It's typical troll behavior. Latch onto a portion of a post, take it out of context and make ridiculous statements.

It's similar to the pros...Minor league teams pay for umpires, but they understand that they are a development league for those umpires.

JV teams around here understand the same. Umpires do not go from signing up to working Varsity. The JV level is a developmental level for many areas. If JV AD's insisted on Varsity level officials only, they would have a lot of games with no umpires.

Let me be clear then.

I hear all the time about umpires who give their services for the "love of the game" and/or they attempt to rationalize taking game fees as a "wash" where the income = expense. It's a load of garbage and when taken to the task on how it is that expenses=income, you get ridiculous comments such as Fronheiser's $30 dinner and booze intake being the expenses that wash the income.

Be real. If you want to use umpiring as a charitable act, fine, don't take the fees, eat a homemade sandwich and drink bottled water. Hell, you still have a net loss you can write off against your taxable income.

Note btw that no one on this forum has stepped up to say "Hey, I do it for the income and I enjoy doing it as well". At least that's the truth, it's honest and it is forthright.

Questions?

What you fail to comprehend , is that Rich DOES volunteer his services with a baseball organization and he has stated as such in this thread.

Quite frankly I DON'T umpire for the money. I do it because I love the game and enjoy umpiring. The money is nice but it's not why I do it and I could make a lot more doing other things with my free time. I choose not to because I don't enjoy them nearly as much as I do officiating. Like the vast majority of us, I turn very little profit officiating. I'd say I don't get why this is so hard to understand, but I know you're just trolling.

With that, time to stop feeding the troll. Just can't help myself sometimes.

[QUOTE=Welpe;754108]This is the concept of opportunity cost, and your application of it is exactly right. But it's confusing for some people.

Amen.

I refrained from quoting him on purpose. Your welcome.

I umpire for the hospitality table.

So exactly who are you to determine why Rich does it? We all officiate for different reasons, most of us have a combination of reasons. Guys that do it "solely" for the money won't last because, as Welpe notes, there isn't enough money in it to make it worth it.

Basically, if you don't love the game, you won't be officiating it. If you don't get paid at all, you won't be officiating either.

Like I said, a combination of reasons.

Again, I don't get what you're objection to Rich's statement is. What you just tried to pass off as a reason sounded like complete BS. Who are you to question Rich's or anyone else's love of the game? You are literally the only person I've ever met that got all in arms about this. Everyone on this forum understands Rich's point. It's a point that not only those that officiate baseball but do other sports. Let's not kid ourselves here, if anyone is going to stick it out at this level for any length of time, there has to be some love for whatever sport you officiate.

It's obvious that everyone here gets it. Well, except the troll.

I can easily live without the money that comes from officiating. I'm lucky in that regard, although I remember when I was in grad school and counted on officiating money to be able to do things other than eat ramen noodles every night for dinner. Back then I worked as many games as I could every day as long as it didn't interfere with my classes and schoolwork.

If people are working $60 games for the money, they're in the wrong business. Sure, the game itself may only take 90 minutes, but working a game involves a lot more than the time actually spent calling balls and strikes. Subtract out the cost of driving to a game (my baseball around here, with the exception of one or two schools pays NO travel money at all) and the driving time and the time away from my wife and daughter, and it's not a great bargain. If I didn't love it, on some level, I sure as hell wouldn't keep doing it.

+1

Don't forget the 45 minute minimum pre game and the 30 minute post game meeting. I am sure the majority of us do it for the money. That $12-15 average is too inticing. STB must have plenty of money considering how much time he has to hang around and stir up messes.

Well I don't know that it is. Minor league teams pay peanuts for umpires, but they don't expect to play with just one to save money.

And if an AD wants Varsity level umpires all he/she has to do is ask for them and pay more, $10 more per game around here, but assignor is going to balk at sending one, and no one would ask. And even then they not going to get the grizzled veterans, they will get 3-4 year "veterans".

Wow. Here, Varsity umpires work varsity. JV umpires are working their way up. If an AD asked for Varsity Umpires for a JV game the assignor would laugh. We have an agreement with the schools that the top umpires are assigned to work varsity games. Sub varsity games are assigned next with what's left, starting with those with JV experience and working the way down to newbies.

What happens to the fees you refuse?:rolleyes:

Granted.Total BS, I know hundreds of umpires whose game fees are the difference between them paying their bills and living off the welfare dole in a flea bag apartment.