Watch this LL Umpire

[Rich]

Originally Posted by aceholleran

There almost no ejections at the Regional level on up. LL puts the fear of gawd into adults at every Reg and WS tourney, before a pitch is thrown.

It's been said that former Rockies slugger Dante Bichette was EJed from a game in W-port as he coached the Maitland, FL team in 2005. But the ump had to report DB to the powers that be in the booth, and some LL honcho went into the dugout and had him removed. Need some more facts here.

I'm pretty sure that umps at Reg and WS are discoraged from any traditional onfield EJs.

Maybe in the 12s, but in the Senior Regional I worked 2 years ago, I did nothing different than I do any other time. If someone had warranted an ejection, he would've been ejected. Never came to that, at least in the games I worked.

[JPaco54]

When I did LL in CT with my dad, way back when, we were both paid for regular season games as well as All Star tournament games State and Regionals. Can someone confirm that the umps are paid or not? Not that it makes a difference in the games, I was just curious, or maybe it does make a difference. Several announcers this weekend made the comment as well that they were volunteer umps. Thanks in advance!

[johnnyg08]

I don't think they're paid a game fee.

[njdevs00cup]

I thought the plate umpire in the No. Cal. v. So. Cal. game had an excellent zone. The zone was tight, but consistent.

[MrUmpire]

Originally Posted by njdevs00cup

I thought the plate umpire in the No. Cal. v. So. Cal. game had an excellent zone. The zone was tight, but consistent.

I thought he struggled a bit with the outside breaking pitch resutling in some inconsistency.

In the close-ups, he had the look of a an umpire trying very hard to focus and overcome stress. I think he worked hard and performed better than most I've seen so far.

[socalblue1]

Originally Posted by MrUmpire

I thought he struggled a bit with the outside breaking pitch resulting in some inconsistency.

In the close-ups, he had the look of a an umpire trying very hard to focus and overcome stress. I think he worked hard and performed better than most I've seen so far.

I agree. Had trouble with the outside corner the 1st few innings, then finally seemed to relax & dial in. Trying too hard can mess you up as bad as lack of concentration.

[zm1283]

Is the gray ball bag thing a mandate or something in LL? I've seen parts of about three regionals now, and the PU is always wearing heather gray ball bags. They look awful in my opinion.

Some of them also look like they need to buy plate pants. Either their combos are too small or they're wearing base pants behind the plate.

[RPatrino]

I Tivo'd the WR final, and have only had the time to see the first 3 innings. I agree that the guy on the dish had trouble with the breaking ball on the outside corner. His zone was tight, and consistant for 2 innings, and then opened up a slight bit. I thought this caused a bit of confusion. My feeling is that if you are going to be tight in the 1st, you need to be tight until the end.

Another question I had is about the batters stepping out of the box after every pitch. In HS we don't allow this, and I don't recall allowing it when I worked LL. Some of the batters seemed to walk half way to the coach after every pitch. Is this now common place in youth ball?

[jwwashburn]

I remember in years past, on the LLWS, seeing every batter keep a foot in the box.

I remember when they changed the rule in High School...we called a few strikes and the word got around and then they spent time playing baseball instead of Hargroving around.

[SethPDX]

Originally Posted by umpjim

So the NE and Mid Atlantic regional ump shirts were supplied by LL. Thanks. Probably a screw up. (Thats how I ended up with one). Anyway, they match.

The league hosting the Regional is responsible for supplying shirts and hats to the umpires, so you get whatever color and brand the tournament director/UIC decided on.

[kylejt]

Originally Posted by JPaco54

Can someone confirm that the umps are paid or not? Not that it makes a difference in the games, I was just curious, or maybe it does make a difference. Several announcers this weekend made the comment as well that they were volunteer umps. Thanks in advance!

They are all volunteers. If you're from the West Region, you sign a paper that states you haven't taken $ for LL games that year.

[griff901c]

Originally Posted by kylejt

They are all volunteers. If you're from the West Region, you sign a paper that states you haven't taken $ for LL games that year.

But you CAN recieve vouchers ie. gift cards all season long. Same as cash without the stigma of "paid umpires". Hokeypork....

[kylejt]

Originally Posted by griff901c

But you CAN recieve vouchers ie. gift cards all season long. Same as cash without the stigma of "paid umpires". Hokeypork....

Agreed. But it's a simple way for them to filter out umpires out of a HUGE pool here in SoCal. Everybody takes something.

[griff901c]

Originally Posted by kylejt

Agreed. But it's a simple way for them to filter out umpires out of a HUGE pool here in SoCal. Everybody takes something.

Are you saying all your post season umpires didn't get anything during the season?

[SethPDX]

Originally Posted by griff901c

Are you saying all your post season umpires didn't get anything during the season?

Speaking for myself I know all I got for my LL games this season, and every other, was post-game meal at the snack shack. I am very confident that's all any of the umpires in my district are given for LL games. Note that there is nothing against being paid for non-LL games such as Fed or college.