What a nightmare!

[thumpferee]

Of all the conversations we have had regarding LL umpires, I never really understood where some of you were coming from.

I see now!

Had 3 games yesterday, 13-15 yo, using LL rules. This is a private league and yes, we get paid.

I show up to the field and see the director talking to another guy who had on dark grey slacks, solid blue shirt with collar, black reboks (old and dirty) and a black Nike hat. I ask the director who I would be calling with. Yeh, you guessed it. I even offered him one of my shirts and hat so we could look like a team out there, he declined.

Anyway, first game I give him the plate. He was verbally calling swinging strikes, saying "ball 1-2-3", giving the count backwards, 2strikes, 1ball also showing balls on his right hand. First play of the game I have is a not so close play at 3rd. R2 stealing, safe by a mile with no real tag applied. I come up with that, ya know, nonchalant safe signal when I hear "SAFE". ???
I thought I was hearing things, so I just overlooked it. Two batters later B1 hits to SS who throws BR out by 10 steps, same thing. I come up, close my fist, and I hear "OUT".

I told him if you want to call this game yourself, I can go home and still get paid. No more problems with that, but I think he was timid after that because he wouldn't even call a ball foul.

On the bases, he was calling outs with thumb out, calling "time" with a closed fist, and making calls before there was even a play being made. More on this later.

Now I understand he obviously had not been trained very well, so I offered him some advise early on in the first game, which he did not seem to want. So I let him continue in his ways.

Just when I thought I had seen everything an umpire could possibly do wrong in a game, I see this:

2nd game I have the dish. At coaches meeting, my p comes out wearing a, yeh you guessed it, a BIG ball bag. NOT a normal ball bag, this one looked like a granny pack, velcro and all. After the meeting, I asked him WTF you have in there, lunch?

Well, after a couple plays, I now know what was in there.
Play 1: Ball goes foul down 1st base line. He pulls a ball out, throws it back to the pitcher, and retrieves the ball from F3.

Play 2: R1 stealing 2nd, the throw, the slide, the tag, "SAFE". R2 calls time. P calls "time", with his fist up I might add, when he then reached into his "belt pack", pull out a brush and dusts off the base.

Boy it was a long day!

Sorry for the long post, but had to share.

Good thing about this experience though, I realize now that I am NOT a LL umpire!

Thanks for listening!