Pounder

[JJ]

Pounder.....gone but not forgotten....thanks LB

JJ

[grunewar]

Any translation here for those of us uninformed?

[briancurtin]

By the LB at the end of the sentence, I'm guessing this is about Lenny Brickens. He was the founder of the Indianapolis Umpires Association, assignor of the MVC, and a long time college baseball umpire who recently passed away. I'm not doing him justice here - I didn't know him, but I've heard his name in the locker room or in the parking lot many, many times, so maybe someone can speak more about him.

I got a few emails via the CBUA list about his condition and his passing. RIP, Lenny.

edit: just saw this on umpire.org: http://www.umpire.org/modules.php?na...rticle&sid=184

[JJ]

...many years ago I worked my first Big Ten weekend with Lenny. He was ornery and VERY hard working, and trained hundreds, if not thousands, of umpires on all levels of amateur baseball. Nice legacy...

JJ

[54outs]

I've known the Pounder for a little over 6 years and will miss him very much. To say that he was "ornery" would be an understatement! People never understood that if you just listened to what he said and not how he said it, there was a vast knowledge of umpiring to be learned. He expected nothing but perfection out of us out on the diamond, but gave us the tools and training to be successful. He also had a knack for knowing exactly when you were ready to advance to the next level.

When I would try to recruit guys over to the IUA, some of the reasons they wouldn't join was they didn't like Lenny because he:

"Makes everyone go to clinics along with weekly in-season meetings""
"Makes everyone use the same mechanics"
"Has everyone do evaluations on their partners"
"Makes everyone donate a game check for charity and work the November fundraiser"

There have been more excuses, but I think you get the point. You give loyalty, you get loyalty.

I know that he and Mike Walsh are up there looking for a game with a crowd full of "dollies" and no rats!

RIP #2 and don't f**king miss strike three!

#44

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by 54outs

I've known the Pounder for a little over 6 years and will miss him very much. To say that he was "ornery" would be an understatement! People never understood that if you just listened to what he said and not how he said it, there was a vast knowledge of umpiring to be learned. He expected nothing but perfection out of us out on the diamond, but gave us the tools and training to be successful. He also had a knack for knowing exactly when you were ready to advance to the next level.

When I would try to recruit guys over to the IUA, some of the reasons they wouldn't join was they didn't like Lenny because he:

"Makes everyone go to clinics along with weekly in-season meetings""
"Makes everyone use the same mechanics"
"Has everyone do evaluations on their partners"
"Makes everyone donate a game check for charity and work the November fundraiser"

There have been more excuses, but I think you get the point. You give loyalty, you get loyalty.

I know that he and Mike Walsh are up there looking for a game with a crowd full of "dollies" and no rats!

RIP #2 and don't f**king miss strike three!

#44

Nice first post. Well said.

[BigGref]

54 well said.
I was lucky enough to spend the last 4-5 years with the IUA and its driving force Lenny Brickens. Though I never shook off the term "part-timer" by Lenny for closing days for little things like work and school I always appreciated the feedback I got from Lenny as... BLUNT! Though I celebrated the day when my evaluation could be read on network TV during prime time without an FCC fine, I found growth in each word. This summer I had to close the last few weeks with a hamstring injury and I had to make that call to Lenny, he was about 10 times as understanding as thought he would be, and found that side that few knew existed. The last conversation I had with him was about going at next season with full piss and vinegar, I hope to make him proud. I can now sadly take your phone number off my phone, with it's special ring tone (so I would know before looking who it would be), a dog barking. You will be missed

[UMP25]

When I went to the Advanced Umpire Camp in Springfield, MO in September 2008 to improve my skills, etc. (hey, it had been 20 years since umpire school!), Len was there and saw me work. He was very complimentary and praiseworthy. I won't forget that.

As I commented to his wife Theresa in an Email last week, there's a great line in the classic movie The Wizard of OZ where the Wizard tells the Tin Man when "giving him" his heart, "And remember, my metal friend, that a heart is not judged by how much you love others, but by how much you are loved BY others."

In that case, Lenny's heart, which ironically was the cause of his passing, was judged very well, its value priceless.