Change in gear was a strike for consistent umpiring

Q. When I was a young man, umpires behind the plate used to wear big heavy shields in front of them that they had to hold up with both hands. They don’t use those anymore. I was wondering when they quit using those and went to whatever it is they use now underneath their suits. While you’re at it, when did catchers start wearing similar protective padding?

A. It seems ironic that shortly after the American League blazed its own trail with the designated-hitter rule in 1973, it would order umpires to ditch those cumbersome external pads to bring more consistency to the game. But apparently that’s exactly what happened.

According to mlb.com and baseball-reference.com, umpires have been wearing some form of chest protection since 1885, but styles went in two directions. While National League umpires eventually adopted padding that could be worn discreetly under their uniforms, their AL counterparts used those unwieldy external balloon protectors that they constantly had to hold and adjust to get comfortable for the next pitch or play at the plate.

While such a difference may have seemed like no big deal to the casual fan, it may have been making all the difference in the world to pitchers and hitters. Because the National League protection could be worn like a natural suit of clothes, umpires could crouch lower behind the catcher and give pitchers those low strikes. On the other hand, AL umps, who had to fight constantly with those albatrosses around their necks, were likely to stand more erect and call high strikes.

You can imagine what problems this might cause in, say, the World Series when a pitcher from the opposing league was not getting the calls he was accustomed to or a batter being rung up on pitches that had been called balls all season. As a result, the American League in 1977 mandated that all new umpires would have to wear the NL under-the-suit style of protection, although a grandfather clause allowed old-timers to continue wearing those bulky balloons if they wished. They are still available for those who might want to ump an occasional Khoury League game (one model is $40 at Sporting Goods HQ) but according to all the chatter on the Internet, they are as rare as a Sunday doubleheader. If you’ve never seen one even in a museum, click on https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/63/6c/48/636c486cbb76d2f0eab4e59cc825303a.jpg for a picture of Emmett Ashford, the first black umpire in Major League Baseball.

The catcher’s so-called “tools of ignorance” have seen a similar evolution. As best anyone can determine, James “Deacon” White may have created the first chest protector sometime about 1880 during a 22-year pro career that started soon after he was taught the sport by a Union soldier returning home from the Civil War. His design was a canvas-covered rubber bladder filled with air.

Women also got into the act, perhaps because they tired of seeing their hubbies come home with bruised chests and broken ribs. According to one legend, the wife of Detroit Wolverines catcher Charles Bennett fashioned a chest pad for her husband, who wore it proudly outside his jersey in 1883. However, many at first hid them underneath their uniforms for fear of being thought of as wimps. In 1884, for example, Philadelphia catcher Jack Clements admitted to wearing a sheepskin but kept it hidden to avoid being called a sissy.

Eventually, however, good sense won out, and catchers went from using air-filled bladders made from canvas and leather to protectors stuffed with kapok and foam. Then, although he played in only 38 games in the majors, Yankee catcher Bruce Robinson left a lasting legacy in 1980 when he invented the “Robby pad,” a hinged pad on the throwing shoulder of a catcher’s protector that quickly became popular at all levels of the game. Now with the advent of Velcro, new foams and breathable cloth, chest protectors are better than ever while weighing half as much as they did in the 1940s.

And if you’re wondering how catchers’ gear ever came to be called the “tools of ignorance,” you’ll enjoy this tidbit from the April 4, 1944, Sporting News:

“Players call the catcher’s armor the ‘tools of ignorance.’ Outfielders contend that no one in their senses would clutter themselves up with a mask, a heavy chest protector and weigh down their legs with shin guards. All of this when the mercury is trying to climb out of the top of the tube, and those outfielders are on vacation, waiting for something to happen.”

Today’s trivia

What metro-east native was the last American League umpire to wear the external, balloon-type chest protector (full time, at least)?

Answer to June 28 trivia: In Greek mythology, Hector was admired for being the greatest fighter for Troy in the Trojan War as he and his buddies stood fast in killing 31,000 Greek fighters. According to classics scholar Robert Fagles, Diomedes and Odysseus, when faced with his attack, referred to him as “incredible dynamite” and a “maniac.” Perhaps that’s why his name has become a common noun now defined as “a swaggering fellow” or “bully.” As early as the 1650s, the term was used to describe London street toughs.

This story was originally published July 13, 2015 at 7:46 AM with the headline "Change in gear was a strike for consistent umpiring."