Earrings and a ponytail.

[MrUmpire]

Originally Posted by Kevin Finnerty

This is the crew for the L.A. City Final at Dodger Stadium in 2008:


In Los Angeles, umpires are given assignments according to knowledge, ability, reliability, character, competence and other key areas related to umpiring. All four of these guys are first-rate umpires and first-rate human beings. The guy on the right--one of the finest umpires and people that I know--has a pony tail (not showing) and a short goatee. The guy on the left also has a goatee (he wears a HSM, so he doesn't have a cap). The guys in the middle both have mustaches and the short guy has a curly hairstyle that sticks out of his cap. Oh, and they're wearing gray.

Two of these guys are black, one is Hispanic, and the one white guy's a long-hair. In some circles, not one of these guys would get a key assignment. And in those circles, they do not assign the best umpires and the best people to the most important games. They assign the best ... uh, you know, qualified. ...

I have no problem some that locales don't consider a professional appearance to be important.

In my area those gentlement would be highly regarded for their mechanics knowledge and ability and perhaps their rules knowledge. Again, they would not be considred great umpires without the complete package.

Appearance, professionalism, grooming, and athleticism all appear on our rating sheet.

It does not cause us to use inferior umpires, rather, our members understand the importance placed on those traits and make them part of their umpiring. Your arguement that these guys would get short shrift in other areas in speculation. If they are that good, and if umpiring is important to them, I would speculate they would follow the rules of their association.

Different strokes. We are not California casual here. And from my experience, none of the pros I've run into are either.