Majestic Cool Base Umpire Shirt

This is dating myself a little, but I remember when Star Trek: The Next Generation debuted in 1987. Now, I don’t profess to know the difference between a “Trekker” and a “Trekkie,” but I did notice a difference in the uniforms from the original Star Trek show to the new series. Others did too and debates still rage over the best and worst Star Trek uniforms (no, that's not me at left).

Jim Kirk at Ump-Attire, no relation to the Star Trek Captain, sent me a Majestic Cool Base Umpire Shirt to review (Majestic and VF Corp have been unwilling to provide any sample apparel to this site for review). When Majestic changed the design of the shirts provided to MLB umpires during 2010 my immediate reaction was, naaawwww. . . The new uniform eliminates all piping in favor of a solid color on the collar. The new shirt cuff has a thin white band, but it only extends ¾ around the cuff. Another thin white band runs up each side of the shirt to just under the arm. Why these changes? I dunno.

The Majestic Cool Base Umpire Shirt is made of 100% polyester with a closed hole design. It appears fairly well constructed, although I did find some sloppy work along one interior seam. Unlike other umpire shirts made with a polyester (or cotton) knit around the collar, the Majestic Cool Base uses the same polyester material for its shirt and collar. This makes the collar lay flatter and blends in with the shirt. At right is a picture of Joe West wearing this shirt last season. Notice how the collar is not stiff and appears weak and wrinkled.

The Majestic Cool Base weighs 11 ounces, which is heavier than all other shirts this site has tested except the Gerry Davis Signature shirt. The Cool Base in XL measurements are:

26 chest
24” bottom hem
18.5” shoulder

Those measurements run a little on the large side and are comparable to the Ump-Attire Ultimate Umpire Shirt tested in 2009 (shirt comparison review here).

The Majestic Cool Base is made in the Kingdom of Swaziland. Where? Swaziland is a small, land-locked country in south Africa bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique. The US State Department states that Swaziland has the world’s most severe Aids/HIV epidemic, with an estimate 39% of the adult population infected. A reported 28% of Swaziland’s GDP comes from manufacturing (mostly textiles and sugar processing). According to aneki.com, the unemployment rate is 40% and the State Department cites 69% of the population live in poverty. Some authors have stated that “deplorable working conditions and low wages” which creates a “large number of ‘working poor’” people in Swaziland. http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/iez/03796/17swaziland.pdf

In 2005 Majestic became the sole provider of MLB jerseys, and then in 2007 Majestic was purchased by VF Imagewear, Inc., a subsidiary of VF Corporation (NYSE: VFC), which owns many brands including The North Face, Nautica, Wrangler, and Lee. Interestingly, I pulled a couple older Majestic shirts from my closet and the tag says, "Made in the USA." The tag on the recently introduced Therma Base jacket says "Made in Indonesia."

Fair or Foul?
Aside from questions concerning the ethical manufacturing practices of VF Corporation and its Majestic brand, my opinion is Majestic missed the mark with the Cool Base Umpire Shirt. The shirt is a very important part of the umpire uniform and should convey an understated confidence and authority. The Cool Base has a weak, flat collar that seems to undermine the umpire’s presence. For my money, the Cool Base shirt can "boldly go" away from my field.

Review of Majestic Therma Base Umpire Jacket

Anyone who truly loves baseball has endured foul weather. We have all played, coached, umpired, or spectated in barely-bearable heat, cold, rain, or snow. Some of us (fortunates) have seen both 110 degree summer days and negative wind chill or ice storms during the same season.

We generally like to forget those games.

The Majestic Therma Base Umpire Jacket is engineered to help umpires battle the frigid cold. Despite the name, there is no mistake that the Majestic Therma Base Umpire Jacket is designed as an umpire coat, not a jacket. It has a fleece lining, and a dense polyester outer shell. It is advertised as water resistant (not water proof).

As an umpire jacket, the Therma Base does not have hand pockets. There is one pocket on the left chest that measures 5.75” deep. That is just enough room to fit my 5.5” long line-up card holder. The Therma Base does not have an interior pocket, something I intend to add with a visit to my local seamstress before the spring season.

The fit is very good. I wore this jacket around in the yard with temperatures in the 30's, and I found that it is very warm and comfortable. There is elastic ribbing around the bottom of the jacket for improved fit. The construction quality appears first-rate. Majestic uses a single running stitch on the exterior polyester, and stronger zig-zag stitching on the interior. (click on the picture at left for a closer view). Everything appears very clean and well-made. Since the Majestic Therma Base is sized to accommodate a CP, it is large through the chest (29" from mid-armpit to mid-armpit). It is recommended that you buy a size smaller if you desire a closer fit on the bases. I weighed the Therma Base Jacket at just under 2 pounds.

