Evaluators and evaluations are best treated the way Bret and jicecone described. Excellent stuff. (And, Bret, I always carry two pairs of plate and base shoes in the "freakin' umpire store" in the back of
my SUV
... along with everything any
two umpires would need to umpire a ballgame. Usually, all four pairs are scrubbed and shiny, but at least one pair of each are always in top shape by having the back-ups around all the time. They also seem to last longer by rotating that way ... don't ask me how.)
I want to get better and I want to look as sharp as possible, no matter what level I work. I got evaluated last week by my partner and an observer who was working the next game. Both are excellent veteran umpires that I like and respect, and both were kind in their evaluation and very helpful with a few little things I could attend to. Bret's right about being open to everything, because it's the only way you'll ever hear the most helpful stuff.
I go to a lot of D-I games like Pepperdine, Loyola and mostly UCLA (which I can walk to from my office). I like to watch players that I coached on All-Star teams and travel teams play their college games. I also go to a lot of JUCO games because my son's a player there. It's one of my fondest thrills.
While I'm there, I like to watch the umpires as though I was an evaluator. Most of the umpiring is ostensibly outstanding. But I have seen some interesting stuff--even from the NCAA D-I umpires. Now, if I really was an evaluator, I would get writer's cramp with a couple of these guys.
I saw one D-I game in which the plate umpire gave the location of every single close ball call. ("Ball—low." ... "Ball—out." ... "Ball—up.") And he wasn't saying it to the catcher, either. He was calling it out. I think I tell the catcher the location of close ones five or six times a game, and never call it out like that. And I don't know many who do call it out like that. Do any of you?
I saw a base umpire at a Pepperdine game turn his head to look at college babes at least three dozen times (the volleyball team was roaming the stands selling raffle tickets). Everyone knows you're supposed to keep your head still and track them with your eyes!
And some uniform standards are relaxing: Caps without creases; untucked windbreakers ... little stuff. But the most notable is the shoes. The no-white thing has become a thing of the past: The garish new Reeboks are popping up everywhere. Also, base shoes with white linings on the outsoles, and white logos are seemingly acceptable now. I have two sets of NB 450s and both the NB 350s and 995 mids. One of the 450s has blacked-out N logos and the 995s come in all black. The 350s have the white logos as do one of the pairs of 450s. I don't mind the white marks, personally, I just want to comply with whatever the standard is.
I suppose I like watching the umpires as much as anything now. In fact, some times—especially when my son or one of my guys is pitching—I have to really work to tune the umps out. But by watching them like I would if I really was an evaluator, I learn a hell of a lot about the subtleties of umpiring. It also makes me realize that I have a pretty good standard for my own umpiring.