Umpire with shirt not tucked in

[bob jenkins]

In an ideal world, the umpire would dress better.

In the real world, he needs to meet the standards of his league. Does he? We have no way of knowing. He generally meets the standards (as I remember them) of youth umpires in my local league.

So, if there's any criticism, it should be directed to the league.

[kylejt]

I had my first umpire meeting last night, and it included kids as young as 11. We've been working with Junior Umpires since 2000, and are pretty darn good at what we do.

We don't umpire at the level that kid in the video was working. But I let a lot of things slide for little guys that I don't for teenagers. And one of those things is clothing. It's really tough to find pants loose enough to get shins under. If they can, fine, but I don't get wound up about it. If they can't afford black shoes, I won't make a big deal of it. I do go to the local Goodwill and stock our umpire room with lots of hand-me-downs.

Bottom line, worry more about attitude, confidence and knowledge with the younger umpires. Once they get 12-13 you can work on getting them properly dressed, as the gear starts fitting them better. One of my goals is to get as many kids as I can working in the All Star tournaments, and there they have to look sharp.

But there's no way I'd grind on this 10 year old, who obviously digs what he's doing.

[cc6]

Originally Posted by bob jenkins

In an ideal world, the umpire would dress better.

In the real world, he needs to meet the standards of his league. Does he? We have no way of knowing. He generally meets the standards (as I remember them) of youth umpires in my local league.

So, if there's any criticism, it should be directed to the league.

True Bob, the onus is on the league to at least have some uniform standards and provide training.

I didn't put this video up here to bully the umpire in the video. I posted it as an example of what poor attire looks like, so that none of us make the same mistake. I'm surprised that my good intentions would get JM so upset, after all the rude remarks he's been making over his time here. I'm not willing to look like the bad guy on this one.

In umpiring, it all comes down to what have you done for me lately. Here is a video of what must be the same kid, a couple years after his first video, so that he has had the time to be trained and grow into a decent uniform:

YouTube - Umpiring Fall DLL AA

Both videos prove that a Smitty is a Smitty no matter what the age.

[umpjong]

Originally Posted by cc6

I didn't put this video up here to bully the umpire in the video. I posted it as an example of what poor attire looks like, so that none of us make the same mistake. I'm surprised that my good intentions would get JM so upset, after all the rude remarks he's been making over his time here. I'm not willing to look like the bad guy on this one.

In umpiring, it all comes down to what have you done for me lately. Here is a video of what must be the same kid, a couple years after his first video, so that he has had the time to be trained and grow into a decent uniform:

Both videos prove that a Smitty is a Smitty no matter what the age.

You honestly want to compare a 10 year old with an adult. Seriously!!!!!!!!
Did he replace you on these games or something?????

[UmpJM]

cc6,

What makes you think I was upset? I wasn't.

What "rude remarks" are you referring to?

Do you have any idea how foolish and petulant it makes you look to post links of videos of this kid umpiring and berating his appearance? (That remark was "impartial", not "rude", BTW.)

I mean, at least he didn't "drop trou" in front of a bunch of 1st Grade girls.

Did you notice the 1st video you posted said it was the kid's 1st game on 9/18/2008? And the 2nd has a date of 10/04/2008? That's a little over 2 weeks elapsed time.

Why did you change your "screen name", anyway?

JM

[umpduck11]

Originally Posted by cc6

I posted it as an example of what poor attire looks like, so that none of us make the same mistake.

Not likely. As far as I know, none of us are ten years old, and working our first game.

[yawetag]

Originally Posted by cc6

In umpiring, it all comes down to what have you done for me lately. Here is a video of what must be the same kid, a couple years after his first video, so that he has had the time to be trained and grow into a decent uniform:

YouTube - Umpiring Fall DLL AA

Both videos prove that a Smitty is a Smitty no matter what the age.

Check out that foul line down first -- it's not straight!

[kylejt]

cc6, you're hammerin' ants that don't need to be hammered.

Look, you got taken to the woodshed when you posted your video, and want to extract some sort of revenge. AND THIS IS THE BEST YOU COULD COME UP WITH?! Ten year old kids? REALLY?

[johnnyg08]

Originally Posted by yawetag

Check out that foul line down first -- it's not straight!

So do you use the line or where the line would be?

[Aging_Arbiter]

Look at it this way, his chances of going home with a GLM, are better than most!

[yawetag]

Originally Posted by johnnyg08

So do you use the line or where the line would be?

I use the line. It's the same for both teams and a lot easier on my judgment.

That said, I change a bit as it relates to the base:

If the base is off the line (not touching it at all), I call the line. Therefore, if the ball bounces past the right side of 1st (or left side of 3rd) and it's between the base and line, it's fair.

If the base hangs over the foul line, I will call any ball fair that hits the base.

Of course, this is all detailed in pregame conference. I've never had a problem with any coach.

[cc6]

Coach JM:

-Rude remarks in this thread: *"Newbie posts link to youtube video of 10 yr. old umpire"
*"I mean, at least he didn't "drop trou" in front of a bunch of 1st Grade girls"; come on, how long before I live that one off?

-You mentioned: *"Did you notice the 1st video you posted said it was the kid's 1st game on 9/18/2008? And the 2nd has a date of 10/04/2008? That's a little over 2 weeks elapsed time".
*Response: The kid in the second video was bigger, but had the same voice. My guess is it's the same kid, a couple years later.

-*"What makes you think I was upset? I wasn't.":
*Response: Post 24 in the thread led me to believe you were upset, but I could be wrong.

