From Rob Drake, professional umpire. Please Read!

[PeteBooth]

[QUOTE]

Originally Posted by RobDrake

Fellow umpires, my name is Rob Drake and I am a professional umpire. I have been in the minor leagues for 16 years now and have been working in the Big Leagues for 10 years. I have never posted here before, but I know that these umpire message boards are a great resource for everyone that uses them.

Hi Rob,

I checked out your site and it looks great.

As with most message Boards in their infancy they were as you say

a great resource for everyone that uses them.

Unfortunately today, in some instances they have become a form of entertainment and flame wars.

This particular Forum is still a good resource center but not as good as it was in the beginning.

I do not know if you surf the net for other umpire discussion Forums) but McGriffith's used to be one of the best umpire discussion Forums around and now it has turned into the Jerry Springer Umpire discussion Forum.

Therefore, since you are moderator I would caution your new discussion Forum about Flame Wars and things going way off topic. The moderators here have to close threads from time to time because thay get way off topic and add no value.

If possible one of things I looked for in a discussion Forum is a Most Frequently asked question section because some of the same old questions ala are the hands part of the bat keep coming up time and time again and it would be nice to have one section in which a new poster can refer to. Also, perhaps a link for umpires looking to buy equipment.

I know you are Pro Umpire and for the most part the discussion Forums are made up of mostly amateur umpires such as myself. I cannot remember the last time I umpired a game in which we strictly used PRO rules, therefore, do have anyone on your staff adversed in NCAA / FED rules which as you know have different interpretations.


Thanks

Pete Booth

[RobDrake]

Thanks for all the helpful insight. As moderator, I will not let it turn into a circus. That is one of the most important aspects of the board for me. I am working on the FAQ page. That is a great idea. As for the rules of high school and college, I am going to have to see if any of our minor leagues guys are effecient in that area. I hope that all the other issues that are addressed by the Professional Umpires are very helpful to everyone. Thanks for your thoughts. I really appreciate it. I look forward to seeing you posting on the message board.
Thanks,
Rob