# Why do baseball umpires wear their chest pads under their shirts? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [August 5, 2009, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-baseball-umpires-wear-their-chest-pads-under-their-shirts/505373 "2009-08-05T01:26:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-baseball-umpires-wear-their-chest-pads-under-their-shirts/505373/1 "2009-08-05T01:26:46Z")
Why do major league home plate umpires wear their chest pads under their shirts? It gives them a decidedly Frankensteinian look, and it seems like it would be uncomfortable. Why don’t they wear them on the outside, like the catcher? ---
**Author:** ![MonkeyMensch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@MonkeyMensch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeyMensch)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-baseball-umpires-wear-their-chest-pads-under-their-shirts/505373/2 "2009-08-05T01:29:16Z")
They used to. Fashions change. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-baseball-umpires-wear-their-chest-pads-under-their-shirts/505373/3 "2009-08-05T01:41:00Z")
The inside chest protector was invented by famed National League umpire [Bill Klem](http://www.baseballlibrary.com/ballplayers/player.php?name=Bill_Klem), who said it gave him more ability to get down low and close behind the catcher. ---
**Author:** ![MonkeyMensch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@MonkeyMensch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeyMensch)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-baseball-umpires-wear-their-chest-pads-under-their-shirts/505373/4 "2009-08-05T01:44:00Z")
To elaborate, umps pads back in the day weren’t much more than a kapok filled mini-mattress worn to spread the blow of an errant ball or tipped foul. I’d bet these days they have light Kevlar, or something similar, to do the same job and better at it to boot. Unlike the catcher they don’t have to take off their armor each inning. Nicely form-fitting and light I bet it ain’t a big deal. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-baseball-umpires-wear-their-chest-pads-under-their-shirts/505373/5 "2009-08-05T01:49:32Z")
There was a period, IIRC, where the National League umps wore the inside protectors, which allowed them to get down lower, but because they stayed to the batter’s side of the catcher, caused them to grant the pitcher more leeway on the outer corner of the plate, which they couldn’t see as well; the American League umps still used the old-style exterior protectors, which looked like a huge heart-shaped pad, which forced them to stay more upright, so they remained higher and centered. Thus, the difference between the National League strike and the American League strike. ---
**Author:** ![Harry1945](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47c2d/32.png) [@Harry1945](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harry1945)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-baseball-umpires-wear-their-chest-pads-under-their-shirts/505373/6 "2009-08-05T01:50:11Z")
wrong information ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-baseball-umpires-wear-their-chest-pads-under-their-shirts/505373/7 "2009-08-05T02:04:51Z")
I think the under-the-shirt protection gives them more of a detatched, “authority figure” look - and maintaining the appearance of authority at all times is a key aspect of their job - here’s a short quote from a recent book about the world of MLB umpiring, you can find an interesting interview with the author on Fresh Air [here](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102887815). > [@](#): > > Just about the first thing they teach you at umpire school is how to yank your mask off without upsetting your hat. Umpires place great stock in their appearance, and if you’re trying to make a call or follow a play with your hat askew or caught in your mask straps or — the worst — spilled in the dirt, you look foolish, inept, exactly the image you don’t want the ballplayers, the managers and coaches, or the fans to have of you. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-baseball-umpires-wear-their-chest-pads-under-their-shirts/505373/8 "2009-08-05T02:42:54Z")
AL umps used to wear a big “balloon” type chest protector, but they switched to the NL look sometime in the 90’s. Allegedly this affected the strike zones in both leagues, with the AL apparently giving a higher strike, due to the reason put forth in post #3. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-baseball-umpires-wear-their-chest-pads-under-their-shirts/505373/9 "2009-08-05T04:33:59Z")
Here is a great picture of [Emmett Ashford](http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&rlz=1T4ADBF_enUS254US255&ei=KQh5SvamHZTUsgPi4oDZBA&resnum=0&q=%22Emmett+Ashford%22&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=LQh5StjEO4LCsQPzzdzpBA&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4) wearing the old American League outside chest protector. The AL went to the inside protector for new umpires in 1977, with serving umpires allowed to keep the balloon if they wished. The last to do so was Jerry Neudecker, who retired in 1985. Note that Ashford’s balloon protector is more than just a catcher’s protector. The umpire, with his more vertical profile, is in some ways even more exposed than the catcher, and that big of a protector did make it hard to get down and dirty and call the low strike. ---
**Author:** ![chrisdube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f04885/32.png) [@chrisdube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisdube)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2015, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-baseball-umpires-wear-their-chest-pads-under-their-shirts/505373/10 "2015-09-07T03:04:51Z")
Freddy, another interesting thing about abolishing the balloon chest protectors was that it changed the calling of the strike zone. If you watch a ballgame, every so often they will graphically “show” you the strike zone. Typically, it gets shown with the top being at the batter’s belt line. The real strike zone is from the armpits to the top the knees. With the old balloon protectors, umpires were more upright and hence the true, higher strike got called. Now, I’ve seen pitches at the batter’s ankles get called strikes. Not to mention, because the umpires were centered and not looking over the catcher’s right shoulder, they could see the actual width of the plate much better. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2015, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-baseball-umpires-wear-their-chest-pads-under-their-shirts/505373/11 "2015-09-07T03:18:04Z")
**Moderator Action** Please note that this thread dates back to 2009. Under our current way of doing things, this is better suited to the Game Room. Moving thread from General Questions to The Game Room. ---
**Author:** ![Clark\_Cello](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@Clark\_Cello](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clark_Cello)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2015, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-baseball-umpires-wear-their-chest-pads-under-their-shirts/505373/13 "2015-09-07T18:49:48Z")
One important point not mentioned 6 years ago, when discussing the differences between the catcher and the umpire, is that the catcher needs to take his chest protector off and back on several times a game, when he bats. That alone makes it impossible to have an inside chest protector. The umpire, of course, has no such need, so he can wear it inside a shirt. ---
**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2015, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-baseball-umpires-wear-their-chest-pads-under-their-shirts/505373/14 "2015-09-07T21:09:01Z")
> [@Clark\_Cello](#): > > One important point not mentioned 6 years ago, Except for > [@MonkeyMensch](#): > > Unlike the catcher they don’t have to take off their armor each inning. Nicely form-fitting and light I bet it ain’t a big deal. ---
**Author:** ![Clark\_Cello](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@Clark\_Cello](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clark_Cello)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2015, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-baseball-umpires-wear-their-chest-pads-under-their-shirts/505373/15 "2015-09-07T23:20:52Z")
> [@Number](#): > > Except for Oops. :smack: