Blue Collar Umpires; Where Are The White Collared Execs?
 

Our org is a reeeeally different ump org. We recruited white collar, ex-athletes who see umpiring as an enjoyable second occupation. This is far and away outside the box.

Not going into the history of how this org emerged but the salient point that we fought with is why is it that white collar, highly educated men and women are not seen with any even modest % in the umpiring ranks?

Here is why.

1) Good Ole Boys Clubs are run by blue collar guys. They have to put up w/ WC managers, damned if they want them in their off work worlds.

2) No WC guy is going to get assignments that BC guys really need to sustain reasonable incomes and lifestyles. Let Boss take his $100K, leave us our second incomes.

3) Ump orgs are not the least bit interested (e.g MLB) in putting the best out there. If they were, they would go after the WC guys. Not that the WC guys are inherently superior umpires, but the elimination of the WC guys cuts the competition severely and the numbers of umpires is lessened = less competition.

4) WC guys tend not to be 8-5ers.

Etc etc etc

Here's what we found.

1) WC guys have no idea how to become umpires; it's a world of BC guys and they see, feel and understand they are not ever going to be "In"

2) WC guys don't need the money so they have no reason to put up with all the BS, travel, parents, etc.

3) WC guys can be arrogant pricks who have been raised, or have chosen, to distance themselves from the BC sector.

What we found:

When you cut down the st00pid income barriers, and treat everyone the same, performance, training, continuing education...thesde being the foundations required by everyone, the umpiring field is leveled. Setting specific and rigourous standards including game control, rules for ejections, safety, pay on performance...WC and BC guys dig it.

Moral?

Kick the BC mentaility out of the ump orgs, challenge the WC guys to put up or shut up, remove the socio-economic crapola, demand respect for every umpire and demand the same from each, you get the best of the best.

Regardless of race, creed, Indian heritage, age of car, Scotch vs Budweiser.

In the association I once belonged to (I'm currently in Germany) we have/had folks from every conceivable occupation from lawyer, university professor, active/retired military, HS teacher, realtor, insurance adjustor, etc. These are just those I can personally remember. However, NONE of this mattered once they showed up at the game site!! What mattered was how experienced they were, what they could teach their partner and whether they hustled!

Wouldn't it be great if we could just go through the world and hand select those people we would like to to officiate in our organizations.

I would tend to believe that most organizations are ecstatic if they have enough members to cover all the games they have. Being selective, based upon the color of their collar or any other parameter is not something organizations can enjoy.

I agree BC boys tend to run organizations like a union business hall and WC tend to run it more like a corporation stockholder meeting with pluses and minus's in each however, just remember, BC mentality may not be to your liking but there would probably not be many WC without them.

Then where would be?

I'm a WC guy and I've been officiating for over 20 years. The baseball list I help run has 2 lawyers, 2 doctors, and a high ranking VP for one of the "name" banks in the world. And that's just off the top of my head.

My former association has several top level surgeons and other doctors within its membership, none of whom are actually good enough to umpire JV Tiddlywinks, yet they get all the plum assignments and top playoff games. I wouldn't want these guys doing my LL Majors game, let alone important Varsity games, but their "collar" gives them clout within the organization.

Our association has lawyers, doctors, nurses, teachers, college professors, bank executives, business owners, law enforcement personnel, professional umpires, plumbers, salespeople, students, contractors and military. There are excellent in each category.

We do not find that umpiring skill is necessarily day-job related.

That was more or less my point, which was to refute the idea that white collar workers made superior umpires in comparison to blue collar folks. This was the gist is what the original poster was intimating. His post broke my BS meter and now I have to take it into the shop for repair.:)

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.

Sorry, I didn't read the original post. The author is on my ignore list. I read your post and it appeared you were saying "white collar" workers do not umpire as well as others.

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.

I've never seen so many gross generalizations in one spot.

Well put. I hope you don't discount my opinion because of my occupation!

Is there a point to this thread?

All that matters, proof in performance. :) Calling any ball in Germany?

Cool beans. 5 out of how many? 50, 100, 200? Exceptions make the rule?