[Andy]

varefump's answer got me thinking about the question. So, I will add a caveat to my answer:

I would rather work with a partner that has a thorough knowledge of the rules and knows how to apply them in the game!

I have worked with many officials in different sports that did really well on the rules tests and could quote the rules backwards and forwards, but couldn't call the game on the field or court to save their lives.

It is my experience that almost all of the people connected with softball (except other umpires) really don't care about the umpires signals and mechanics, they just want the umpires to know the rules and apply them correctly.