Knew it was coming

[jicecone]

Hope they expand there list of qualified umpires to include more qualified umpires, otherwise there are going to be some long games, with the replay.

[IowaMike]

In my opinion, Little League has lost its way and has become a corporate profit seeking entity that serves its slavemaster known as ESPN. Let me say that I have had four sons go through Little League baseball, coached it for five years and served three years on my leagues board of directors. The evolution that has taken place since my first son started playing 18 years ago is troubling to me.

Too much focus is placed on All Stars and the World Series, 12 kids from each league. The focus should be on all of the kids and developing their playing skills, learning sportsmanship and cooperation, and enjoying being part of a team. Two of my sons played on All Star teams and one of them won a state championship; I still tried to get my league to give up all stars and have a slightly longer season so all of the kids could play more games. I was shouted down every time I brought it up.

The seasons eventually had to start and end earlier to accomodate ESPN's schedule for the World Series. They relaxed the age requirements so that essentially 13 year olds can now play little league. Hey, more big kids hitting big homeruns and throwing 75 mph which is what viewers want. I have always found it a bit hypocritical that Little League is supposed to be all volunteer and umpires are supposed to work for free, but it signed an 8 year, $30.1 million contract with ESPN. But it's all about the kids right?

Instant replay is just another step down the slippery slope of making little league more like professional baseball, which isn't what it is supposed to be. Dollars determine the course of little league, not the needs of the kids. The blame lies primarily at the national level; local leagues have little to no say about the direction little league takes. Little league used to be very strong in my area, but has lost a lot of kids over the past several years. One of our local leagues switched over to Cal Ripken affiliation this season. I think little league will eventually reach too far and destroy itself.

[mbyron]

6 umpires on a 60' field, and they STILL want replay?

Is there such a thing as overkilling overkill?

[Rich Ives]

Maybe they're just really tired of having their umpires ripped to shreds on the internet.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by Rich Ives

Maybe they're just really tired of having their umpires ripped to shreds on the internet.

Maybe they could use other criteria in picking umpires other than "how many years have you volunteered for Little League" or "how can we recognize a retired District Adminstrator who's umpired about 20 games in his life -- how about umpiring the LLWS?"

[MD Longhorn]

The fact that they use volunteers as umpires is one of the things at the core of their problems.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by mbcrowder

The fact that they use volunteers as umpires is one of the things at the core of their problems.

It's a lot more complicated than that. I am a Little League volunteer who also happens to work games at other levels (HS, college, etc.). I teach at a LL junior umpire clinic every season and do what I can to make our umpiring better during the tournament season.

I do have the feeling that there are a significant number of umpires and others within Little League that think that anyone who takes money for umpiring should fall lower on the ladder than those selfless volunteers who do nothing but umpire LL baseball. And that, IMO, is a complete crock of crap.

[MD Longhorn]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

It's a lot more complicated than that. I am a Little League volunteer who also happens to work games at other levels (HS, college, etc.). I teach at a LL junior umpire clinic every season and do what I can to make our umpiring better during the tournament season.

I do have the feeling that there are a significant number of umpires and others within Little League that think that anyone who takes money for umpiring should fall lower on the ladder than those selfless volunteers who do nothing but umpire LL baseball. And that, IMO, is a complete crock of crap.

I agree. I think 90% of us love the sport we officiate (probably more). However, many if not most of us who bother to put in the time to learn, grow, and improve would not participate in this hobby without some monetary compensation. And I don't think there's anything wrong with that. But what it does mean, is that the leagues that DON'T pay are really left with a good number of umpires that do not work hard to improve. I'm not saying there aren't great LL umpires out there... but I believe they are the vast minority as many of the really good ones stick to leagues that pay.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

It's a lot more complicated than that. I am a Little League volunteer who also happens to work games at other levels (HS, college, etc.). I teach at a LL junior umpire clinic every season and do what I can to make our umpiring better during the tournament season.

I do have the feeling that there are a significant number of umpires and others within Little League that think that anyone who takes money for umpiring should fall lower on the ladder than those selfless volunteers who do nothing but umpire LL baseball. And that, IMO, is a complete crock of crap.

I agree with you that it is more complicated. But you get what you pay for. When you pay people nothing and want them to go across the country or world to work, you eliminate a lot of good people that do not see the value in working games. I worked LL for the first few years and we were paid. The reason they were paid is that the local park district was the body that assigned all umpires for all games at the park district. So they paid umpires to work those games. Actually I thought that was the case all over the country until a few years after that. You do not have to pay them $1000 a game, just enough to cover expenses and reasonable fees. I cannot think that is good for the overall quality and it shows when we watch these games.

