Quote:
Originally Posted by Snaqwells
No, he wasn't trying to improve (at least not with this move). I think you missed the point. He appropriately gave the coaches' comments the credence they deserved; none. However, they gave him better scores merely because he had asked for their input; not because he made the changes they suggested.
They got worked.
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Exactly. My friend went to the Jim Evans umpire school and actually turned down an offer to work in organized baseball. He's an outstanding umpire.
But that doesn't matter around here. Here, it's number of years of service (and if those years are in another state it doesn't show up anywhere) and coach ratings. And his coach ratings were so high, they ignored their usual #1 qualification, years of service.
I've watched the state tournament on the Internet. A few decent umpires there (and those have connections of some kind), but I'd say 9 of the 12 are guys in their late 50s or 60s or 70s who can't move and whose best days were (if ever) a long time ago. Sectional crew chiefs wearing jackets bought in the 1980s from Kmart and using balloon protectors behind the plate. Consider it a gold watch assignment, which, to me, is despicable. The kids and the game deserve better.
I've had a conversation with a coach who's also a very good umpire. He hires his own non-conference officials and for those games he only hires from a very small group of people (and I'm happy to be one of them). I asked him once about how he rates umpires and he admitted he gave good ratings to some very poor umpires because they're "nice guys" and he doesn't want to hurt them. Then he said, "But I give all you guys the top ratings."
And this is from a guy who actually can tell me all of the bad habits and bad things these guys do on the field -- most coaches don't have a clue. So they give good ratings to the old-timers that they know well (and who would never make a call such as batter's interference or a balk or take care of unsporting behavior) and give lesser ratings to officials who feel that's all part of the job.
So, no, I won't play the game. I'm still rated very well (just not in the stratosphere), but it's unlikely I'll get the call anytime soon. I'm only a 9th year umpire (with 15 years in other states and that doesn't count).