[GarthB]

Buckeye:

You might want to be careful about coaches remembering your name. In my experience that is not always a good thing.

Most coaches more clearly remember the names of those umpires they don't wish to see again. As an assignor I hear the following two comments most often:

1. I can't believe you assigned Joe Blow to me again. Are you nuts? I'll never forget that call he blew last year.

2. Hey Garth, why don't you assign me that kid I had a couple of weeks ago? You know, what's-his-name, the tall skinny kid who looks like a pro. He did a great job. I hardly knew he was there.

Trust me. I knew who he was talking about. And when the coaches ask for or suggest umpires for play-off games or tournaments, I will know who they mean when they want "the red headed guy who made that great call on the bases."

And they'll know who they mean when they say, "Don't use John Smith, he's never in the right place to make a call."

I don't think my experience is unique. You might check with His Holiness to see if his is similar.


GB