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Luke,
I worked the Dixie Junior Boys (13 yr olds) WS in Aiken SC last year. We were given an adjustable hat by the tournament staff and asked to wear it on the bases. We could wear a blank hat behind the plate. I don't like adjustable hats when I am umpiring. However, given the choice between wearing the hat I was given or not working the tournament, I chose to wear the hat.
I don't have a problem with LL giving their guys adjustable hats. Would a fitted hat look better? Sure...But it didn't happen. I would much rather be concerned with other things like why you need 6 guys on a 60 ft field, the 2nd base ump meticously dusting off the bag and the area around it (note: he should have gotten a new pair of pants that didn't look faded out), or the lack of a signal by U3 on a ball that passed between the third baseman and the line. All of these occurred in the Great Lakes final game yesterday.
I give these guys a benefit of the doubt in this regard: few, if any of us, have ever had our work displayed live on national television. With that said, there are things that you should and should not do no matter what level. I don't work LL but I can only hope that merit is the strongest component of the selection process and not simply longevity or the willingness to volunteer to spend ones' own money to work at progressive levels.
Luke I will agree with you on some of your points. However, hacks like you and me giving our two cents aren't going to change LL. It will take, as with other things, an internal change if the points that you and others raise are to be corrected.
Lawrence
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