Appropriate Hem Length: Look Professional and Prolong Your Pant Life

Umpires take special care in looking their best on the field. Because umpire pants come unhemmed, one area that is often overlooked or forgotten until it is too late is hem length. 

Hem your pants too short, and you are left with an unprofessional "high waters" look.

Pants hemmed too short.

Too long and the hem of your pants drag on the ground and/or get caught under your shoes. This may make your pants dirty and causes fraying and ripping at the hem. This seriously decreases the longevity of your umpire pants.

Pants hemmed too long and touching the ground.

Whether talking about dress pants or umpire base pants, the rule of thumb is the same. The back of the pants should almost reach the base of your shoe's midsole.

Pants hemmed at proper length provide most professional look without touching the ground.

With umpire plate pants the same general rule still applies. However, if you have say a 30" hem length in a dress pant or base pants, 30" will be too short for plate pants due to umpire shin guards causing pants to spread out and not hang completely straight.

Another example of pants hemmed too long, causing a messier look at the shoes and could drag the ground.

In general, you could hem your plate pants 1 to 1 1/2 inch longer than your base pants. Best practice, however, is to take your shin guards, plate shoes and pants to a professional tailor, put them on, and then find the best hem. It will vary based on the type of shin guards you wear.

Spending a little extra time and money upfront for a proper hem and you will not regret it. Appearance of a well maintained uniform will emanate professionalism and preparedness to your fellow umpires, game participants and attendees.