MLBU - what kind of program would you run

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by GarthB

No, I didn't miss your point. It's that your point is incorrect.

According to the NFL League office, for a period of time, all new NFL Officials saw duty in what was later called NFL Europe while they were still calling college ball.

I disagree because I heard this from a current NFL official what they had to do. We are just going to have to disagree on this. My information is more than one interview on a website.

And if you ask me, MLB has the worst system of hiring umpires. They limit their pool of qualified people by requiring people to attend a class that almost eliminates anyone with a job or a family. Then they require people to be away for months from the rest of civilization to work a game that almost no one hears anything about. I have a friend that is in the Minor League System and he is not going to work winter ball in Venezuela until February. Now he does not have children and is not married and the few times he is home he still lives with his parents. Now I know guys that cannot work another sport because their spouse gets mad they are away from home too much and they get to sleep in the same house on a daily basis.

I think the NFL system is more reasonable. I think officials in the NFL are some of the better officials in pro sports. I think the NBA has a more reasonable system because the official being considered can still come home on a regular basis. And the NBA does solicit officials that work the college ranks as well and takes into account someone’s full experiences where MLB does not seemed to care about what you did before you got into their system. And the worst thing is that they never seem to fire a single umpire for anything. MLB Umpires can totally screw up and they still have a job after the end of the season. If you want the best people, use all officials with vastly different backgrounds.

Peace