Quote:
Originally Posted by NCASAUmp
Ahem... Speaking as an ASA SP-only umpire... Referring to SP umpires as being the "worst umpires" is, quite frankly, an insult (Oh, by the way... Nice grammar. It's "worst," not "worse," Bub.). I did not say SP umpires were a bunch of newbies. I said this is rec league play, and your expectations should follow accordingly.
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I'm not an umpire, nor do I play one on TV
, but even I have to chime in here. Yes, there are some SP umpires who seem to spend more time showing off their invented signals or lack of knowledge and such, but the majority of umpies in my friends' co-ed league are decent, hustle, and try to do their job well. Sure, even the good ones have bad days (as in week #1 when an umpire who I think is one of the best in our league decided to grant a courtesy foul when our league rules specifically say there is none), but he's since learned the proper local rule and has done a good job in the subsequent games he has umpired involving our team. And with 13 years observing softball (HS/NFHS and now adult SP), I can say that there I've run into more decent umpires than bad ones; it's just that everyone always seems to remember who they think did a bad job as opposed to the ones that did a good job.
And speaking as a player in an adult kickball league (we use modified ASA rules), it is frustrating when the umpire either doesn't know a rule or continues to make the same mistakes over and over, but seeing this is an adult social sports club, I have to remind my competitive self that these games are just for fun and for being active and bad calls here aren't an end-of-the-world thing. It's not always easy in the heat of the moment, though.