[Dave Hensley]

Originally Posted by Tim C

I am slightly confused by your statement:

Jim Evans has never been shy about #1. He says it at all clinics and makes a point of it.

#1 was "He feels that the only people that can teach umpiring are professional umpires. In fact at all his clinics, classes and schools he makes fun of local trainers and calls them "Charlies" . . . all his instructor use the term freely also."

I think it would be more accurate to say he feels trainers should be professionally trained umpires, not strictly professional umpires. As evidence of this, I would point to his substantial contributions over the years to the development of umpire training in Little League.

I am confused about #2 as we discussed this issue very throughly on your private list serve group more than once. Jim Evans also said this (in print) to a few umpires in an e-mail to some of the posters on this site.

#2 was "On more than one occasion Evans has intoned that "internet umpires" are a bunch of guys that cannot umpire and are basically "keyboard" umpires that couldn't work real games."

Garth Benham has made the distinction before between "umpires who work Little League" and "Little League umpires." Similarly, Jim is aware of and acknowledges the distinction between umpires who are on the internet vs. "internet umpires." He does not blindly stereotype us.

#3 was said in front of over 100 umpires at the Portland Evans camp last spring.

#3 was "He feels that umpires not trained by professional umpires are hurting the game of baseball and the future of umpiring." I've not heard him say that so I cannot comment other than to say I assume there was more to what he said on the subject than that single sentence, and therefore I would speculate that a more complete description would provide meaningful context. As I previously noted, Evans has made significant contributions to the development of training programs for amateur umpires in the Little League organization, which does not strike me as compatible with an attitude that the vast majority of youth, scholastic and amateur umpires out there who do not receive formal training from professional umpires, are "hurting the game." In addition, the tone he takes in his Pitching Regulations and Balk Videos clearly acknowledges the need for local umpire groups to provide guidance for rule sets such as high school in which the rules vary from what he is teaching.

Evans clearly has concerns that "any idiot" can come onto the internet and spout BS opinions and specious rulings that contribute to the general MISunderstanding of the game. But the universally dismissive attiude that is suggested by your comments, unamplified, is simply not, in my opinion, an accurate portrait of what and how he teaches umpiring.