As a Baseball Umpire, you wonder what kind of equipment do I need to be an umpire? The simple answer is a uniform, hat, mask, cup, shin guards and shoes. The most important piece of equipment that you should not skimp on is your Mask. The mask protects the umpires most critical piece of equipment, their brain. There are two types, a Standard mask or a Bucket. Umpires recently have begun wearing a skull cap with normal mask providing them convenience and a little extra head protection.
A Missile at a Baseball Game?
As a Plate Umpire (PU) you put yourself as a target for a missile on every pitch. The definition of missile is – an object which is forcibly propelled at a target, either by hand or from a mechanical weapon. It’s only a pitch you say? If the Pitcher is wild or Catcher is having a tough day, that 70-100 mph pitch truly becomes a MISSILE which can destroy and wreak havoc on the Plate Umpire if hit.
Team Wendy’s Pads
Make sure if there is one piece of equipment you make sure is top notch, you choose a great mask. There are different ways and thoughts on masks and how they protect. One direction is an Armed Forces designed pad called a Wendy’s Pad, which was designed to disseminate shock for soldiers receiving pressure from nearby explosions, amongst other applications. Go to Team Wendy to find out more about them and their history, along with all of the applications of their pads. These are a version of the pads that can be found to replaces the OEM pads in Baseball Catchers Masks. Here is a list of the authorized distributors:
- 1 Stop Sports
- All Sports Officials
- Honig’s
- Hudson 51 Official Wear
- The Officials Outlet
- Purchase Officials Supplies
- The Sports Loft
- UMP Attire
A Mask with Springs to Dissipate Energy
My personal favorite is a Force 3 Mask. It incorporates springs into the mask to decrease the energy transferred from the ball, through the mask and into the brain. The idea is to minimize the impact, and therefore minimize the jolt to the brain inside the skull and the slamming of the brain into the “fixed object” of the skull. I have taken many foul balls straight to the mask and felt hurt for the first couple of seconds. Once inventory was taken, I realized that the springs did their work, and I was able to continue without a headache!
As a baseball umpire, to many of these collisions can cut a great career short, and have an effect on you in the future. For Goodness sake, don’t scrimp on your mask and/or pads. Life is to short.
Be Safe! You only get 1 chance. Take a peek of what can happen! Force3Mask_01