The Majestic Therma Base jacket was made for Major League Baseball umpires. Majestic (actually VF Licensed Sports Group) states that it uses the same design and technology as used in the MLB umpire jackets. It is available in navy with red and white stripes, and black with polo blue and white stripes. Majestic tells me that there is no current plans to offer this jacket with white stripes. That is a shame, because this is an excellent coat for working those bitterly cold early college games.

Jim Kirk from Ump-Attire sent me this jacket for review, and I highly recommend making your jacket purchase from Ump-Attire. Jim runs an efficient company. Ump-Attire's communication with the customer is outstanding and orders are filled quickly with lightning-quick delivery. They have a terrific return policy and prices that are at or below the competition - why would you go anywhere else?

The Majestic Therma Base Umpire Jacket is sold by Ump-Attire for $110.00.
***UPDATE*** as of 29DEC10 Ump-Attire is selling the Therma Base for $90

Fair or Foul?
The Majestic Therma Base Umpire Jacket coat is an excellent choice for any umpire working in cold temperatures. It is warm, comfortable, and its quality of construction is impressive. The Majestic Therma Base Umpire Jacket is absolutely fair.

Matching Polo Blue Shirts

Before I begin this article, I want to say that I agree that it is important that you and your partner wear matching uniforms. However, there are degrees of matching, from partners that wear identical shirts from the same manufacturer, to those items that "match pretty close." For instance, not all umpire pants match, although some manufacturer color hues match better than others.

The subject of polo blue shirt color has been discussed on several umpire forum sites. The argument is that the various umpire shirt manufacturers produce polo blue shirts in different hues, some matching better than others.

At left are four shirts (from front to back) from Majestic, Honigs, The Official’s Choice and Ump-Attire. Although the flash photograph and the color adjustment on your monitor makes it less obvious, the Majestic shirt is a brighter, bluer color than any of the other shirts. Click the photo at left to enlarge the picture. The shirt from the Official’s Choice is the darkest shade, possibly owing to the open hole design. The shirts from Ump-Attire and Honig’s are in between the Majestic and The Official’s Choice shirts in hue and shade. This is also apparent by examining the blue stripe in the collars.

The collars and cuffs do not match. The Ump-Attire shirt has a very thin white stripe that is hardly noticeable. The Majestic shirt has wider black stripes that more closely match the Ump-Attire’s black stripes. The shirt from The Official’s Choice has thicker white stripes. The Honig’s shirt is somewhere in the middle of all of these.

Fair or Foul?
If you and your partner walk out onto the field wearing polo blue shirts from Majestic and The Official’s Choice, coaches and spectators will see from a distance that you obviously do not match. Any other color combination will be a closer match, and, in my opinion, the Honig’s and Ump-Attire shirts most closely match in color, although the sleeves do not match.

Review of Majestic MLB Umpire Shirt

You know that proverb: "The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence?" Well, as a gear junky I had been coveting a Majestic MLB Umpire Shirt for some time. You know, "Wear what the pros wear."

I obtained a Majestic MLB polo blue shirt in April and I have tested it over about a 100 days period. It has seen extreme conditions: 100 degree heat, extreme sun, wind, rain, heavy sweat. . . you know, the usual. It has been worn probably 30-40 days (sometimes up to 8 hours at a time).

At the time of this article I only know of one retailer that sells the Majestic MLB Umpire Shirt: Ump-Attire.com. The folks at Ump-Attire are first-rate and offer lightning fast delivery, fair prices, and owner Jim Kirk really does care about the customer's needs and opinion. The Majestic is offered for $34.95 plus shipping. That puts the Majestic at the extreme high end of the umpire shirt market. Compare that price to the top three shirts in my Spring 2009 shirt review:

#1 - Ultimate Umpire Shirt by Ump-Attire, $32.95
#2 - Smitty Pro Knit Mesh Umpire Shirts, $22.95
#3 - Signature Series Umpire Shirts by Gerry Davis, $25.90

The Majestic looks great right out of the box. It is a closed hole polyester mesh design with a cotton collar. It fits well, breathes as well as any closed-hole mesh shirt, and accomodates my Wilson Platinum protector easily.

During the ball season I am what would best be described as a "working umpire." My day job offers a lot of flexibility, so I am able to work late afternoon weekday games and, of course, evenings and weekends. Consequently, I do laundry in the evening for a quick turn-around for the next day's games. Laundry is done the same way every time - cold water, permanent press cycle, and permanent press dryer on medium heat.

Unfortunately, the Majestic MLB Umpire Shirt requires line drying. The effect of drying this shirt in my dryer has been a pilling, wear and fading of the Majestic collar. No other shirt I own has had this problem (or required line drying). Below are pictures of the Ultimate Umpire Shirt (which has seen about the same number of games and laundry cycles as the Majestic), and an old Honig's (that has been worn in easily three times the number of games and laundry cycles). As you can see, little or no pilling, wear or fading.

In summary, I am disappointed with the Majestic. The shirt is no better than any other closed hole mesh umpire shirt, and requires special care. The MLB guys can keep this one. My side of the fence has better shirts.