Ultimate Umpire Ball Bag Review Has Historical Perspective

I am including an article John Kay, veteran umpire on multiple levels from New Lexington, Ohio, submitted to me after I asked him to provide me with some feedback our new Ultimate Pro Style Umpire Ball Bag.


(John, left with umpire Dave Teater of Danville, Kentucky at 2009 NCAA Umpire Clinic in Chicago)

I had the luxury of meeting John at the Chicago NCAA Umpire Clinic where he also joined us at our dinner event at Giardano's.

John's review includes an historical perspective on umpire gear, especially ball bags, that provides more knowledge than I have on the subject. The article is so good, I wanted to share it with you in its entirety.

Evaluation of New Ump-Attire Umpire Ball Bags
By John Kay

Having been an umpire for a long time (longer than I care to remember) there have been a lot of changes to equipment. Maybe the largest one in the past 10 or 15 years is the West Vest line of equipment by MLB umpire Joe West. What Mr. West did was twofold: one, he raised the level of umpire protection to a new level. He got very good or great equipment in the hands of a lot of amateur umpires who never had access to it before. Two, he started a boom on specialized umpires equipment.

For too long umpires were the “red-headed stepchildren” of baseball. We wore gear that was much like catcher equipment and many umpires frankly wore catcher’s equipment. Or at least, catcher’s chest protectors with shoulder pads on them and catcher’s shin guards with a few pieces on or off. Except for a few places like +POS, Reach (who had a very nice line of great protective gear designed by MLB umpire Randy Marsh in the mid 1980’s), SOS in California, Spot-Bilt and their famous plate shoes, and then the umpire’s umpire Cece Carlucci (who many people did not know about), there were not many options for gear out there. Let’s not even talk about pants and shirts either unless you want to buy my stock of El-Beco shirts.

It is truly sad to see that the options are starting to become few and far between again. Everyone sells Wilson/West Vest, Diamond, Pro Nine, or one of a few other names. The majority of that gear is made by just a few Chinese manufacturing plants and they rebrand the same stuff over and over. Where is the Cooper line of protective gear? How about Douglas? Who doesn’t miss +POS shin guards and maybe their chest protectors?

Only in plate and base shoes is there a lot of choice these days. Let’s hope it stays that way in the shoe market.

This long introduction/rant is to introduce you to an old, old ball bag, and a new one. For most people in the 80’s and before, to find a ball bag that looked good was impossible. There just was nothing out there worth a hoot and that is why guys who used the Balloon always had pockets on them, because there was nothing else worth putting on your belt to store things. It’s almost funny to think that +POS at one time actually sold an accessory bag to hold a brush, counter, and lineup cards, that you put on the opposite side of your belt from your ball bag.

The exception was a small Texas company who made something called the Kangaroo Bag. They had ads in Referee Magazine at the time, when the subscription base was probably big enough to count on both your hands. The Kangaroo Bag was marvelous with two inside pockets and made in a special way with very thick and heavy polyester. It was cut in a different direction than the weaved direction of the material. This gave the bag a strength to it that allowed you to actually carry four balls, indicator, brush, pen and lineup cards in one bag! Even better it would not bulge out at the top or sag from the weight. Low and behold it even had two long pieces of fabric to run your belt through and keep going through your belt loop instead of three little loops that hung on your belt! In short, it looked good, and fitted well. My Kangaroo Bag lasted for almost 15 years of umpiring until it just wore out. I spent years trying to find more of these bags or at least the people who made them. But alas, nothing lasts forever.

Just as my search for a replacement became some fabric bags my wife made I ran into a little company in Kentucky called Ump-Attire. These folks had actually come up with something new, a canvas-type material (I believe) ball bag that could hold a lot of balls had inside pockets and even had a zipper on the inside pocket for cash and keys if you wanted to keep them with you.

