Yes another Ump gripe.... (look away if ya need to)

[RubberBiscuit]

Wow, talk about a different thing than what I saw this weekend. At our end of the season tournament I kept score and talked to several umps during the tourney, nothing but professionalism, consistent strike zones, and intent to get it right from everyone that I dealt with. I got to sit near where some of whom I assume were ASA supervisors/officials were and was amazed at how diligent they were in keeping track of details. One gentlemen worked out the only controversial call with the home plate umpire, just talking him through the situation and reminding him of one rule change that had occurred, leading to the correct call. It was also pretty cool to hear them talk shop, and learn that they shared my belief about one of one of the strangest rules (# of bases you can take on an overthrow that stays in bounds) in our league.

I read this again and I have to say, not that I am doubting your perception here EGH, but I LONG for an event where I could walk away with these feelings you express.

It was later that night at the tournament we were at where a mix of college coaches/tb coaches/parents sat around and reflected on the general state of umpiring in sb. The landslide conclusion, across the board, with all parties, about ALL of umpiring, is that it gets worse every year at every level.

To me this is reflective of soooo many things in our culture - nobody wants to fine-tune their profession anymore and just wants to do the bare minimum to get by..... UNACCEPTABLE!.

I am NOT going to succumb to the majority that are going to say "well they donate their time" and "well they don't get paid that much" and "it's a tough job".... Gosh darn it - I have seen very good umpires do very good jobs out there. It does NOT take a rocket scientist. Know the rules and apply them. People are going to disagree on perceptions of what happened, and that's OK, but let's not start with ignorance to what is written in the books and practiced by good umpires day-in and day-out! To you "coasting" umpires - Please refine your skills!

 

[Umpire]

I read this again and I have to say, not that I am doubting your perception here EGH, but I LONG for an event where I could walk away with these feelings you express.

It was later that night at the tournament we were at where a mix of college coaches/tb coaches/parents sat around and reflected on the general state of umpiring in sb. The landslide conclusion, across the board, with all parties, about ALL of umpiring, is that it gets worse every year at every level.

To me this is reflective of soooo many things in our culture - nobody wants to fine-tune their profession anymore and just wants to do the bare minimum to get by..... UNACCEPTABLE!.

I am NOT going to succumb to the majority that are going to say "well they donate their time" and "well they don't get paid that much" and "it's a tough job".... Gosh darn it - I have seen very good umpires do very good jobs out there. It does NOT take a rocket scientist. Know the rules and apply them. People are going to disagree on perceptions of what happened, and that's OK, but let's not start with ignorance to what is written in the books and practiced by good umpires day-in and day-out! To you "coasting" umpires - Please refine your skills!

Perhaps the better umpires have moved on to better tournaments. Please keep in mind that no one knows less about the rules than a travel team coach. How many do you know that have sat down and read the rule book. Give me some time and I will give you a list of arguments I've gotten from dozens of coaches (not just one or two) that is completely inaccurate and if the coach had simply cracked the spine of the book they would know so. And keep in mind also, just because YOU think the rule interpretation/application was wrong or that the call was wrong doesn't make you right.

 

[cuzmail]

Please keep in mind that no one knows less about the rules than a travel team coach.

Wow.......

 

[Easton33]

Perhaps the better umpires have moved on to better tournaments. Please keep in mind that no one knows less about the rules than a travel team coach. How many do you know that have sat down and read the rule book. Give me some time and I will give you a list of arguments I've gotten from dozens of coaches (not just one or two) that is completely inaccurate and if the coach had simply cracked the spine of the book they would know so. And keep in mind also, just because YOU think the rule interpretation/application was wrong or that the call was wrong doesn't make you right.

Every bad impression of umpires I ever had was just validated.

 

[RubberBiscuit]

Please keep in mind that no one knows less about the rules than a travel team coach.

Ya,.......double WOW here too....

It's the JOB of the umpire to know the rules.
It's the JOB of the coach to coach the teams skills and try and get a win.

In this compare & contrast,...."Umpire",..... which do you see as NEEDING to know the rules better?

So yes - there are some coaches who might not know the rules better (by the book) BUT did ya ever think that a coach is playing ignorant to the rules to be able to sway the uneducated condition of most umpires!?!?!? Crud, with as many ignorant-to-rules umpires as there are, even mild tempered me might throw a diversionary tactic to an ump just to see how distracted I can get him from the rules to get a leg-up for my team...... geesh "Umpire" wake up and smell the coffee.....

(I want to clarify : I have these expectations for the umpires of TB-A level play : rec ball I would be much less expecting : in TB-A there is so much more at stake)

 

[bhblue]

It was later that night at the tournament we were at where a mix of college coaches/tb coaches/parents sat around and reflected on the general state of umpiring in sb. The landslide conclusion, across the board, with all parties, about ALL of umpiring, is that it gets worse every year at every level.

I won't disagree but would like to point out that the quality of softball being played is getting worse every year as well. More teams = more dilution of talent. More teams = more/bigger tournaments = more games = more umpires needed. It seems the supply of quality umpiring and coaching isn't keeping up with demand.

As to the OP, I'm one of "those umpires" that call IPs in exposure tournaments. If it displeases the TD or UIC, they are welcome to send me home. Remember, more games = more umpires needed. There's plenty work down here in Houston.

 

[Easton33]

I won't disagree but would like to point out that the quality of softball being played is getting worse every year as well. More teams = more dilution of talent. More teams = more/bigger tournaments = more games = more umpires needed. It seems the supply of quality umpiring and coaching isn't keeping up with demand.

As to the OP, I'm one of "those umpires" that call IPs in exposure tournaments. If it displeases the TD or UIC, they are welcome to send me home. Remember, more games = more umpires needed. There's plenty work down here in Houston.

There you go! That is the attitude umps should have. Call it regardless of who gets mad or what the TD, UIC may say.

 

[Mike Hurd]

I'm an Umpire. In my part of the world, very little training is done for umpires. ASA is dying. USSSA is the way to go here in KS. USSSA actually does a pretty decent job training their umpires. I just can't aford to travel to Kansas City every weekend to umpire like I would want to. I support MTR and others for their views about umpiring, but, I can also see why Easton and others think the way they do. just my $.02 worth.

 

[chinamigarden]

Perhaps the better umpires have moved on to better tournaments. Please keep in mind that no one knows less about the rules than a travel team coach. How many do you know that have sat down and read the rule book. Give me some time and I will give you a list of arguments I've gotten from dozens of coaches (not just one or two) that is completely inaccurate and if the coach had simply cracked the spine of the book they would know so. And keep in mind also, just because YOU think the rule interpretation/application was wrong or that the call was wrong doesn't make you right.

If a man of your experience is saying that all travel team coaches don't know the rules because you have stories about dozens of coaches... Haven't you umped thousands of games? With Thousands of coaches? Are you going to do a wide brush stroke over all coaches because of a small percentage of coaches. Thats no better then the coaches who have had a couple of bad umps talking crap about all umps.

I have sat down and read the rules, I could give you stories about umps who don't know the rules too. Where do you think coaches get the wild ideas that the hands are part of the bat, or the LBR means you can't round a bag on a walk, or that if a pitcher hits X amount of players the pitcher must be removed by rule, or the plate is in foul ground.... Many of these fallacies are because the coach believed an ump who called it against him/her.

 

[BretMan]

MTR was the one who brought up the NCAA umpire issue, not the OP.

See post #11. Someone else raised the issue about illegal pitches in NCAA softball. MTR's comments were in response to that.

By the way...that someone else was you.

It's one thing to not comprehend something that somebody else wrote. Apparently you're having a hard time comprehending your own posts.