Well, let me tell you, I seen a thing or two in my day. These young folks today, they got all these fancy gadgets and gizmos. Back in my time, we didn’t have none of that! But I tell ya what, even back then, if you was gonna be an umpire, you needed some major league baseball umpire gear. You couldn’t just walk out there in your Sunday best, no sir!
Now, I ain’t no expert on this newfangled “internet” thing, but I hear folks talkin’ about SEO and whatnot. They say it’s important if you want people to find your stuff online. So, I reckon I gotta try to use these keywords, like major league baseball umpire gear, a few times so the computer-thingy knows what I’m yappin’ about. Hope I’m doing it right!
First thing’s first, you gotta have a good shirt. Not just any old shirt, mind you. I seen them umpire shirts, nice and proper. Gotta look the part, you know? Some folks is talkin about these new “Smitty” pants too. Grey ones, they say. Fancy, huh? I reckon even the big MLB umpires are wearin’ em now. We always wear dark blue shirts back then, can’t go wrong with that.
- Shirt, that’s important.
- Pants, gotta have them too. Grey or dark blue, I suppose is alright.
- And shoes! Can’t forget the shoes.
And that chest protector! Lord have mercy, that’s a lifesaver. You get a wild pitch comin’ at ya, you’ll be glad you got that thing on. They call it a chest protector. Makes sense, I reckon. It protects your chest! Keeps you from gettin’ all bruised up. Used to be made of some kinda hard leather I think, them new ones look kinda puffy.
Then there’s that mask. They call it a mask or a helmet now, I hear. Keeps your face from gettin’ smashed in. Important, that is. Nobody wants a baseball to the face. I seen it happen once, wasn’t pretty. So you gotta have that umpire mask. Protect your noggin!
And the shin guards! Oh, them’s important too. Especially ’round the knees. You get a foul ball down there, you’ll be singin’ a different tune. Trust me, you want them shin guards. Some of them new ones look real fancy, all padded up. We just used to strap some leather on there, but I suppose these new ones is better.
You need a good pair of shoes, too. Special plate shoes, they call ’em. Gotta be sturdy, gotta be comfortable. You’re gonna be standin’ out there for hours, you don’t want your feet hurtin’. I seen some umpires, their feet was killin’ em by the end of the game. Not good, not good at all.
Oh! And if you’re gonna be a softball umpire, they have their own stuff. They wear blue, mostly. Powder blue, navy blue, they call it. They got their own bags, too. They call them “USA” bags or something. You can find them on those internet stores.
And I hear tell there’s places online where you can buy all this umpire gear. Umpire equipment, they call it. Starter kits and bundles, even! All sorts of brands. Davis, Wilson, All-Star, Force3, Champro… sounds like a whole lotta choices to me! And they ship it right to your door, they say. Ain’t that somethin’?
Now you listen, all these fancy things can help. But you need to be fair. You need to know the rules. You need to be tough, call them like you see them.
These young folks today, they got it easy with all this fancy major league baseball umpire gear. But it still takes guts to be an umpire. You gotta be able to handle the pressure, the heat, the angry fans. It ain’t for the faint of heart, I tell ya. But if you got the right stuff, and you know what you’re doin’, it can be a real good time. I guess so.
Well, I reckon that’s about all I got to say about that. Hope this here “internet” thingy likes it. And I hope you folks learned somethin’ about major league baseball umpire gear. It’s important stuff, that’s for sure. Don’t matter if you’re just startin’ out or you been doin’ it for years, you gotta have the right equipment. That’s the truth!
Remember kids, respect your umpires, they have a tough job. And they need good gears! And don’t be afraid of hard work.
