Damn, tell Jenkins your's is busted. Anyone who calls a fellow umpire a "rat" as you did canadaump, I hope to God I am on his Ignore List. Include anyone who would listen to your bleating and do so because you so commanded.

Many are, you, hell if I know, if the plate shoe fits......

I didn't, you went off on a rant. First, umpiring is profitable in most cases. Second, the number of umpires who aren't profitable are in the few not the many. Third, profitability is what drives umpiring which is why I said that umpires need those checks and that is the main reason why we can't stand tall for the changes that need to be made. Labor Econ 101.

The money is "helpful", stop taking it will determine how helpful it is. When I stopped taking it, it was a real issue. I thought that I would receive some kind of freedom, turns out, at first, it made me more skeptical as to why I was out there in the first place. Later, nothing really changed EXCEPT that my attitude did. I have no obligation to coaches and parents because I am a hired hand.

What I learned is if you take the pay, those who pay take ownership of you. Say all you like, but the psychology is still there. If you don't, then that relationship ends.

You would be wrong. I take the pay every single time and no one owns me. Part of the deal is to get paid. I could give a damn whom pays me for a game. I just want to be paid for what I am there to do. My obligation is only to the assignor or league I may work for. The schools or home team usually pays because that is their obligation to do so.

Peace

If you think that you are not emotionaly or psychologically influenced by taking pay, you are either in denial and/or out of touch with your real feelings.

I see this constantly on this Forum, and with hundreds of umpires I have worked with. I had the same puffy chested stance myself.

Who wants to admit being under the thumb of the Payor? Especially when we are abused, underpaid and at their whim and call? It is degrading, isn't it?

So the answer is often " no one owns me"; ain't the case. No matter what, if you take the pay, you are owned.

For outward appearance, umps talk tall " I won't do this or that", "I call the shots, not those who pay me". BS, puffy chested talk.

Umps are human beings, with egos, most of us have been terribly abused; we need the paycheck and no one stands up for us. What do we have left?

Puffy chested self esteem. What a sad comment that is on our society that we are so undevalued. :mad:

By your definition everyone is always under someone's thumb. When you pay to have you hair cut, they are under your thumb. When you go to work, you are under your bosses thumb.

Or you can look at it as a business transaction. That is why in the state of Ohio I am labeled a contractor. The HS contracts with me to perform a piece of work under certain conditions and I sign a contract that obligates both of us.

When I "contract" to umpire a ball game, it is under certain conditions. I am an independent contractor performing "piece of work" "umpiring a ball game" for a certain amount of money under established rules that I will enforce and they can not change.

That must be a record - what was it, 9 ignored posts in a row? How liberating.

If'n I don'ts get paid, how's I ever gonna gets me a HSM to protects me grape when I forgets to WATCH THE F"N BALL!!!!!?

Total BS. Maybe you are influenced by who pays you, I am not. I know many other umpires and officials that are not either. You need to meet more human beings that do not give a damn what others think. All humans are not influenced by others. Some people move to their own beat and what happens in officiating is no different.

Peace

For me it was 8 in a row, but who's counting? :)

I'm 58. In my life, I've had easy jobs and hard jobs, and invariably the easier a job is, the more it pays; the harder it is, the less it pays. I'm not talking necessarily about enjoyment, just difficulty.

This was true in my first job, the hardest one I ever had, teaching in a public high school (for peanuts). Far easier was training people at large companies—for vastly more $$. Even within the large companies, the easiest jobs paid the most. Easier still was sitting home and assigning other people to do the work, which paid even more.

You know that people working for minimum wage don't have easy jobs.

Umpiring is enjoyable, but it is hard work. But what's easier (and more fun), a game between two good college teams or a rec league walkfest that pays far less? See my point?

Y'all cain't ignore 'em .........
 

.......... if'n y'all keep quotin' 'em up !!!

You can't fix stupid - Ron White



Arnold, your signature: How appropos!

If you think that you are not emotionaly or psychologically influenced by taking pay, you are either in denial and/or out of touch with your real feelings.

An umpire is a member of the administration of a league. He is paid to administer and enforce the rules of the game as written. If you choose not to enforce the rules then you don't work for the league, even if you volunteer to do so at no pay.

In other words you cannot " do your own thing" , even for free.

Just a thought. FYI

The leagues go to great lengths to divorce the umpires from the leagues for reasons beneficial to the leagues and detrimental to umpires. They call us independent contractors so our actions or inactions don't reflect upon them. We are not members of league administration.

You can "do your own thing" even for pay--that's the very nature of being an independent contractor. If they don't like it they can choose not to rehire you.