[iref4him]

I was sent this via e-mail this morning. It applies to all sports officiating.

Spring has sprung. Longer days are before us. And baseball, that grand old American game, is upon us. One hundred and sixty-two regular-season games, to be specific.

That’s a lot of strikeouts and double plays, hot dogs and Cokes, relaxed conversations and fun memories. Families can hang out and spend the whole evening doing really nothing. It’s great! While all those men are out there playing a kid’s game, nobody has any reason to get uptight.

Funny thing about baseball, though. The guys who have more reason than anyone else to get nervous and uneasy are on the field, but they’re not on a team. They’re the guys in uniform, affectionately referred to as “the umps” . . . or stuff much worse than that.

The horror stories they tell never cease to sadden and sometimes shock me. If it wouldn’t mean my loss of limb or life, I’d like to take some fans who delight in insults and say, “Hey, let’s remember that those fellows are doing a lot better job than we could do. Show a little courtesy, please!”

I would especially like to see some changes at Little League games. This is supposed to be a pleasant setting where boys have the opportunity to learn more about the game of life than the game of baseball. That was driven home to me recently when I read the words of Donald Jensen, who was struck in the head by a thrown bat while umpiring a Little League game in Terre Haute, Indiana. He continued to work the game but later that evening was placed in the hospital. While being kept overnight for observation, Jensen wrote an eloquent letter. At one point he says:

The purpose of Little League is to teach baseball skills to young men. Obviously, a team which does not play well in a given game, yet is given the opportunity to blame that loss on an umpire for one call or two, is being given the chance to take all responsibility for the loss from their shoulders. A parent or adult leader who permits the younger player to blame his failures on an umpire . . . is doing the worst kind of injustice to that youngster. . . . This irresponsibility is bound to carry over to future years.

What Donald Jensen wrote that night was absolutely right. Next time you’re tempted to insult an umpire, remember him—the late Donald Jensen. The following morning he died of a brain concussion.

I think all parents and coaches should take note of Jensen's words.