Umpire Equipment Question

[SgtCarp]

I was just curious, why do some umpires wear the traditional mask/hat style?

And why do some wear the hockey mask sans the hat?

just wondering.

[NJTank]

Same reason some ctahcers where the hockey goalie mask its a personal choice of the umpire.

[sacker12]

After what happened to Jerry Layne in the Braves/ Marlins games last week, I'm starting to wish that all umpires wore the hockey mask instead of the birdcage.

[slapshot]

Comfort and preference.

I own 2 masks, and one helmet. If I work high school & up, I wear the helmet, because it deflects the impact of the ball better than the mask, which is very important when pitchers are throwing 80 mph and faster, and a foul tip coming back from the batter is even faster.

For all levels below, I wear the mask, because I don't feel it as much when I get dinged with a pitch or a foul.

The mask allows for a throat guard. I haven't seen a throat gard for the helmet yet.

I have no problem with loss of peripheral vision with either piece of equipment. I can take both of them off easily once I need to follow a play. I don't wear a hat with the helmet (like some umpires do), because it doesn't fit underneath. I wear a 7 5/8 hat, and I'd need a really big helmet for the hat to fit under it.

[sacker12]

The reason why the helmet doesn't have a throat guard is because the bottom part is supposed to go down far enough to protect the throat.

[winghaz]

Something I've always wondered:

I realize when all umpires went away from the huge pillow of a chest protector, they did so for added mobility. But wasn't the big chest protector offering better protection than what they now wear?

[ROCHitman]

Something I've always wondered:

I realize when all umpires went away from the huge pillow of a chest protector, they did so for added mobility. But wasn't the big chest protector offering better protection than what they now wear?

I wear a mask and use it in all levels of ball that I work.

I have tried the hockey style helmet and did not like the lack of vision it created.

I know a handful of umpires (baseball & softball) that use the hockey mask, but not many.

The outside protectors did off better protection but less comfort.

Plate umpires had to carry the balloon protector all around the field.

It was difficult to carry it, dispose of it when a call was to be made, and then to make the call. The inside protectors provide for a significant increase in mobility and still offer alot of protection.

I believe the NL was the first league where umpires were encouraged to use the inside protector. The AL followed several years later. For you younguns, MLB umpires belonged to either the AL or NL back in the day before he umpires were combined into one group.

[HedleyLamarr]

The mask allows for a throat guard. I haven't seen a throat gard for the helmet yet.

Call up Patrick Roy and borrow his mask....

[zer0dotcom]

Something I've always wondered:

I realize when all umpires went away from the huge pillow of a chest protector, they did so for added mobility. But wasn't the big chest protector offering better protection than what they now wear?

Once upon a time, I tried out some of the equipment used for softball, it's all close. The big bulky stuff was really awkward to wear, umps are constantly moving, and when you have to wear it for the entire game, it does wear on you.

THe pillow, if it's in good condition will take more of hte impact than smaller ones, but it's more comfortable to go with a smaller one.

Face masks are something different though. I never liked the traditional cage, I played catched when i first first started baseball, the leather was extremely uncomfortable as was the hat. But it is traditional, and as we see with the traditional members of the board here, traditions die hard. Convienience and comfort definatly favour the hockey masks, some guys I guess are just old school, they like their leather and will ride with it until they quit