-"Do you have any idea how foolish and petulant it makes you look to post links of videos of this kid umpiring and berating his appearance? (That remark was "impartial", not "rude", BTW.)"
*Response: I was making a point. Age is irrelevant in umpiring. Uniform standards apply to the level of baseball that one works, not how old someone is. If the person in the video is going to call himself an "umpire", a profession I'm sure most of us here take great pride in, he should try to look the part. I have no sympathy. Many people here nailed the uniform standards into me, so I smartened up and bought the right stuff. Now everybody is defending this kid's poor attire under the premise that he's young? Come on. No excuses in umpiring. I coach pre-teeballers and I would want them to have better than what this kid is providing when they move up to teeball.

-Why did I change my name? I felt representing my country on every post I made was a bit much. I made my new username similar enough to my old one so that I wouldn't be hiding who I was.

Kyle:
-Yes I posted a video of myself in full gear in my parent's basement. I guess that makes me an umpiring geek, but that's not something I'm ashamed of. I don't find anything embarassing about working on plate mechanics. On the surface it might have looked silly, but I thought it was a good way to work on technique when the weather wasn't even close to being good for baseball (about -15 celcius at the time I believe).

[cardinalfan]

Petulant is a cool word. I really should use it more.

[UmpJM]

Originally Posted by cc6

Coach JM:

-Rude remarks in this thread: *"Newbie posts link to youtube video of 10 yr. old umpire"
*"I mean, at least he didn't "drop trou" in front of a bunch of 1st Grade girls"; come on, how long before I live that one off?

canadump,

Apparently the word "rude" has a different meaning in Canada than here in the States. The first statement you reference is a simple statement of fact. The second was simply an observation regarding the relative professionalism of the one being criticized and the one doing the criticizing.

In regard to your question, I guess that remains to be seen. How long do you think it should be?

So, you make an unfounded and scurrilous accusation regarding my posts on this board and can't even come up with ONE supporting example out of over 1200 posts I've made? What a douchebag! (See, THAT was "rude"; not uncalled for, but rude, nonetheless.) Apparently, you are as lazy as you are stupid.

-You mentioned: *"Did you notice the 1st video you posted said it was the kid's 1st game on 9/18/2008? And the 2nd has a date of 10/04/2008? That's a little over 2 weeks elapsed time".
*Response: The kid in the second video was bigger, but had the same voice. My guess is it's the same kid, a couple years later.

Dude, you're killing me. The kid's FIRST GAME OF HIS LIFE AS AN UMPIRE WAS 09/18/2008! On this planet, that makes it IMPOSSIBLE for the second video you posted to be "...a couple years later." Do you habitually ignore all available objective evidence in reaching your conclusions? Did it occur to you that he may have "looked bigger" to you because the camera was zoomed in closer and had a less elevated angle?

Perhaps it's some sort of nefarious conspiracy to dupe us into thinking this kid only started umpiring last year when in REALITY he's been umpiring since 2006 when he was 8!

-*"What makes you think I was upset? I wasn't.":
*Response: Post 24 in the thread led me to believe you were upset, but I could be wrong.

I was somewhat incredulous that anyone could think a video of a 10 yr. old umpire with his shirt untucked would be of ANY interest to the membership of this forum (other than in an "isn't that cute?" kind of way), but I was not "upset".

-"Do you have any idea how foolish and petulant it makes you look to post links of videos of this kid umpiring and berating his appearance? (That remark was "impartial", not "rude", BTW.)"
*Response: I was making a point. Age is irrelevant in umpiring. Uniform standards apply to the level of baseball that one works, not how old someone is. If the person in the video is going to call himself an "umpire", a profession I'm sure most of us here take great pride in, he should try to look the part.

What do you make of the FACT that 21 different people have posted on this thread and not ONE agrees with your "point"? (That's because you don't have one.) And the majority seem to consider you a buffoon for trying to make it. Perhaps your "read" is different since you seem to cling to your ill-conceived preconceptions even in the light of all objective evidence.

I have no sympathy. Many people here nailed the uniform standards into me, so I smartened up and bought the right stuff. Now everybody is defending this kid's poor attire under the premise that he's young? Come on. No excuses in umpiring. I coach pre-teeballers and I would want them to have better than what this kid is providing when they move up to teeball.

What you have is no CLUE.

WTF is "pre-teeball"? Why on earth would you have an umpire at a T-Ball game, and what on earth would he do if there were one?

-Why did I change my name? I felt representing my country on every post I made was a bit much. I made my new username similar enough to my old one so that I wouldn't be hiding who I was.

I am sure that Mr. Harper and the rest of your fellow countrymen applaud the deep-seated patriotism that led you to shed this heavy burden - so that you would stop creating the impression that Canadians are all imbeciles. I happen to know a number of Canadians and find them to be intelligent and thoughtful people, contrary to the puerile drivel you have regularly posted here.

Kyle:
-Yes I posted a video of myself in full gear in my parent's basement. I guess that makes me an umpiring geek, but that's not something I'm ashamed of. I don't find anything embarassing about working on plate mechanics. On the surface it might have looked silly, but I thought it was a good way to work on technique when the weather wasn't even close to being good for baseball (about -15 celcius at the time I believe).

Why did you delete the videos? I found them entertaining and instructive.

Go away and come back if you ever grow up.

JM

[cc6]

JM,

It is very hard to take you seriously when you resort to insults. Please try to be more mature. Thank you.