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Originally Posted by AtlUmpSteve
Exactly. A sport where the uniform isn't expected to be "uniform". A game where coaches don't expect the professionalism of their umpires to be displayed by their uniform, equipment, or mechanics. An association of officials who display their individualism, rather than their unity.
Thanks for coming over here to remind me why I stopped working baseball years ago. Well, one of the reasons; not to forget the 3 hour games watching pitchers trying to pick off runners almost standing on the bag, the sheer boredom of all the delay and downtime, the whiney players, and the ridiculous attitudes of the coaches.
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Then there are people like me, who find it appalling that umpires are expected to give up every inch of individualism, that I would be "worried" about not having the lineup card in the wrong place, etc.
It insulting to me for you to think I'm less professional than you because I can choose a mask color or have a big silver New Balance "N" on my shoes or because I point to the side when calling strikes. I dress the way I can in my sport, but my pants are always pressed, my shoes shined (I jumped on and right off the patent leather brigade), my uniform cleaned.
And how about my strike zone, my mechanics, my hustle, my rules knowledge, my demeanor, and my ability to handle situations?
Personally, I think softball umpires worry too much about things completely irrelevant to the quality of actual umpiring, but I'm not the one putting a group's professionalism down here, just noting some differences and wondering why the groups are so different.