Umpire Articles

Get in the Slot for Safest Umpire Plate Position

Diagram where to stand between batter and catcher

Apr 26th, 2010

MLB umpire Marvin Hudson talks about the slot and the outside pitch.

Latest Reviews

Smitty Tapered Charcoal Grey Flat Front Umpire Base Pants

Pbear, New England

2/12/2025

These are *not* charcoal gray. They are closer to heather. They will not match what anyone considers charcoal gray, you will get laughed off the field.

Smitty Tapered Charcoal Grey Pleated Umpire Base Pants

Rich V., Hamburg, NJ

2/11/2025

I thought I’d try these because I thought they didn’t have an expander waistband which I’m not a big fan of. They do have it. That’s my fault for not reading the whole description. However, I didn’t find the color of these pants to be very close to the poly spandex charcoal grey at all. They almost look like tweed. I returned them and ordered the poly spandex tapered pants.

All-Star Cobalt Umpire Chest Protector

Bradley T., Hailey, ID

2/11/2025

I initially liked the low profile. Although I purchased it a while ago, I didn't get to use it very often. I was disappointed seeing cheap plastic clips in the front of the vest and sure enough this last fall I took a ball off that plastic piece and it shattered. When I contacted All-Star, this is a non replaceable sown in part for some reason. So my protector is worthless without some major surgery. A major design flaw in my opinion.