From both the perspective of the player and the spectator, what is the best clothing, gear, wear, etc. for staying warm?
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It used to be Spahn and Sain and pray for rain... In the Northeast - March is so blustery that even with the pictured gear you many not be warm enough... So you just pray to not have to go play in the snow. But if you do need to go out you may want to start with some good footwear - think what do ice climbers wear (crampons)... For some fields you may need some snowshoes... batters shouldn't bring their metal bats - go with the cheap wood one that your parents can throw into the barrel that has a fire lit to help keep everyone warm.
In my 5th year as a college parent, I feel like I qualify for saying I have just about seen it all. I have seen snow flurries during games, freezing rain, i recall playing in mid March on a 60 degree day by the end of the game it was high 30's and by the next morning 7 inches of snow was on the ground...28 Degrees with wind of 20 mph plus i think was still the coldest i can recall. Hard to believe that was a 4-2 or 3-2 game...
All that being said these days are the outliers. Sure there are some cold days and they aren't fun but typically it really isn't to bad. 52 and sunny is pretty damn nice when you have grown accustomed to winters of 32 high temps! It is all relative but the reputation is worse then the reality.
That being said I have no interest in New England in March but from what I can see of most of the schedules neither do the teams that are there.
Francis, are you calling where you live the Northeast? My kids grew up in PA. The March temps ranged from 40-60. I started high school in Massachusetts. We didn’t have games until April.
Old thread:
https://community.hsbaseballwe...arm-temperature-warm
#1 priority to me (player and fan) is real wool socks. I love Smartwool merino wool socks.
just saying.... 
@ReluctantO'sFan LOL
Do a lot of guys use wood bats for those March games? I gotta say, as parents we think it's awful when it's 50-55* and windy. I can't imagine adding snow or rain to that.
@TerribleBPthrower posted:Do a lot of guys use wood bats for those March games? I gotta say, as parents we think it's awful when it's 50-55* and windy. I can't imagine adding snow or rain to that.
I've attended a lot of brutally cold college games in PA/NJ/DE/MD. I've never seen anyone use a wood bat.
I have not seen anyone use wood in college, I actually would be stunned if a coach allowed it.
We have to use wood bats in HS ball here in NYC. Season starts usually end of March, with scrimmages prior.
Hand warmers are great:
As far as gear, thermal sports tights and tops, wool or silk ski socks under uniform. Most NE players wear very little beyond their uniforms for games, kind of a macho thing, some (non-pitchers) even sticking with just the uniform, maybe a 3/4 sleeve under. Pitchers are another story and have got to keep warm, especially hands when not on mound, ball is like a cue ball with no feel for off speed pitches, but then again you plug a few hitters in that cold weather and after you can basically serve the ball down the middle and get outs, good rule of thumb is to hit the guy with the most winter clothes on. Most teams travel south first month before conference play anyway. As soon as teams can plow the turf fields in February (most often the football field), it's outside to practice. 33 degrees is a nice day.
We found thermal ski layers helpful, plus a fleece gator for the neck, and hand warmers in each back pocket. Sons played IF, they'd hold the hand warmer in throwing hand in between batters, then quickly ditch it in the dirt, then pick up again after the hitter. Really helps.
My kids played in the Suburban League (Montgomery-Bucks County PA). Between the two kids over eight years I only remember one game I was so cold I wished I was someplace else. At the time CB South played in a park down and across the street from the high school. I think the field is on the school grounds now. The field was in a wide open area. It was forty and real windy (where’s the ball coming down windy). A few of us parents were running poles between innings. Some were sitting in cars despite the bad view.
In eight years I never sat in the stands once. I didn’t want to be cornered for input. I didn’t want to second guess the coach. But especially, the “why doesn’t the coach play my kid more” input.
As players my kids wore Under Armour Coldgear. It’s designed to retain body heat.
I remember at the LLWS (late August in upstate PA) the Southeast and Southwest teams would wear Under Armour and sometimes jackets at night. Night games in late August can dip all the way to 68-72.
The farthest northeast you should be in March for college baseball is.....Virginia.
My son played HS ball (OF) in Newport RI where the FOG and WIND were home field advantages.
Real NE'ers play in March and accept what they get. While scouts and rrecruiters were at many of his games, the WOOD bat was the only bat he used.
If the player wants to show confidence (and hits wood in the Summer) , he should stick with the stick. Batting Gloves (Hockey Gloves) and warm breath is all they need.
If they can sneak in the hand warmers, do it!
These have been lifesavers along with parking the car so we can the the game from the car with the heat on.
https://www.amazon.com/Mambe-E...dproof/dp/B01MCQEO1P
@fenwaysouth posted:The farthest northeast you should be in March for college baseball is.....Virginia
@Francis7 posted:Sitting in the stands when it's 40 is still pretty brutal.
I call this "let me know how it goes" weather
@fenwaysouth posted:The farthest northeast you should be in March for college baseball is.....Virginia.
This is why cold weather college teams go south the first three or four weekends of the season.