The stiff canvas material had some problems. The bags did not hold their color real well at first. They sewed some elastic in the top to help keep its shape, and keep bags looking good but that was not a real good solution. Eventually these bags would start looking bad and you really could not hold more than 3 balls in the bag with them sagging and the top of the bag sagging. So they got put in the closet and I was very fortunate to get a pair of Mr. Carlucci’s bags. These were made with a nylon material, and they were good bags. I still have these bags and use them on occasion.

Then I ran into the new Ump-Attire bags. Due to the kindness of the folks at Ump-Attire and owner Jim Kirk, I was able to get a special set of bags and take a look at them. I am currently using a set a little bigger than the regular sized Ump-Attire bags for sale but other than the size they are the same as ones currently for sale. If you can, see if you can order the larger sized bags.

At first, I did a double-take on the price $19.95 for a ball bag is a little expensive. My Scotch ancestry came out for a moment, since my first ball bag was a brand new Rawlings UBB bag (yes, with the pockets outside the bag, and nobody told me how tacky that was in 1980) that I got at a mom and pop sporting goods store for $1.99. What is it about a ball bag that can justify paying $40 + shipping/handling for two of them? (editor's note: current price of ball bag bag is $17.95)

A ball bag should do four things in my opinion:

1. Carry game balls and gear in a safe manner where an umpire can easily get to them.
2. Lay flat as possible against the hip so it looks good, and things do not fall out of them.
3. Let an umpire carry balls and other items while not getting in an umpire’s way while running.
4. Carry lots of baseballs so an umpire can keep the game moving and not have to constantly restock with baseballs.

I have used these Ump-Attire bags for around 20 plate games this season. In my opinion, these ball bags are worth what you pay for them. I can say without hesitation that this is the best bag I have used since my old Kangaroo Bag and it might just be better than the old favorite.

Since I have not done any games in warm temperatures this year I cannot say that the extra layer of fabric will keep sweat away from the balls in the bag.

In every other way these Ump-Attire bags exceeded my expectations for them. My Carlucci bags are very, very good bags. I will use them for a while since they look better with blue than the black Ump-Attire bags I have. But even in comparison to them it is no contest the Ump-Attire bags are second to none.

The bags are very well constructed. The seams are very tight, the fit and finish is great. If there is one thing I like most about the bags it is how flat they lay, there is no gap or opening at the top of the bag, and they tend to stay on your hip as you run. If the bags are close to empty, they do not flop around very much. The material is tightly weaved, which to me means they will keep their shape for a very long time. With my larger sized bags, I can easily carry a dozen balls in a game (six per bag), and more if needed. The regular size bag should carry five balls in them, and I would guess at least two fast pitch softballs, if you use them for SB.

So far in my larger sized bags I have carried as many as five balls per bag (10 total), a laminated NCAA DH rule card, a large brush (an old Brinkman scraper brush), two indicators, lineup cards, a pair of gloves, and pens. The extra pen pocket in the bag between in the center between the two pockets is a greatly appreciated feature, by the way. That is enough room for any umpire, and if you carry keys or cash with you in the zippered pocket, it adds no problem to the look of the bag.

I usually use a small plate brush so there have been one or two times the brush has gotten lost in the bag pocket, but that is more my fault for not putting the brush in right. If you use an older, smaller brush, that is an issue for you to deal with.

Most of all, these bags look good. They look professional on your belt. They run easy with you when you are hustling up the line or the infield to cover the batter-runner when your partner goes out. In these days where appearance counts for more and more in umpiring, a good set of ball bags is crucial for how you work, and how you present yourself. These ball bags will help you to look professional. That in itself is worth the price you pay for the ball bags.

Cleaning them is a breeze as well. I have not thrown them in the washer, but I have turned them inside out and cleaned out the dust and dirt that builds up in the bags. A good wash once in a while should not harm them.

I am not going to give these bags 5 out of 5 stars or 6 on 4 point scale. Instead, let me tell how good I think these bags are. First, you call Ump-Attire and get a pair of bags, or two pairs if you need them in different colors. Second, when you get the bags, try them out for two games. Finally, put your old bags on Ebay, so you can recover part of the purchase price. You won’t regret it.