[Back In The Saddle]

Originally Posted by NCASAUmp

Well, even for kids' games, I think it gives them a sense of "hey, this is for real" when a real umpire shows up and not some volunteer wearing jean shorts and a white t-shirt. If leagues want to pay for an umpire, then let them pay for one. However, if it's purely rec ball, don't expect the assignors to send their best umpires. They should require just one umpire instead of a two-ump crew.

There's one adult league here that exists purely for the fun of it. The teams even offered last year to forgo the playoffs so that they could all have a big cookout instead. Our assignor tried to convince them that if that's their goal (just to have fun), maybe they could do with only one umpire and save a bit of money. Unfortunately, the person running the league declined and insisted upon two umpires for every game.

Perhaps they do get a flutter of "for real-ness" in their tiny hearts when they see real umpires (honestly I doubt it, but perhaps). But would they really be missing anything if they didn't? Does a "for real" umpire actually add to the quality of their experience? Most of those games (and I've done my share) don't actually require anything more than the kid in the jean shorts and white t-shirt can give you.