Quote:
Originally posted by gordon30307
As evidence over the years I've watched the LL World Series.
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If you're honest in your assessment, then you would have to acknowledge that the demonstrated competence of the umpires in the televised Little League games has been steadily improving over the years. The last "oh my God" moment was three or four years ago when LL UIC Andy Konyar pointed a ball foul, then reversed his call to fair in mid-play, and what should have been a single ended up being a standup triple. Other than that, there was a horribly missed call on a runner's failure to touch second base while U2 was looking right at the play, who then inexplicably ruled safe on appeal. That was 3 years ago.
Other than those outliers, the truth is the televised games in the Little League regional championships and world series the last several years have been characterized by umpires who are exhibiting good timing and proper mechanics (although it must also be acknowledged that the adopted coverage and rotation mechanics on a 60 foot diamond being covered by 6 umpires is strained, at best) at the plate and in the field. You simply cannot support a broad generalization that LL umpires are homegrown Smittys, based on the performances we are seeing these days in the televised games.
Unique among youth baseball organizations, Little League sponsors week-long umpire training schools in most of its eight U.S. regions. For those who attend these schools (and I would concede that not nearly enough LL umpires get the opportunity to attend) the training is certainly in the same ballpark as the typical training a high school umpire receives in his local association.
I am both a varsity high school umpire and a Little League umpire. I have also worked most other youth leagues, and competitive adult amateur baseball. No league/organization has a monopoly on good or bad umpires.