Quote:
Originally posted by Dave Hensley
Your understanding is correct. The umpire in the game you witnessed is a moron and should be stripped of his patch, whatever that is.
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Assuming that the OP didn't witness a directed pitch situation, that is.
Little League players are required to have an official patch on their uniform, usually on the shoulder. A similar
patch is available for umpires, and is often handed out at training sessions. In this way, it might stand in for a sort of certificate.
At tournaments in my area, the TDs usually strongly request that umpires wear the patch on the field. I can't find any requirement in the rule book, but it may be there. It's possible that some lore has grown up that the patch makes the umpires "official".
Of course, a Real Umpire(tm) wouldn't sew a LL patch onto his uniform; the other Real Umpires might laugh and call him names and never let him umpire any Real Baseball(tm) games. This leads to the rather funny pre-game ceremony of the double-sided tape and the in-game mechanic of picking your patch up and slapping it back on.
-LL