@baseball mom2020 posted:These have been lifesavers along with parking the car so we can the the game from the car with the heat on.
https://www.amazon.com/Mambe-E...dproof/dp/B01MCQEO1P
Thanks!
@fenwaysouth posted:The farthest northeast you should be in March for college baseball is.....Virginia.
The downside of my son playing ball in VA is that it’s a long trip so I can’t see every game. The upside is that I don’t have to invest in geo-thermal blankets and gortex ski gloves to watch him play baseball.
I go to games in Florida in the spring and feel like I might as well be in Fairbanks.
Our two kids came from a warmer clime and play(ed) in Mass and PA, so re: attire, they echo wool, wool, wool. Wool socks with very lightweight polypro liners, lightweight glove liners, light weight wool or polypro underwear (top and bottom). Don't go real thick though. The thick stuff restricts movement. They also liked the tight, lightweight beanie they got. Wore them under their caps.
My son's conference didn't play out of conference last season. He made his collegiate debut on the US/Canada border in early April in balmy 35 degree weather. Looked like the stay puff marshmallow man in everything he was wearing.
@Wechson posted:The downside of my son playing ball in VA is that it’s a long trip so I can’t see every game. The upside is that I don’t have to invest in geo-thermal blankets and gortex ski gloves to watch him play baseball.
Uh....
It snowed when we went to a UVA/VT baseball game in Blacksburg (on April 1st).
The first thing I bought was a long down coat with attached down hood....my son played college ball in Virginia. Fashion went out the window. I was determined to stay warm.
My hands have never been cold in sheep skin/fleece mittens. Same with some sheep lined Merrells on my feet.
I saw people bundled up in down mummy-type sleeping bags and I was somewhat jealous.
I have friends who played at University of Maine. The bullpen guys sometimes sat in running cars. They said it was not uncommon to see plowed up snowbanks around the edge of the field.
The 2021 roster has six players from Florida, Tennessee and California. I have to wonder if these kids arrived on campus, October hit and they wondered what they got themselves into. Orono is ten miles north of nowhere. Greater Boston MA is the south relative to Orono ME. It’s about 250 miles south. It’s the same distance as DC to Raleigh NC.
Kicking this up a year later to see if others have suggestions.
@RJM posted:I have friends who played at University of Maine. The bullpen guys sometimes sat in running cars. They said it was not uncommon to see plowed up snowbanks around the edge of the field.
The 2021 roster has six players from Florida, Tennessee and California. I have to wonder if these kids arrived on campus, October hit and they wondered what they got themselves into. Orono is ten miles north of nowhere. Greater Boston MA is the south relative to Orono ME. It’s about 250 miles south. It’s the same distance as DC to Raleigh NC.
A good friend pitched at UF in the early 80’s. He was from Miami. He said it was 19* for his first college start on the mound in Gainesville. In between innings he sat in his mom’s car with the heater on.
WAH WAH WAH. The ARMY sent me to Norway many years ago. I was 500 miles North of the Arctic circle with Reindeer on the streets. I had packed huge amounts of Winter gear.
But when I was there it was colder at home in IOWA than the Arctic. And no we did not have wooden bats.
Come out to Wisconsin/Minnesota/Northern Illinois/Iowa in March and tell me again about how how cold it is in the Northeast
Battery heated gear. I have a vest and a muff - they have been game changers. At one of my son's first games in February, I put my heated vest on UNDER my down parka. A dad behind me tapped me on the shoulder and pointed to the jacket he was wearing - he also had a heated jacket (there's a little "button" on the front that lights up when you turn the jacket on). We became fast friends and we would check in with each other to see if it was going to be a "heated jacket" day! He told me he had two battery packs. The one I have only stays warm for about 4 hours, so if I'm out for a LONG double header day, my battery usually won't last, so I'm going to invest in a second battery this year.
I have the ORORO brand - they make jackets, vests, gloves, socks, etc.
https://www.amazon.com/stores/...2df&ref_=ast_bln
Not sure about the Northeast, but Northern Ohio isn't fun at all in March. 35 degrees with a NE wind come off of Lake Erie makes it feel even colder. Heck, son's team had a game in Evansville, IN on their way home from their spring break trip. Game was live streamed with just a camera behind the plate. My son was pitching and at one point it was snowing so hard that it looked like there was no outfield....could barely make out the second baseman lol
The coldah da bettah. Long Johns, hand warmers and a blanket for the Mrs…
@baseball mom2020 posted:These have been lifesavers along with parking the car so we can the the game from the car with the heat on.
https://www.amazon.com/Mambe-E...dproof/dp/B01MCQEO1P
I got this for my wife for Christmas last year after reading this post. I wasn't sure whether she'd like it but she is consistently cold at spring and fall games no matter how many layers she has on. She absolutely LOVED it and used it regularly. One game the skies opened up with rain turning to hail and she was warm and dry the whole time. She had a bunch of other parents stop and ask her what it was and where she got it. She said it was the best present I got her. Thanks for the recommendation!
Play ball Gophers