, I would be willing to spend a little more for a better fitting, more comfortable shirt.

Would it kill them to offer a choice? Or to license the major brands (e.g. CK, etc.) to add the logo?

All this alleged worrying about durability of the shirts... what about those heather gray Flechs that fade to pink inside 2 years? How about paying some attention to THAT?

I'd like to see ASA embrace flex fit caps - much easier to order without the worry about the variance of fit you get with the current ASA caps.

You mean these?

ASA Properties, Inc.

I don't know if it's approved for a National, but they do have them.

I wore the Flex fit at my national last summer and nobody said a word, nor was anything noted on my evaluation.

On a related note, some new shoes were also presented at the committee meeting. They are the New Balance shoes that the MLB umpires wear. Complete with the big, white N on the side and a white sole.

When the obvious question was asked (what about all the white), the answer given was that if we wear the same stuff the MLB guys are wearing it helps our umpire's credibility. I'm not so sure about that.

It was mentioned that ASA will try to work with New Balance to produce the shoe in an all black model, but no guarantees at this time.

Ump-Attire.com does have the shoe you're probably referring to, and it's "all black" (not really). By "all black," they mean that the logo only has the silver border, but the big MLB logo is still on the tongue and on the back of the shoe.

That's why I have Sharpies.

I would be more than willing to pay the price for a more comfortable uniform shirt. Like Dakota said, give us the choice.

I second this sentiment.

I pride myself in taking good care of my uniforms and equipment. I'd prefer to have something that looks great out there and is comfortable in the warmer NC summers. The current shirts breath a little, but I know there are better options out there.

I was thinking in terms of the wool cap....

I recently received a mailing with the New Balance shoes, both field and plate. I agree that despite the description, the shoe is not all black, although the field shoe is moreso than the plate shoe. As you mention, the MLB logo is on the tongue and heel of the shoe.

Given that, I think ASA and NFHS should provide some latitude for its umpires so we have a bit more to choose from. I don't like the idea of having to either remove or color in a part of the shoe that isn't completely black. Seems a bit tacky to have to do that if you've found a shoe you're comfortable in.

I have a pair of NB field shoes that are mid-cut that I've enjoyed. Unfortunately, they have a big white "N" on the sides of the shoe, so I only wear them doing wreck league games. I don't use them for high school or tournament games. They are wearing out, so I might consider the NB field shoe, despite the white logos.

I guess I look at it a llittle differently. ASA and NFHS DO allow latitude for you to wear any shoe you want to, whats comfortable to you wear it. Just black out any color that's not black. Honestly I don't see what the big deal it to use your sharpie and color them in, or leather luster works great too. Again just a little difference of opinion I guess, some ask why do I have to color them in, others think just freakin color them in and go on.

I find it remarkable that you can buy the NB 450s on their website, and it still has the big silver "N" on the side.

I think that reasonable concessions should be made. We're not advertising for another association, and blacking things out with a Sharpie just looks... tacky.

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!

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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