[officialtony]

The reason I became an umpire, and continue to do so, is because we have an abundance of " Smitty's " in our area. I have seen a lot of athletes ( male and female ) who have worked hard and obviously strive to play better ball everytime they go out. And I have seen the " Smitty's " rule in games where they could care less - and their efforts show it. I feel strongly that when the ball players hit the field, they deserve the best officiating available by an official who will give 100 % - whatever that may be. But officials who won't hustle, who don't know the rules, or do know the rules but choose not to enforce them, are intolerable to me and I will continue to do my best to replace those guys with better officiating.
I won't be doing any BIG games and will probably be " stuck " at the High School/American Legion level the rest of my career, because I choose to be here. But, I will continue to try to improve so that when I work any game, no one will be able to question my understanding and application of the rules or my willingness to give nothing but my best effort.

I have the utmost respect for those who pursue higher goals and say thanks to those who prefer to work lower level competition. Both are important in our sport and are needed.