Umpire with shirt not tucked in

[Paul L]

Was that Shea Stadium?

[BretMan]

So the old adage really is true. Umpiring is the one profession where you're expected to be perfect the first day on the job- and then get better as you go along!

Lord, I'm glad nobody recorded the first game I ever worked and posted in for millions to see...

[bossman72]

Who cares? When I was in HS and I umpired LL, I wore street clothes and just slapped on a mask, shin guards, and baloon protector all which were nicely tucked in the green box behind the backstop. It's LL, so you don't need to look like a pro unless it's a big tournament or something.

[tjones1]

Kudos to that young man for wanting to umpire! That's awesome!!

[waltjp]

Originally Posted by BretMan

So the old adage really is true. Umpiring is the one profession where you're expected to be perfect the first day on the job- and then get better as you go along!

Lord, I'm glad nobody recorded the first game I ever worked and posted in for millions to see...

Bret, I believe the video was posted by the ump's proud parents.

[johnnyg08]

Originally Posted by waltjp

Bret, I believe the video was posted by the ump's proud parents.

I agree...esp by the fancy title screen.

Hey, the first time I umpired a kid's game, I was just a 17 year old on the way to baseball practice when they asked if I wouldn't mind doing the bases. I was wearing athletic shorts, long sleeved baseball shirt, and a dirty baseball cap along with football cleats. After that, I got hooked so I started bring some decent clothes along in case I got asked again. Now, 21 years later, I'm doing slowpitch softball, high school football, and high school basketball, wearing the best there is to wear, and humbly thinking back when I was just a poor 17-year old earning $5 just to count the number of pitches a kid had before he could hit off the tee, and make the calls on the bases.

[Kevin Finnerty]

What you describe is literally the first job of a kid's life for a lot of the kids who played in our PONY league. Several of those kids are now in the unit umpiring high school games with us.

[BretMan]

Originally Posted by waltjp

Bret, I believe the video was posted by the ump's proud parents.

Yes, that was my impression. And they should be proud!

My comment was aimed at the apparent criticism of the kid in the first post.

[waltjp]

Originally Posted by BretMan

Yes, that was my impression. And they should be proud!

My comment was aimed at the apparent criticism of the kid in the first post.

With that I agree. We should be encouraging these kids to keep it up instead of dumping on them for an ill-fitting uniform. If any pre-teen is willing to get behind the plate I'll support him 100%. If he's willing to stick with it after a season or two then I'll start talking to him about his appearance.