Hey all,
From what I have read on this, and other, forums, a lot of LL's contract through associations to get umpires for their said leagues. Most of these umpires also do BR, CR, HS, etc.... So, what is a LL umpire, as the question asked?
IMHO, a LL umpire is someone who is willing to VOLUNTEER to fill a need. Sure, there can be "Smitties" in LL as well as in other LEAGUES, (notice I did not say levels.). There is MORE of a chance to have "Third world plays", and managers/coaches trying to influence the game by bullying the umpires at those games.
A LL umpire is either:
--an umpire who is doing a LL game because his association asiigns them, a lot of the time hating it because LL is "below the level of ball" that they are use to calling,
--a volunteer who goes out and does the job so that the game can be played without being rescheduled
--a person who is out there to do the best job they can, and care about getting the calls right and getting better each time they do a game, while not looking the part, or
--a person who is out there to look the part, get the job done right and get more knowledgeable with each game.
Basically not all LL umpires are bad in reality, just in perception.
LomUmp
