[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Don Mueller

95% of the folks on this board are not MLB, MiLB or D1. Never do any of these umps ever have to make a call from 120'

Field conditions are also much different at most Babe ruth, travel fields and in house fields. Sometimes one has to improvise

99% of non-umpires judge us on things that they see on TV or at the local MLB stadium. That is just the way it is whether you or I like it.

Originally Posted by Don Mueller

Brushing off a base so you can see it at 120' is much different than wearing a collared shirt.
One is necessitated to help insure a correct call, the other is a matter of uniform.

Actually it is not, but then again I am experienced in both.

Originally Posted by Don Mueller

The trained umpire by definition has xray eyes and can see thrugh the dirt at 120'
Give me a break!!
It's a matter of seeing the base or not seeing the base.

I am still having a hard time trying to understand why it is hard to see a base that is raised off the ground. Also I do not see even most youth fields so bad that dirt is stacked on top of each base. Usually most youth fields I have worked on they do water the dirt and they rack the dirt. Or they do not have to do this at all because of rain that pelted the field. I know I wear contacts, but maybe my eyesight is better than your eyesight.

Originally Posted by Don Mueller

You are such an elitist.
I'd venture to say that over 95% of the baseball games played in this country are below the HS varsity level. When umpiring below that level field conditions vary from excellent to very poor.
When I'm doing a solo 15 yr old game I'm not interviewing for the ASU vs USC game. I'm doing what's necessary to give the 15 yr olds a quality officiated game and if that means I have to brush off 2nd in order to see it, so be it.

Don, even on the lowest of levels, there are people that do nothing but take care of the fields from my experience. Actually where I live the players and the coaches are the ones that keep up their own fields. At the D-1 level I have worked, the group that put on the tarp was the home players. That does not sound like too elite to me. That sounds like the coaches, players and fans want the field to be in good shape.

Originally Posted by Don Mueller

It's no different than wearing a collared shirt in basketball but much different than brushing a base out of necessity

Don, you are sadly mistaken. Basketball is just like any other sport that has mores that are expected for the officials to look like they know what they are doing. BTW, I just finished my last basketball camp on Sunday. Most of the comments that were made about me were about presentation, appearance, use of voice, ability to run and the last thing that was talked about was calls I actually made. Why is that, because officials at a certain level are going to have equal or similar ability to make a call? The other things I listed show an official's confidence and give the perception they know what the hell they are doing. It is very hard in a basketball game (applies to baseball too) for a coach to say I was not in position when I hustled and I make the call. Even how we sell a basic all can tell on us as an official to how much we know about the game.

Originally Posted by Don Mueller

See elitist comment above

If I am an elitist, you are a weekend warrior. We are judged as officials from the way deal with the secretary at the school to the time we leave the field or gym that we officiate. Also do not think all lower level coaches have not played or have not coached the game for years. They are often judging you in ways you will never know. There is a reason some umpires are always having problems and other umpires hardly ever have problems. I went for about a 5 to 6 year stretch without ejecting a single coach. In many of those cases I was never seen before by the coaches and I had some really tough plays to call. I can assure you that a large reason for that was because I was trained on the dos and donts of umpiring and I looked like I was in position and hustled every single time I was on a field during that time. Also most umpires that I know that really take umpiring seriously, want to work HS and HS varsity because the pay usually goes up and people they work with are much better. If you are just a LL umpire and you want to brush the dirt off with your plate brush that might be something that works at that level. When you start working games beyond that, you better be more competent in what you are doing. If not, you will be run out off the field a lot quicker.

Once again this is just an opinion. Feel free to ignore them. I am just sharing something to help out those out that do not know any better.

Peace