CLL Umpires: Dress and Equipment

Dress and Equipment

Dress Guidelines (Emphasis on Guidelines)

The numbers indicate a pretty good order to put this stuff on in! Give yourself plenty of time, too. There's a reason we ask umpires to arrive 30 minutes before a game.

Item	New Umpire	Supplied?	Experienced Umpire
Cup (2)	Guys, you'll wish you hadn't, if you don't wear one. (We do not supply these.)	No	Narrow, banana cup to minimize chaffing
Underwear or Jock Strap with Cup Pocket (1)	See above, guys. Ladies, you don't need to envy this.	No	Special compression pants with built-in cup pocket
Hat (12)	Navy Blue Combo Brim	Yes	Navy Blue Wool Short and Long Brim
Undershirt (3)	Red T-Shirt with CLL Logo	Yes	Red on the bases, Blue/Black at the dish (always) (The red color matches the dominant alternate color on the shirt. This is in case you aren't wearing a navy shirt.) There are a number of "moisture-wicking" fabrics to aid in staying cool.
Top Shirt (11)	Navy Nylon Mesh TUCKED IN, please!	Yes, share please	Navy Nylon Mesh (Owned) with LL Umpire (left) and flag (right) patches on the sleeves. It is not necessary to wear a reverse flag on the right, but many do.
Pants (5)	Jeans are OKAY!	No	Heather Gray, Polyester, Plate, Base, or Combo fit
Belt (6)	The widest you can get through your loops.	No	Black polished or patent leather 2-inch wide belt
Socks (4)	Black or Navy, if possible	No	Thick Black or Navy Cotton knee high (to prevent shinguard chaffing) with good elastic
Shoes (8)	Sneakers are fine!	No	Black field-coach sneakers or black leather plate shoes with a steel toe and instep cover
Ball Bag, Indicator, & Plate Brush (7)	Black bag	Yes	Black, Navy, or Grey (larger for multiple balls). There are different indicator styles.
Chest Protector (10)	Large pads (called surf boards) are OK! Typical model is worn under the top shirt. Make sure the under-shirt style isn't too long when you bend down.	Yes	Properly sized, under-shirt protector
Shin Guards (9)	Don't listen to those old umpires. These can be worn OVER your pants! Make sure they cover your shoes, if possible.	Yes, adult and youth sizes	Properly fit and worn under the specially design pant legs of the plate or combo pants.
Glasses (if needed) (13)	Your regular glasses are fine. We'd rather you saw the ball as it hits you. They are also good for calling plays and for attracting jeers from the crowd!	No	Regular glasses or sport goggles.
Mask (14)	Black, check the fit. It should be nice and tight. It should not slip much when you shake your head left to right.	Yes	Multi-color, well fitting, sometimes lightweight metals with a sun visor

"Looking the Part Will Get You 2 Innings!" (Old Umpires Saying)

New umpires can skip most of this. We want all umpires to look the part, so we provide necessary equipment and clothing to “look the part.” This generally includes a hat, red t-shirt, and a blue overshirt, if needed. [Plate umpires wear blue or black t-shirts.] Of course, these items may easily be purchased at various stores and online using the links provided here.

What COULD an experienced umpire wear? Take a look (with rough prices for 2007), but take it slow, you can go crazy with this stuff:

Combination Base/Plate grey pants - $35 (though, we hear that real plate pants are very, very comfortable behind the dish)
Wool blend, adjustable or fitted, combo hat - $11
Light mesh Navy blue umpire shirt (with red/white stripes) - $28
Reverse flag patch on the right sleeve - $3
LLB Umpire patch on the left sleeve - Free with LLB Umpire kit
2-inch black patent leather belt - $10-15
Ball bag with brush and indicator - $4 (Plus POS used to have indicators that had the balls/strikes in the right order, but they are out of business!)
Thick black or navy blue socks - $8
Black plate shoes (umpire shoes are not necessary for minors, but recommended for majors and up) - $100
Black base shoes (generally a good coach's field shoe is fine, but they do make shoes with a tread specifically for base umps) - $65
Compression shorts with cup pocket (McDavid hDC are very good), moisture wicking supposedly - $25 (get two, though)
Banana cup - $8
Black moisture wicking T-shirt (also McDavid, but others are good, too) - $16-20
Red moisture wicking T-shirt - $16-20
Wilson Mask - $40+
Mask sun visor - $8
Special glasses, if you wear them and don't mind looking rather geeky - $200+
Shin guards and chest protector - $60+

Are you a glutton for this? Here's 11 pages on the stuff!

Hey Guys! Wear a Cup!

WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT ALL MALE UMPIRES WHERE A PROTECTIVE CUP, which you must purchase on your own. There is a traditional cup and the so-called banana cup. Look for both and you’ll see the difference.

Heat Gear

Many umpires swear by some brands of heat gear for their moisture wicking capabilities. Talk to some other umpires and read up about them. Under Armour and McDavid are two popular brands and there others, too.

There's a good discussion of shirts and heat gear here.

Different Indicators

The classic indicator is a 3-dial indicator with strikes on top. Another popular style is with balls on top, which is useful since that is the order that we call them out. It's your choice and there are a few companies that offer the alternative sequence.

There are indicators with large numbers for easier reading. This is obviously handy for most umpires, since we are obviously poorly sighted.

Some also come with an inning indicator and a significant reconfiguration of the dials in a larger format. This may or may not be a problem when you hold your mask in that same hand (which you MUST do).

Good indicators do NOT count all four balls and all three strikes and all three outs. What's the point? 3-2-2 indicators will save you time between batters.

A GOOD TIP is to notch the dials of your indicator with a file so that you can feel when they are on the zeros. Staring at your indicator to zero it can be dangerous because you have to take your eyes off the game.

Want to know where to buy all this great stuff (not listed in any order)?

Please note: When ordering umpire pants online, you should know that most umpire pants have a low rise to allow for being and movement, which makes ordering alterations tricky. Try to request an outseam measurement, rather than an inseam measurement, or skip the online alterations altogether and use a local tailor. Also, for plate pants, add a little bit of length, so that you aren't showing too much sock or shin guard when you're in your stance. Adding 1/2 to 1 inch, depending on your height and build, is about right. Your tailor can help.

Honigs – for a complete range of gear

Ump Attire – for a complete range of gear

Purchase Officials – for McDavid compression gear, especially, plus the rest of the gear (Cheltenham has made many good purchases here)

Officials Flags 'N Bags (the only source known for quality red flags for the "leaving early" call -- all other companies by from them and mark up -- look for the 15 inch flat, center-weighted, red flag)

+POS is back in business (the have the balls-on-top indicator)

Lesters Upstate Sports

Gerry Davis

Cliff Keen

The Officials Choice

Dress The Ref - the site for the guy that comes with the Scoot & Bobby training session (opens 04/2008)