[GarthB]

There are excellent paid amateur umpires and there are excellent volunteer amateur umpires. But who takes credit for those excellent umpires who do both? I know of a couple umps who work Babe Ruth games for pay and who also work LL games for free. Are they paid or volunteer or a special hybrid class?

I'll provide my own answer. I think anyone who receives financial compensation, not a hot dog and a Dr Pepper, for umpiring is a paid umpire, even if he volunteers in other games. To call him a volunteer would be akin to calling Madonna a virgin becomes she sleeps alone sometimes.

Now to the main topic.

Since it is agreed that both paid amateurs and volunteer amateurs have within their ranks excellent umpires, how do we compare them overall?

Despite Dave Hensley's protest, I submit that we look to the top of each category. In the paid amateur arena that would be, in my opinion, the NCAA College World Series umpires. In the amateur arena, that would be the Little League World Series umpires.

In both arenas we have umpires with many years of experience who have worked their way up through the ranks. In fact, I believe some of the LLWS umpires had more years of exerience than some of the CWS umpires.

We can disregard the talent of the players and concentrate on the performance of the umpires. I believe that it has been obvious over the years that the CWS umpires performed better, looked better, made fewer obvious mistakes and, in Andy Konyars terms, fewer CWS umpires left their "A" game at home.

So at the top end of the amateur food chains, the paid umpires win out.

At the lower ends, it's not as decisive. There are dedicated, talented and ambitious people in both the paid and volunteer ranks. For some, it isn't a matter of choice but a matter of geography. For example, there is no Little League in my area. Every league pays their umpires. I know of some areas where the only youth ball IS Little League, so again, they have no choice to be paid or volunteer. During the first two years there really isn't much of a difference between the two camps.

But as time goes on opportunities to work higher level ball falls more to the paid umpires than to those who wish to remain full time volunteers. High School bekons, Legion and Adult Ball bekon. Many paid umpires prepare for this by attending clinics, seminars and even pro-school.

In the volunteer world, upward mobility, I believe, lies in advancement within the same general league. Still, many of these umpires prepare by attending clinics and seminars. A couple I know went to pro school. The LLWR has a hell of a training school as well.

However, many, if not most of the volunteer umpires I know who spent money on multiple clinics or pro school began to also work paid games. They then come out of the vounteer side of the equation.

Conclusion? In the first couple years of paid and volunteer work, there is no real difference in the performance of umpires, but as time moves on, a higher percentage of paid umpires move up and perform at higher personal levels than do those in the volunteer group, until finally at the top levels the paid umpires have a decided advantage over the pure volunteer.

That is, in everything except desire, love of the activity, effort and satisfaction.

As Mr. Freix would say, of course, that's just my opinion.

(edited for spelling only)

[Edited by GarthB on Mar 5th, 2003 at 10:58 AM]