Replacement Umpires, Being Successful, and Getting What You Deserve

[SRW]

I wrote this last night for our association newsletter... it's probably a little long for this forum, but what the hell. Be prepared - it's a little caustic... Enjoy. - SRW



I have been exposed recently to umpires who just aren’t very motivated. People who have no motivation or no inspiration drive me crazy. They have nothing to offer. They all want to umpire the best games they can by contributing as little as possible. They show up as late to the games as they can, leaving the tournaments as early as possible. They never study the rule differences, they don’t wear a proper uniform, and they don’t take the time to get educated. They don’t make themselves indispensable. These are the kinds of people who are always threatening to go on strike by not working games, or are threatening to go umpire for another softball association, or even threatening to play the race card when they don’t get the prime assignments – you know what I’m talking about.

For me I’m just fed up with it. Because being successful - even on a small scale, even if you’re running a lemonade stand or if you own a shoe shine stand - being successful is all about a state of mind. It is all about the desire to be the best at what you do that you can possibly be. Many of the people who complain that they don’t make the big game, or they don’t get the state tournament or a national championship assignment are exactly the people I’m talking about. These are the umpires that don’t contribute anything, either to the group as a whole or to themselves individually. These are the people who don’t have anything to offer. These are the people who are completely replaceable, and I wouldn’t shed a tear if they were replaced.

Let’s take those umpires for example. You know the ones I’m talking about. The ones who complain about everything from the pay they get to the level of games they want to umpire. The ones who are “too good” to do 12U. The ones who just go work game after game and never give a rat’s a$$ about getting better. The ones who don’t care that their jacket says ASA when they’re working an NFHS game. You know who you are. I’ll bet you’re reading this article right now.

You don’t care about yourself or the product you produce. You’re the one who gets into more trouble on the field because you’re out of position, or you don’t know the rule. You’re the one who screws up the illegal pitch rule because you don’t know the differences between an ASA pitch and an NFHS pitch. As a tournament umpire assignor, if I have enough umpires to cover a tournament, you’re the one I will cut first.

It’s frustrating. As someone who has had to take risks, as someone who has to be creative to make his way up the food chain, I just have to say that I understand that there are some people who don’t have any ability. There are some umpires who don’t have any talent, who don’t have anything to offer beyond taking up space or showing up to a game every day. There are people who just don’t care if they improve. I understand that; I get it.

Everybody out there - you, other umpires, me, everybody - is getting the salary, benefits, and the game assignments they deserve. Everybody. You get what you deserve. If you’re not getting what you think you should be getting, go get it. Go learn something new. Roll up your sleeves and study the rulebook and the umpire’s manual. Come up with some ideas.

One thing is for sure, if you want to make some money, it’s there. If you want opportunities to go to state tournaments or national championships, take it from someone who’s done it: the opportunities are here. If you just want to make district playoffs, the opportunities are here. You can get an education. You can learn the rules. You can learn the mechanics. You can study the weird plays. You can go to training camps. Opportunity is not a guarantee. Opportunity exists for those who make the most of it.

For those of you who count on the executive board to protect you, and you are incompetent and unwilling to show up at the board meetings, the general membership meetings, the training events, or unwilling to work hard, you’re probably getting more than you deserve.

I know I’m getting what I deserve, I’ll tell you that right now, I deserve everything I’m getting. I don’t deserve more and I don’t deserve less. This is what I deserve today. If I deserve more, I’ll have to produce more. I’ll have to make my product even better. I’ll have to work harder. I’ll have to go out and promote more. If I want to continue on this upward trajectory, I may have to go out and work even harder than I already do.

But I don’t feel sorry for people who don’t feel like they’re paid enough. I have to hear this at tournaments, at general membership meetings, at the banquet… people complaining about the crew chief, people complaining about their game fees – tough! Tough luck! You created this, you put yourself there, you did it. People don’t want to take responsibility for themselves. You did it! Why do you insist on blaming your lack of success on others?

You’re getting exactly what you deserve, pal. You do know that, don’t ya?

"Be not simply good; be good for something"
- Henry David Thoreau