Different Times, Different Circumstances, Differing Locales

[fitump56]

Soapbox mounted

I grew up in the South, calling ball for $4 a game. The managers of the youth and adult teams were from the working class. They climbed poles, dug holes and did so in the high heat and humidity. They were underpaid, without union representation, better than working the Delta cotton fields but not air conditioned, exec types. When game time came, it was often time to take their frustrations out on the umps.

These managers would sit around and pass tips to each other. They played games with their teams 10x a week, not much practice, lotsa booze. The tips were how to humilate the umpires, to "work" them, to gain advantage.

After a game, you didn't know if you would have safe passage to to your car. Most umps had rides, we carpooled and our car was not in the parking lot. It came and picked all of us up. The police rarely responded.

If you were caught in a new set of rule trickery (called "in-betweeners" since OBR did not cover these aberrations) and didn't have an authoratative rsponse, immediately, you were in for a very, very bad day or night.

We had to come up with a coherent, logical and consistent rule interps and express them when these managers would present us umps with the strangest of the strange. They werr geniouses

Soapbox dismounted

[NFump]

Sounds like you could've used a PDA to look up them thar rules. That would've went over really well. You would've looked very credible stopping the game and looking up the rule wouldn't you.