Peace

[Rich]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

I agree with you that it is more complicated. But you get what you pay for. When you pay people nothing and want them to go across the country or world to work, you eliminate a lot of good people that do not see the value in working games. I worked LL for the first few years and we were paid. The reason they were paid is that the local park district was the body that assigned all umpires for all games at the park district. So they paid umpires to work those games. Actually I thought that was the case all over the country until a few years after that. You do not have to pay them $1000 a game, just enough to cover expenses and reasonable fees. I cannot think that is good for the overall quality and it shows when we watch these games.

Peace

LL does pay for expenses for those who work regionals and WS games. I worked a Senior Regional (in Peru/LaSalle) and we were put in a hotel room and given meals, etc. We also received shirts and hats to wear during the games.

As far as game fees, well, I don't really care about that. I don't do LL for the money -- I consider that part of my year community service and it's completely voluntary for me to work those games. I contend that there are enough *good* LL umpires out there that they could staff the LLWS with good umpire volunteers from now until the end of time and there wouldn't be a problem with the umpiring. But the criteria reward something other than umpiring skill as the top item on the list, and that's why we get to see what we see as often as we do.

[KJUmp]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

It's a lot more complicated than that. I am a Little League volunteer who also happens to work games at other levels (HS, college, etc.). I teach at a LL junior umpire clinic every season and do what I can to make our umpiring better during the tournament season.

I do have the feeling that there are a significant number of umpires and others within Little League that think that anyone who takes money for umpiring should fall lower on the ladder than those selfless volunteers who do nothing but umpire LL baseball. And that, IMO, is a complete crock of crap.

I've have travelled the exact same road in LLBB as Rich (my last year was '06) including teaching at a yearly junior umpire clinic; and I work HS baseball and college softball. He is 100% on target with his comments. I've seen it from the inside having attended one of LL's week long regional umpiring schools, and having umpired one of their LLBB regionals...complete with the whole televised by ESPN deal.

The LL regional umpire staff on site micro manages the umpires (including, as an example, having a staff member handle the HP meeting and ground rules), replay will just allow them to exert more control over the game and provide them with something else to wave over the umpire's heads to make a good many of them more nervous than they already will be when they step on the field.

Let me add to what mybyron said, yes they're "overkilling the overkill." Add reply to the 200 ft. fences, 6 umpires, and 60 ft. base paths...heaven help the umpire's who'll be working the various regionals.

[amusedofficial]

Originally Posted by IowaMike

In my opinion, Little League has lost its way

This was the most cogent comment I have seen about the problems with Little League Baseball.

Let us remember that this is an organization that turned its back on its founder many years ago. Little League Baseball exists not for the kids, but for the greater glorification of Little League BVaseball.

I do official, Williamsport-connected "Little League," Ripken leagues and town "youth leagues" with no affiliation with some parent organization.

I find the Ripken leagues combine the "baseball for the fun of it" attitude of the unaffiliated leagues with standards and organized structure. I think I can judge the "fun level" of a baseball game and the Ripken leagues have it all over official Little League. Unaffiliated leagues are also generally good leagues. Official Little Leagues are political sewers.

Little League playoffs are not about the players, and it hasn't been that way for 30 years.

[jicecone]

I agree, 20+ years ago I can remember sitting at District meeting in Long Island as an Assistant DA and listening to a LL representative. We had invited him down to discuss problems within our district and LL sent him down to talk about how beautiful a facility they were building in Conn was going to be.

Didn't have a clue about rules and organizational structure but could talk for hours about how LL was going to make these great facilities for the kids. I can remember asking what that had to do with teaching baseball and a lot of other core values that LL supposedly promoted. All he said was, "it was a start". Typical Corporate Airhead programmed with his robotic speeches of "let all get together in a circle and be one happy family because the Board voted, thats the way it should be." What he meant was, it was a start of LL selling out to corporate america and building this kingdom of structures around the country for monetary reasons. They could care less what really took place in the halls of those parks as long as it didn't interfer with generating revenue. Sounds like the same principle that many of our universities have perscribed to, but thats a different forum.

JMO.

[kylejt]

Originally Posted by amusedofficial

Official Little Leagues are political sewers.

Only if you allow it.

It's true that WP will come down with some pretty stupid proclamations at times. I was able work around the last one that tried to hamstring my Junior umpires. Aside from those, a local league is only as good as the people running it. LL, PONY, Ripkin, Dixie, or independent, it really doesn't matter whose flag you fly.

At our little park, WP has little effect on things during the regular season. It does get a bit heavy handed during the tournament, but that's only for a small percentage of the kids, for even a smaller percentage of the total games. No big deal.

Good leagues work WITH the good things that LL has to offer, and work AROUND the others. That's the trick.