[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally posted by emaxos
It sounds to me like no matter how bad an umpire may be, he stays in the system. Isn't there some method whereby umpires are evaluated and if necessary, de-certified.

Speaking ASA

To start, an umpire is registered, not certified. Yes, some areas stamp the umpire's registration card "certified", but if memory serves me correctly, that refers to working Championship Play.

I know the percentages are miniscule but someone that can't perform shouldn't be allowed to continue. It's a disservice to your profession and to the players.

I agree, but what are you going to say when it comes down to games with or without umpires.

Good umpires are hardly noticed during games. The ones that get talked about among coaches and fans are the ones that stand out for negative reasons.

What a crock! Who ever started that saying never stopped to listen. I know a lot of umpires that never get noticed during a game and they stink. They are GAGA and will do anything to avoid controversy including making up their own rules. BTW, I really don't care what the fans or coaches say about myself or other umpires because half of them are always going to feel slighted in some manner. I care more about what other umpires are saying about an umpire's game.

I think I would rather be hassled with a shortness of qualified umpires then have to deal with a constant stream of complaints about one bad apple.

Then you've never been in my shoes. Again, what are you going to say after your team travels hours for a tournament to be told, "Sorry, Chief, you team cannot play today because we don't have enough umpires which meat your standard." I'd be willing to bet that you would be satisfied with a parent out of the stands at that point.

Rant ON!

I recruit umpires 24/7 and it is not easy. Retention past the first two years is barely 20% and it isn't because other umpires give them a hard time or make extraordinary demands of them. It's because they are not appreciated and get tired of hearing the crap from the coaches, parents, players and fans.

All I ever hear on some boards are this umpire kicked this and that umpire blew that. Than you have idiot umpires who will not work with rookies because THEY don't want to be bothered helping them or possibly looking bad because of their partner.

This is the only job where you must be 100% right on every thing you do on the first day and then are expected to get better from that point out.

It makes me happy to see that so many people came into this world knowing everything, all the time and have never had to spend any time learning something new and begin from square one.

Are there umpires who aren't that good? Absolutely! Should they be discarded? No. If they are not capable of learning to improve, they should be assigned the games the level of which they are capable of working. One of two things will happen. They will either begin to improve to move on or they will wither away. I'd rather see the former than the latter, but that's life.

Rant OFF!