Blue Collar Umpires; Where Are The White Collared Execs?

[GarthB]

Originally Posted by kylejt

If you're seeking WC umpires, look no further than your local Little League organization. I've got a bank president, airline pilot, and lots of "suits" volunteering as pretty decent umpires. These folks don't do it for the money, yet go through a lot of training, buy the best gear, and are sharper then most local association umpires. Here in SoCal, most LL guys go through the one week school in San Bernadino.

In my area Joe Lunchbox works for the association, gets little or no training, fifty bucks for a Pony game, and gets yelled at a lot. On the other hand the LL suits get lots of training, perhaps even a Desert Classic or the one week, and are motivated not by the dollar, but to do better.

This varies drastically by region. Here, the typical LL umpire shows up in jeans or shorts with shinguards on the outside, a blue shirt of some kind, and a baseball cap on backwards. He doesn't flinch, he actually backs up three steps with ever pitch and calls plays on all bases from behind the catcher.

Here it is the association members who take in the camps, clinics, proschools and local mechanics training sessions and work to move up.