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Originally Posted by GarthB
We don't need NCAA or Baseball Canada involved in saying who may or may not be qualified to be trained as a professional umpire. It is far better to let those who aspire to that level select themselves as candidates.
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Hmmmmmmm...for the sake of argument, basketball and football do it this way!
It seems that college basketball ref's call a MUCH better game than the pro's. But that is a different story.
The fact is, baseball is the only major sport where amateur level experience does NOT count towards advancement to the pro ranks!
I am not sure that is either good or bad. I do know this. I have worked with many ex professional umpires. None are all that bad, but few were all that great either! I have also worked with far too many guys coming out of Evan's school who are just plain bad. The guys that improved would have done so simply with a one week camp and working another 30 games with a good mentor. Some of the best umpires I have worked with did not attend a professional umpire school!
I am not saying the current system is good or bad. I just don't agree it is for sure the best way to go about it!