Good or Bad does it make a difference

[PeteBooth]

This thread excludes PRO ball.

The theme of my thread deals with

"What kind of umpire are you and why"

In addition to the "by the book" vs. "Common sense and Fair Play", Umpires fall into the below categories.

1. Prestige, meaning striving for the BIG Game. Example: I have a friend who recently joined the ECAC (Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference) umpires association. He wants one day to go to the college World Series and he is willing to Travel "All over God's creation" if he has to.

2. An umpire with a Family and can't travel much but wants to do a good job, willing to learn and at least do a BIG HS game or equivalent.

Then there is good ole Number 3.

3. The Smitty's of the world who could care less. Give me my paycheck and I will see you tomorrow.

It's ironic in that for the most part the "Smitties" of the world make the most money and have less stress.

Why!

They are available everyday and will not travel too far. In addition, they do not have much stress because they do not care how they are rated or perceived.

I had a chance to talk to one of the Smitties who was honest and open about his umpiring.

This particular umpire told me that when he first started he was Gung ho, wanted to advance etc. then reality hit him, meaning:

1. Why is it that when a Coach or player gets EJ'd in a BIG game it is the umpires fault, meaning we are supposed to let a player , coach, vent and do our best to keep them in the game.

2. If the game does end on a call that's questionable it's our fault, meaning the 9 million errors, not advancing runners, 9 million runners left on base didn't matter.

Here in NY there is a talk show called "Mike and the Mad Dog" and yesterday's guest was Jeff Van Gundy the coach of the Rockets. They were talking about Game 7's of the NBA finals and the last team to lose a game 7 was the NY Knicks vs. the Houston Rockets in 1994.

Game 7 was played in Houtson. Jeff mentioned that in November of that year Houston beat NY at Madison Square Guarden. Both teams ended the season at 55 wins, but since the Rockets beat the Knicks in that regular season game, the Rockets got home court.

Ok what does this mean. It means that a baseball game is 7 innings long and what happens in the first inning can have a direct outcome on the game, yet an umpire's call in the last inning is the crucial one.

This particular umpire realized that baseball is a GAME and that what matter's most to him was his family etc. In addition, you and your partner could have a "great" game, but the partcipants do not see it that way, etc. The umpiring FEES helped him/her financially and he did not get ajeda over a baseball game.

I do not know about you, but for the last 3/4 years around this time, I have often wondered myself.

"Pete why do you still do this"

My answer to date is because I have fun meaning I enjoy the friendships of my fellow umpires and I make a decent buck over the summer.

In Summary.

1. Where do you stand in your career?
2. Do you get the feeling that "hey this is enough and it's time for something else"
3. Financial reasons, meaning you might be out of work at this time and

Have you ever thought of becoming a "Smitty" and simply did not care.

Pete Booth