BLUE for Pink Campaign Makes a Difference for One Ump-Attire.com Staffer.

We are really proud and excited about our BLUE for Pink Campaign, which helps to raise breast cancer awareness in the umpiring community, as well as donations for Susan G. Komen for the Cure through the sale of pink umpire shirts. The feedback we've gotten from the umpiring community has been great: this is a cause that comes close to home for a lot of umpires and their families. But we've never been so glad to be a part of the breast cancer awareness effort as we were earlier this month when one Ump-Attire.com staff member decided to follow through on getting screened for breast cancer.

After detecting a lump and experiencing some soreness, our team member was reluctant and fearful of the mammogram procedure and what it might involve. She'd heard the procedure was painful and scary and, like many women, was afraid of receiving bad news. But she was inspired by our efforts to reach out to the umpire community and encourage women to be screened, and made an appointment for a mammogram. She reported that the procedure was actually not as bad as she'd feared, and was quick and mostly painless. She hoped that by sharing her story, it might help encourage another woman to overcome their fear and make the decision to have this very important cancer screening, because early detection is your best defense against breast cancer.

Mammography is the best screening tool available for detecting breast cancer, and the American Cancer Society recommends a yearly mammogram for women age 40 and over who are at average risk of developing breast cancer. For more information about mammography and other screening recommendations, please visit Susan G. Komen for the Cure's Understanding Breast Cancer section.

Staff Feature: Krista Wolf

Krista joined our Customer Service team in January and has quickly become a valuable part of the department. We pride ourselves on providing superior customer service and attention to our customers specific concerns, and Krista has done a remarkable job of taking those principles to heart every day, especially since she joined us in the midst of our busiest season ever.

Trained in Commercial and Interior Design, Krista comes to Ump-Attire.com with a strong background in accounting and bookkeeping, which shows in her attention to every detail. Customer Service manager Anessa describes Krista as a cheerful and good-hearted self-starter who took to her training right away. "Krista is conscientious and courteous, and a natural at Customer Service from her years of retail experience."

In her spare time, Krista enjoys spending time with her husband Ernie and her 2.5 year old son, Hayden. She enjoys traveling and says, "I am well traveled, having been an army brat. I have lived in many interesting places including Germany and Hawaii, but I have lived in Kentucky now for 16 years and love it!" She also enjoys spending time with her family and friends, going to the beach, and shopping.

NCAA Umpires Wear Pink on Cancer Awareness Night

(left to right) Tracy Smith, Head Coach, Indiana University; Brandon Cooper; Scott Kennedy; Nathan Huber; Dan McDonnell, Head Coach, University of Louisville.

When NCAA umpires Nathan Huber, Scott Kennedy and Brandon Cooper realized they would be working together on Cancer Awareness Night at the University of Louisville, their first call was to their friends at Ump-Attire.com. As part of the event--which raised funds for Gilda's Club through Home Runs for Hope--both teams wore special uniforms with pink details, and the umpire crew wanted to be able to show their support on the field as well. This was especially true for Kennedy, whose mother is a breast cancer survivor.

We were of course thrilled to get them set up with pink shirts for such an important event, and Ump-Attire.com staff member Amanda headed out to the ballpark to see them prepare for the game.

Cooper, who had the plate, said of the event, "We all thought it would be a great way to participate for such a worthy cause. The pink shirts definitely stood out on the field. I have a couple of family members who are cancer survivors, and I thought it would be a good way to represent them."

Huber was excited to finally participate in an event for a great cause. "I think it shows that umpires are human and care about the people around them. Some of the stories really tug at your heart strings. It really puts things in perspective that baseball is just a game but breast cancer is very real."

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The Development of the XL Ultimate Ball Bag and its Features

When we launched the re-designed Ump-Attire Ultimate Ball Bag two years ago, one of our main goals was to make it look like the most professional ball bag on the market. At the time, the original Ultimate Ball Bag although highly functional was dated and in bad need of a re-design in fabric and layout from a professional point of view.

In order to shake away from any of the concerns of a professional look, we went all out to correct the concerns of the original - that we discontinued (but still have some who still want the old style). We elected to go with a sharp compact design at 10 1/2 inches wide so there would be no issues of bunching around belt loops.

We also chose a pouch that fit snug at the opening so it didn't hang loose and/or sloppy. Again,the goal was for it to look as professional as any ball bag around.

In addition, I had in my sights a desire for a bag with waterproofing characteristics after seeing an older +POS model years ago. So this was an opportunity to do this and also add more luster to the "Ultimate" name by adding a waterproof interior lining with the intent to stop moisture from seeping through sweat off pants.

The response was great - great sales and excellent reviews of a pro style bag!

Professional look of the U2P Ultimate Umpire Ball Bag

 However, some wanted something more. Some wanted something different.

• Some such as Bryan Henryk felt the opening was too tight for their hand to easily fit in.
• Several customers such as Kory Green loved wanted one bigger and/or more able to hold more baseballs.
• And a few including College World Series umpire Tony Maners, wanted even more waterproofing so that perspiration would not saturate and eventually seep in through the other side or even the top in the most extreme cases.

I met with Beulah Hester, designer of the original and subsequent versions of the Ultimate Ball Bag to discuss an alternative choice last fall. Beulah's specialty is most definitely working with a combination of design, fabrics and construction to give our customers what they want.

The big question was "Would new add new features to the current Ultimate bag or would we offer an alternative?" Due to the overwhelming success and likability by many of the current one, we felt an alternative was the way to go.

