[ManInBlue]

Originally Posted by outathm

Whenever I hear a guy tell me that he doesn't umpire for the money I go to the assigner or tournament director and tell him to give that guy's game fees to me.

I do umpire in part to stay in contact with the game I grew up with and love. In part because I know that every kid I see on the field is a kid I will not hear about in the news shooting up a neighborhood or school, and because the exercise I get keeps me from becoming Jabba the Hut and is much more fun than killing my knees on the sidewalks around the neighborhood.

But the primary reason I umpire is the money. It is a source of income for me and I will freely admit it to anyone who asks.

OK, I'll ask. Why do you umipre? Why not work at McDonald's, or JcPenny? If it is indeed the income you desire, why not work somewhere that you can "perform" all year (rather than seasonally) and where you can probably get more money?

I think I know why. Because you would rather umpire. So it's not so much the money you want. Although, you wouldn't do it for free. You prefer to be on the field with something you enjoy rather than flipping burgers. The fact that you get paid to do this is a tremendous motivator. But you could do something else -if indeed money was your #1 factor in the decision.

I contest that you do not umpire "for the money" I would say that you, like most, want (or need) extra income and you CHOSE to get that money on the baseball field. You chose to do something you grew up with, something you love. But indeed you could get the money from some other source.

Do you love the money or the level of play? if the level of play, then you would have been more accurate to state, "I will do a HS game before an 11yo game" or some such.

Both actually. I would take a HS game over an 11 yo game. I also would take the extra $15 regardless of level. If you were going to pay me the same for both -I'm taking the higher level. If I have a choice of the same level and more pay -I'm taking the pay. But either way, I'm going to be on the field and money has not gotten me out there. Money may have gotten me to a different field, a different contest -but I'm going to umpire anyway.

How do you know what the intention was of the Wal-Mart comment?

Because I read the ENTIRE statement. I didn't stop where your quote did. It seemed pretty clear what the intent was.