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Originally posted by LDUB
Quote:
Originally posted by Lawrence_Dorsey
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.
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It was Tee who said he would refuse to work the game.
I would go through with it, but I would put up a big fight, with demands that my game fee be increased and such.
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Originally posted by Lawrence_Dorsey
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.
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You are missing the point. Chirs Hickman taked to the TD of the Western Region LL tournament. Chris asked if the TD could get fitted hats for the umpires. The TD said that they don't have the money to buy them. I have pointed out that at GD, +POS, and Honig's, fitted caps cost the same as adjustable caps. LL claims that it is a money issue when it is not. It is just another case of classic LL.
Why do they have 6 on the field? ULF is like 30 feet back from U3.
Did you guys see the ball which went to the backstop with R1 and R2 yesterday in the second game? The batter swung at the pitch and I thought he missed it. The catcher is running to get the ball and the PU starts giving the foul tip sign (He never signaled foul.) GRRR. I wish the runners would have advanced. It would have been nice to hear his talk with the offensive manager.
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Originally posted by Lawrence_Dorsey
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.
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But that's not how it is. If it was, we would have seen guys like Rich F out there.
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Originally posted by Lawrence_Dorsey
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.
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The umpires are brainwashed. They don't realize that they are missing a higher level of play and game fees at the same time. The current umpires brainwash the new umpires when they join up. I don't think the chain will ever end.
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Merit is one component. But just like anyone who's moved to a new area knows, you can be the best umpire in the world and not get assigned when you're new. I'm only in my 3rd season of umpiring LL, and I only do the tournament games. The guys that did the plate in 2001 and 2003 in Indianapolis work college baseball and HS baseball in the spring.
We aren't brainwashed. We do it cause we want to. We all have our own personal lines that we won't cross. Is it dancing with mascots or pivoting in on a clean hit with a 6-man crew? Each of us will have to answer that for ourselves.
Personally, I hope I get the chance to work at Indy some day. If that's not your cup of tea, that's OK. But it doesn't make me brainwashed.