Quote:
Originally Posted by MD Longhorn
You are to be commended for that - but you are the exception. I work LL ball once a year - at the end when a nearby league brings in real, paid umpires. I'm always paired (or trio'd) with 1 or 2 umpires they've been using all year. And they scare the crap out of me. I've had them argue with me that the hands ARE part of the bat. I've had them argue that under no circumstances can you award a base that the runner didn't attempt to get to after they were obstructed. I've had them call TIE! on a banger at first. I've had them call time with two runners on the same base. I've had them call a foul-tip-strikeout on a ball that went bat-mask-ground. I've had one guy flat out insist that he would never eject a coach after he got berated by one and we were discussing it between games. "It's not about me, it's about the kids" - so when he botched the hell out of a call and the same coach came flying out - experienced partner and I let him fly in the wind. 5 minutes. No ejection.
And they "get by" with this nonsense all season until their tournaments... and the other "real" umpires and I leave the place stunned and with tons of stories like those I just mentioned.
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Our LL District has sent 3 umpires to Williamsport (LLWS), 1 to Bangor (Senior WS), 2 to Taylor (Junior WS). About 7-8 of us have worked the LL Regional and 3 of us worked a regional final on ESPN.
We're also HS and college umpires in the spring. 3 of us have worked (or will work) HS state.
There are a ton of bad LL umpires and there are a ton of bad paid umpires who show up and "try" to "work" 6-7 games in a day not caring at all about the work except for the part where they get paid.
In the end, this has very little to do with volunteer/paid or LL/travel or any of that crap. It has to do with pride and being mentored by the right people along the way and wanting to be as good as one can be. I don't work any harder for that college check than I do for the LL kids.