Earrings and a ponytail.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

Being bigoted against long hair went out in the 1960s. It's 2009, and people wear their hair any way they choose, and if they can umpire some baseball, and I mean really umpire it, not just be a warm body, then they should get the assignments based on merit, not their hairstyle.

And this just shows how little value baseball has at the amateur levels. What you just said is not completely true. For one, I would never compare D1 Baseball to other sports where the officials are not only more visible, but very well known. I could not tell you most D1 Umpires if I saw them in a criminal lineup. I even worked a D1 Baseball games and I can tell you I was a warm body on many levels. This is really true when the first D1 game I worked I was called Friday to work Sunday doubleheader to end a series. I have never seen a D1 football or basketball official ever have tattoos that were easily seen or long hair. Even facial hair is frowned upon (unless you are Black, but that is another conversation) in those sports. You do not even see this at the high school level. I see baseball umpires look all kinds of ways for high school baseball and definitely youth baseball.

Do not get me wrong, there are certainly some hot spots in this country where baseball is taken very seriously and I am sure the umpires have to have a higher standard. But all I have to do is turn on the TV when youth baseball is on and I do not see this high standard of professionalism always being displayed. And certainly not to the point where a ponytail or earrings are never displayed.

Peace