What she proposed was:

• A tapered design that would by design make the opening bigger and at the same time would be tapered at a greater angle at the belt loops so that bunching not be an issue.
• Add a complete, continuous layer of nylon waterproofing throughout the interior part of the bag and inside the belt loops for extra measure.
• And of course a larger bag large enough for 3 baseballs to lay side by side at the bottom of the bag

Other things: We elected to go with colors of navy and black only. Grey is tricky on the issue of matching pant color of one brand or another. Besides, the ones asking for the changes wore black and navy. Hey, if you want gray we have other options at least for now.

Despite wavering, we also elected to go with the same back, zippered compartment that has always been a part of the Ultimate Ball Bag. It's a no-brainer really. Having a layer of waterproofing makes two layers of fabric. Cutting and sewing in a zipper is as easy and practical an option as adding a storage space under your stairs for those of you who want to take something with you on the field or is unobtrusive if you don't.

Both colors arrived recently of the new XL Ultimate Umpire Ball Bag, the largest and driest ball bag on the market today.

The XL Ultimate Umpire Ball Bag

Comparing the two bags:

FEATURES: Ultimate / XL Ultimate
SIZE: 12 3/4" tall x 10 1/2" wide / 13" tall x 12" wide at bottom
SHAPE: Standard / Tapered
WATERPROOFING: Interior lined / Fully lined
COLORS: Black, Navy and Grey / Black and Navy
INTERIOR POCKETS: Yes / Yes
ZIPPERED COMPARTMENT: Yes / Yes
HEAVY DUTY CONSTRUCTION AND FABRIC: Yes / Yes

The first official review is in from Kory Green:

"I would suggest the XL Ultimate Umpire ball bag to anyone. They wear great. I worked a game this past weekend and it rained off and on and the bag liner did its job in keeping me dry. Not a big fan of the zipper on the back side but it works if you are umpiring and want to take you car keys with you."

What do you think about the XL bag? Like the new features? Have a suggestion for more improvements?

Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign Going Strong

We have been very pleased with the BLUE for Pink: Umpires Against Breast Cancer campaign.

Not only have we raised over $1,500 to date through the sale of Dalco pink umpire shirts, we have reached thousands through the awareness part of our campaign via a full page Referee Magazine ad in the current issue and our educational inserts in over 10,000 packages.

Continue to help us strike out against breast cancer by purchasing a pink shirt, wearing it with pride to raise awareness and by taking steps to prevent breast cancer by encouraging those in your life who are female and over 40 to have a mammogram.

Follow the campaign closely, share comments or stories, receive more tips on prevention, post photos of you wearing the pink shirt at www.facebook.com/blueforpink.

Introducing UmpVision, an Ump-Attire.com Exclusive

Update: This blog post was conceived as an April Fool's joke for our readers. It was apparently a good one, as we've received lots of emails requesting to test this fictional product! But in reality, we are not testing any new umpire goggles at this time. Thanks to all our readers for being great sports!

Are coaches, players and fans constantly harassing you about your strike zone? Ever have trouble calling balls and strikes on the outside corner when you are in the slot position? Or is your vision simply getting worse with age?

You may never have to worry about any of that again. Ump-Attire.com has been working secretly in partnership with a major military-industrial manufacturer to use technology employed in night vision to develop state-of-the-art Ball-Strike Detector Goggles, called UmpVision.

A prototype--tested with local umpires in a batting cage--was just approved for a US Patent (patent number #20110401).

The technology will be worn and field tested extensively at all levels throughout the 2011 season. Look for it at a ballpark near you or contact Sherry Spalding at sherry@ump-attire.com if you are interested in being a part of testing this game-changing product.

How does it work? Night vision works by amplifying existing light several thousand times. The white of the baseball and of home plate is already bright in contrast to its surroundings, so light from these objects is enhanced to infrared levels by night vision technology. Here, the goggles’ sensors can easily and automatically detect and then simultaneously calculate where the ball is as it crosses home plate.

The decision will be rendered visually on an integrated LCD display along with an auditory cue so that the umpire can then relay the ball or strike call to others in his or her own individualized and/or overly dramatic way.

"I can't contain my excitement!" said Jim Kirk, CEO of Ump-Attire.com. "Not only will it seriously impact our overall position in the marketplace, it will forever increase the respect umpires receive by giving them one less thing for those on the field, in the stands or at home on their couches to be mad at them about."

Some baseball purists may argue that this will lead to more technologies replacing umpires. On the contrary, just as instant replay on foul/fair and home run calls implemented in 2008  at the MLB level has not replaced umpires, this technology, will only enhance the profession (and without all the the umpires having to run under the dugout to make a decision). Umpires are still required to understand the rules, make other calls, eject managers and wear the equipment and apparel we sell.

With each strike or ball, the umpire will hear a familiar "click,” and the count will be automatically tallied and shown on-screen. With each new hitter, the umpire can press a button on the side for no-look resets to the count.

So the only thing the Ball-Strike Detector Goggles will replace besides QuesTec, the controversial MLB umpire ball-strike feedback and evaluation system, are hand-held ball-strike indicators. It will make those as out-of-style as balloon-style chest protectors and plate coats.

We have had our share of kinks. Currently, the lithium battery technology can only last through a typical three and a half hour nine inning game.

Besides increasing battery life, we are working on including a flip-up mechanism and increasing the font size on the LCD screens for far-sighted umpires.

UmpVision will fit on any helmet and standard profile masks. It is expected to debut for retail in the spring of 2012 for about $499, barring any glitches or red tape with the US Army Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD), the governing body behind night vision technologies.