What would be your call?

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by canadaump6

Maybe it's because I don't umpire in the professional system, but I don't see putting MiLB in one's signature as disrespecting umpires who make a living at that level. He just happened to put it in his signature. The umpire's role is to put up with a lot of abuse, so I'm sure most MiLB umpires wouldn't care if someone claimed to be a member of their association.

But Steve, making the claim that you would have made the big leagues had you had the drive to do so is a bit much. We've all got potential in certain domains. You don't get any results unless you use that potential. As an example, I am a gifted saxophone player- I started in grade 7 and it only took a few lessons before my teacher knew I really had something going for me. I had a ton of success over the years (won a Kiwanis scholarship, accepted into grade 10 music course when in grade 9, etc.). But while I had natural abilities going for me, I never had the drive or enjoyment to stick with it. While I could claim that I could be a big name jazz star, doing so would be a huge disservice to the people who dedicate their lives to the profession.

The same goes for umpiring. You may be one hell of an umpire, but unless you have put in years upon years in the professional system, it's not fair to act as if making the big leagues is an easy thing to do.

First, I have not one time acted as if making the big leagues is easy. I realize exactly the hard work it takes. I said that if I had gone to umpire school and gotten a pro job, then I would have eventually made the big leagues. This would have taken a lot of hard work as well as a great deal of breaks along the way, but it could have been done.

Next, I don't know how to put this any more politely, but you don't have a clue as to my umpiring abilities back in the 1980s, so please do not comment on the subject. I have over 3,000 baseball games umpired under my belt. When you come anywhere close to this experience then you can comment. I worked my a$$ off honing my skills in a much more strenuous environment than umpire school, which would have been like Club Med compared to the conditions I put myself through. I worked in excess of 200 games a year in most years, 6 and 7 days a week, including many solo 90' triple-headers on the weekends. And all that time I was receiving instructions from some very knowledgable pro school grads and minor league umpires.

I know that I would have been a success in umpire school, and all that counts is that I know it, not anyone else. Everyone has already taken their potshots at me for revealing my feelings on the subject, but I'll be damned if I'm going to listen to some wet-behind-the-ears kid make remarks too. I have gone through more chest protectors and plate shoes than you have years on this earth.

Now, I didn't bring the subject up, Garth did. I know that I didn't go for it. Duh. That's kind of obvious. Yeah, I could have been an astronaut too if they only lowered the standards for entry in that program. We all "could have been" whatever we wanted under the right circumstances. If my aunt had balls she'd be my uncle. Of course, it should go without saying that nobody really knows what would have happened because I did not go. I had the money in to go, but needed the money for something else, so I blew it. Do I have regrets? Of course I do. That's probably why I opened myself up for ridicule to start with. But that was two years ago, and I really had hoped to get far beyond this subject.

Let's just put it this way: I was a far better umpire than several umpires who went to pro school and thought they were great, and who graduated near the top of their classes. Now that's the last I want to say about it or hear about it.