Story on camps.

[Jurassic Referee]

Good story on camps in today's LA times:
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-...adlines-sports

[GarthB]

Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee

Good story on camps in today's LA times:
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-...adlines-sports

From the article:

"They said a year in rookie ball, a year in A ball, a year in double A, five to six years in triple A. And then maybe you might get called up," says Gonzalez, whose father, also a college umpire, was Rieker's roommate at umpire school 24 years ago."

"They", whoever they are, are full of sh!t.

[bobbybanaduck]

i was thinking the same thing. there are 3 levels of A ball after rookie ball, and you gotta go through all of 'em.

[BigTex]

Originally Posted by GarthB

"They", whoever they are, are full of sh!t.

With the last name of Gonzalez, "THEY" may not be so full of it.

[bobbybanaduck]

it's not unheard of, it's just rare. i was in the southern league for the last 6 weeks of my 3rd year. if the stars align just right it can happen, but it's not common.

[bossman72]

Originally Posted by tkaufman

Are you still in the game. Where at? What level now? How many years have you been in the game now? I am thinking about going back to school, but I'm not sure whether my age will still be a factor. I was told that it is not as much as a factor now that they have instituted the new re-ranking policy.

From what i've heard, if you're around 27 or over, you won't seriously be considered for a minor league job.

[GarthB]

Originally Posted by bossman72

From what i've heard, if you're around 27 or over, you won't seriously be considered for a minor league job.

Perhaps the exception proves the rule, but last year a 31 year old and a 41 year old got jobs with MiLB.

[blewthatone]

Originally Posted by bossman72

From what i've heard, if you're around 27 or over, you won't seriously be considered for a minor league job.

I am not too sure about that. I was 27 when I got in, spent seven years there. I did one year at each level except two at AA and two at AAA. It is possible. I do agree however that the older the harder.

[UMP25]

There are some guys who do, indeed, take the fast track. Ted Barrett was one of my roommates at school in 1989. In 1994 he was working at Yankee Stadium on Jim Evans's crew. Not bad.

[GarthB]

Originally Posted by UMP25

There are some guys who do, indeed, take the fast track. Ted Barrett was one of my roommates at school in 1989. In 1994 he was working at Yankee Stadium on Jim Evans's crew. Not bad.

Obviously, different scearios have played out over time for different reasons...the skill and learning curve of the umpire in question being just one of those reasons. The retirement rate at MLB, the release rate (both self imposed and otherwise) at AAA, AA, and the three A levels, leave policies and contracted staffing levels are other variables. Even changes in administrative policies over the years can make what happened in the 80's, 90's and 00's different from decade to decade.

While some umpires moved more quickly than others, generally speaking, damn few umires spend just one year moving through all the A levels and equally few spend just one year in AA ball.