[officialtony]

I would add that we do things basketball officials do not ( please do not take offense at that statement Basketball guys ). In my double header Saturday, I took 5 foul balls off the middle of my face mask and one strategically placed ball to the cup/thigh. I have the bruise to show for it. Even though some parents from the home side of the field disliked my strike zone, when I went to make line-up changes to the 3rd base dugout, several parents applauded my courage for standing in there. And when I exited the field ( with my partner ) I recieved several comments about taking the hits and doing my job well. Of course one team is always happy with your performance because they won, but this happened to be the losers from both games. Not that it makes a whole lot of difference, because I don't grade my performance on whether I was liked or disliked but on whether I did my job right and well. But I think because of the situations we are exposed to, we get a certain amount of respect for what we do, even if we are " wrong " sometimes. Having said that, I give the roundball guys credit for runnning up and down the floor with 16-18 year olds. Those days are gone for me. I'll do my running on the baseball fields in the sun and warm weather.