Pete, I agree with you about the personality aspect of talking to players and/or coaches. I personally don't like to stand in any line without striking up a conversation with someone. Just like anything, there are limits to how far one can or should go with conversation. I have had outgoing fans say to me at the start of a game, "Is this gonna be a good game blue?" I might say something like, "For 50 bucks anything is possible." I have rarely had problems with fans. I know that some senior members probably don't like umps talking to fans but if they start up a conversation with me I am not going to ignore them because IMO that may be the start of something negative. I really enjoy umping and a lot of that includes dealing with people.
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