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Originally Posted by BigGuy
Read SanDiegoSteve's post again. It isn't my job. It's up to the players and coaches. I don't do it all the time. I don't have to do it for HS games. For lower levels where kids are constantly being moved around, it helps to move the game along so that I don't have to stand there waiting and waiting.
I do it as a courtesy. For those who don't, fine.
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Well, I've never heard before that saying "hustle in and out" was bush league. It's the first I've ever heard about it. I guess I never got the memo. Most top level umpires I have worked with, including former MiLB guys, even use it as the teams are switching sides. Some say, "bounce out" or "who's walkin'?" or "nobody walks but the mailman" or some variation, but they do say something when necessary.
At higher levels (varsity +) it is usually unnecessary to say anything, because the big boys hustle out as a general rule. It is at the lower levels that it helps move the game along. There are a lot of primadonnas out here who just don't show any kind of interest in playing baseball.
I don't care what they do between innings in the dugout, but once they hit the field, I want them running out to the outfield, not dragging their feet, hanging their heads, and acting like they don't want to be there. I resent their lack of hustle mostly because I show up on time, dressed neat as a pin, and hustle my a$$ off while I'm there, and I expect them to do the same.
No, it's not my job to tell them to hustle, but I sure don't want to listen to them whine that they didn't get to warm up properly either. It cuts into my game time when they take longer than one minute between half innings.