[MikeStrybel]

At the risk of seeing another ramble and going against multiple PMs asking me not to engage you in logical debate, here goes nothing.

Originally Posted by JRutledge

I totally disagree about not bringing in other sports, because most top officials I know work other or have at one time. And this is not just a baseball only philosophy where preventive officiating or umpiring is used. And finally this complete comparison to pro umpires is totally different. We are not the pros. They have a lot of things they would never have to deal with and things they do we never have to deal with. I honestly in most cases do not care what pro guys do because if I handled myself they do at the college and HS level, I might not be working very long.

You consistently bring up other sports that are not relevant to baseball umpiring. What may be acceptable in another sport has nothing to do with baseball officiating. Nothing.

You keep talking about the Manual, but I have never read in any manual how to look in your uniform or to have it looked pressed and or what mask to use which we often talk about here. Also in Illinois we do not use any Manual (at least not from the NF) so I have no idea what that says or care what it says.

I mentioned having a manual to corroborate opinion because that is exactly what others here do. They demand that an umpire show support for a contention.

Anyone who has attended pro school knows that we receive direction on how to dress. Many of us were also told what equipment to use. Still, your comment is ludicrous on face and depserate at best. We are talking about mechanics and those are readily available in a number of media formats.

In Illinois, we use the NFHS rule book, supplemented by the IHSA codes and by-laws. Our clinics cover mechanics and standards. In none of our baseball literature will you find mention of helping a team subvert the rules.

Wrong on the part in bold. You said you do not work HS anymore. I still do a great deal of HS (cut back on all of it but it fills a good part of my schedule overall) and I work a lot of college too.

I have never stated that. Please do not misrepresent what I say here.

College coaches have a lot of say in who works their games than most HS coaches and if you tick off a college coach they tend to hold more of a grudge. Again, most of those umpires I know treat this area almost the same. So that is why I do not understand your point about ratings when ratings do not determine who works in the playoffs (at least in our state as people might think they do) and this has nothing to do with not making a tough call. It has to do with trying to prevent a very borderline infraction like a balk so that every similar action will not have to be called based on a very minor or debatable infraction. But if the infraction is obvious, of course no matter what you have said that needs to be called. And I can tell you I have made a lot of tough calls at all levels only and my ratings are still very high.

For those not familiar with Illinois ratings protocol, I offer this: umpires are rated by coaches for every contest they work and by the top level of umpire partners (Certified) as well. Those numbers are compiled and officials are issued a power rating. It is used to rank you and assign playoffs. While not perfect, it is still a decent way to establish umpire ability. It is a work in progress and our leadership sees room for improvement. I anticpate changes that will allow for personal evaluation and less merit given to coach assessment and Top 15 list involvement. These last two are suspect at the moment.

Collegiate umpires also recieve ratings. I didn't think I needed to state the obvious.

I have spoken with numerous officials, both partners and at the clinics I teach, regarding ratings responsibility. Some guys refuse to check equipment, enforce jewelry rules, batter's box infractions or call balks simply because they want to earn top ratings from coaches. They openly admit that they are compelled to give players and teams breaks because they want to advance and are stuck behind higher rated umpires. This is not a difference in philosophy - the original play held a PU and his crew accountable for making a tough and unexpected call. We can debate ad nauseum whether they should have made that call or not, how they demonstrated it, who should have done what, how much tolerance was acceptable to upset coaches, etc. In the end, you umpire to your convictions. I related the story of a partner who tried 'preventive umpiring' (he told the shortstop to tell the pitcher to pause) only to have it blow up in his face. I showed how a coach jumped on me for keeping players from interfering with a play. Some of you find it acceptable to warn pitchers for balking (the rules don't support this) or other "minor" team/player infractions. Good for you. I encourage you to watch the CWS this week. Go to an MiLB park near you or watch the MLB crews at work. They have adopted new personalities out there. They don't ignore, coddle and help others cheat. I choose to emulate them. In the end, your integrity is all you have. I'll take a lower rating in order to sleep better at night. I see no reason to try to convince you to not cheat. If you are inclined to make it easier for yourself to officiate by preventing a player/team from breaking a rule, go ahead. I will not attempt to change that mindest any further. It is not arrogance, rather frustration that drives this now. I have never said I was better than anyone else here nor do I think others are less talented. Umpire to what is expected of you or allows you to be noticed by the powers that be. I'll continue to try to call what I see.