Guys,

Let's bring a little levity to this discussion. Yeah, the picture is funny, maybe tacky to some, but let's not pass judgment on the guy. Maybe his pants split that day. So what. Congrats to SanDiegoSteve on his accomplishments. I happen to have a BS in Chemical Engineering, an MBA and a Masters in Project Management and I make good money. So what. The only things that are important to me - I have a roof over my head, clothes on my back that aren't setting any fashion trends, food on my table, a wife and son whom I love dearly and who love me. I coach my son's team, I umpire various levels of baseball because I enjoy it, and I'm treasurer for the local baseball association, also because I enjoy it.

Overall, I'd say I'm pretty lucky, considering I could be six feet under like the best man at my wedding, a lifelong friend of 42 years, who dropped dead of a massive heart attack three months ago at the ripe old age of 51. Your perspective has a tendency to change.

So here I sit reading the unnecessary mud slinging in this thread and wonder - what purpose does it serve to be so judgmental? Is this vanity run wild, or just a need for some to make fun at the expense of others? I'm certainly far from perfect and have plenty of flaws as my wife likes to point out once in a while. Maybe we all need to take stock of ourselves to realize there's more out of life than trying to take advantage of someone's misfortune, whatever that is.

Big Guy, thanks for the congratulations.

I do believe the purpose of this thread was to provide levity. All the excess mud slinging is just a bi-product of the original frivolity. This guy's picture is on the internet, so it's pretty much fair game for Tyler to make fun of him.

I've had a pair of pants rip in the a$$ end for me in the early days of umpiring, long before readily available specialized plate pants were in vogue (I had gray longjohns underneath). But I've never worn a mask without a hat or umpired without shin guards, which was my point that even without the ripped trousers, there were plenty of other things to critique with this guy.

No, I meant classes. I took a "block" program for three quarters. Each quarter the block was credited as five different classes.

I had a pair do exactly that in a LL Major Championship game. I had only had the pants for one season. Just as this guy did, I just kept umping. Also blew a zipper out while rushing to get to a base assignment after being stuck in traffic. Shtuff happens. I learned to carry 2 pair of each in the car now to ALL games. We can poke fun at the guy but I'd rather buy him a beer for being out there and not quitting when alot of people would.