Quote:
Originally posted by bigwes68
Quote:
Originally posted by Rich Fronheiser
Quote:
Originally posted by bigwes68
I did talk to the area commissioner today. He said that at the district level, the league president could get whoever they wanted (read: major home field advantage). Once it gets to the Area level, he assigns umpires himself. I have an Area tournament that starts Friday. Problem we have is that there aren't that many certified Babe Ruth umpires in northwest Tennessee. There are lots of certified high school guys, but most of them have the big head and won't do baseball for less than high school pay ($55/game).
Next time we host a tournament, we should get a couple of the players' parents to call the game and have them wear team colors while doing it. Or get the guy that called a few (a VERY few) games here this year that just KNEW a batted ball was foul when it hit home plate "because one of the coaches told me so." Or the guy that smoked while in the field. Or the guy that wore NO plate gear except a mask.
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You get what you pay for. Why is it that youth organizations expect to get top notch umpires for garbage fees? And who cares if the umpires are "certified?" Does certification mean anything more than submitting an open book test and scoring 80%?
--Rich
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If they submit an open book test and score 80%, at least it means they have probably opened a rule book at some point.
The problem is, a lot of these guys are certified to work FED, but they don't know OBR or anything about the particular league in which they are asked to work. We're not asking for "top-notch" umpires, we just want someone who is at least competent and somewhat familiar with the rules for that particular league. You want to make things as fair for the kids as you can, so I think you owe it to them to find quality umpires.
As for "garbage" fees, I don't feel like $30-35 for a 7-inning game is too bad for summer ball. Heck, in my local league, they pay $20 for the plate and $12.50 for the bases (which is pitiful). $25/game for 60-foot ball and $30-35 for 90-foot ball seems pretty good to me. These leagues pay what they can afford to pay; a lot of them can barely afford to pay the umpires what they do. You gotta realize that I live in a very rural area and we do the best we can just to have two or three local league teams each year.
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I'm not blasting your efforts -- I'm just saying that you're going to find it difficult to secure competent umpires for leagues if you're not willing to pay the going rate for umpires of the caliber you want in your games. If you want umpires as good as you get in your HS games, be prepared to pay HS fees.
You are the one that used the phrase "big head" and "won't do baseball for less than." Why is it those umpires that have a problem? If they feel it is worth working your games for $35 a game, say, they will. If they won't, then either you pay them what they want or you settle for less. But you shouldn't make it sound like it is THEM who has the problem, either. For most, umpiring is not about community service.
Oh, and pay your base umpires the same as you pay the plate umpires. Paying plate umpires more is bush-league and everyone should be splitting the plates and bases equally anyhow.
--Rich
[Edited by Rich Fronheiser on Jul 6th, 2004 at 12:56 AM]