[mrm21711]

Originally posted by His High Holiness

Here is an umpire that does only Little League. To me, that means he is a volunteer. Now you want to him to spend $100 out of pocket for a pair of shoes that only have one application - baseball. What is his wife going to say when he shells out $100 for something that produces no income and he gets abuse to boot? This is on top of the money that he has shelled out for a chest protector, cup, shinguards, etc.

Maybe his kids can go without Christmas presents this year? The wife, perhaps, can skip a couple trips to the hairdresser.

And I am the evil HHH for being down on volunteer umpires. The attitude that a volunteer should shell out hundreds of dollars to take abuse and deny amentities to his family is an idea that is truly bizarre.

Peter

Not necessarily true. You should not assume the gentleman is living in poverty (which you have made), or that these would deprive his family of shelter/food/ect. The hazards of the job are crystal clear. If there is a metartsal guard out there, great buy it. If not, then you are running the risk of serious injury behind the plate. Dont make assumptions or claim to be some great champion of volutneer umpires. The gentleman's service should be and is commended by myself, and probably everybody else on the board. Your quote of buying something that would produce zero income is not relevant, if it produces zero income and puts his health in jeopardy, there has to be some compromise made. Let him make that decision, dont criticize everybody else for offering him advice.