My 1st Ejection

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

from my point of view working solo stunts the growth of umpires. There are guys where we live struggling in their 4th and 5th year when they finally work a 2 man game. They do not know where to go and where to stand which is extremely basic stuff.

If I had been forced to work solo exclusively for 4 or 5 years before working 2-man, I would have been lost too. They never did that to us here. Everyone who was qualified got to go work with the veterans, and get work on the bases. Plus, we had instructors, clinics, and several pro school grads and minor league umpires doing drills with us. One in particular had me running pivots from "A" in a shopping mall parking lot under the lights late at night after a game. There was a whole lot of emphasis on developing umpires who wanted to learn and advance when I started out.