Would you take the field with this guy?

[Rita C]

I have two experiences.

One day I was to work a game with a young man, 17. As we left his house, his dad asked him if he had all that he needed. He said he did, in the annoyed manner of teenagers. When we arrived at the site and started to dress, he let out an oath and "How does he do that!" He had forgotten his pants.

By chance, since he was a young man, I had a pair of pants that would fit him. (When I started umpiring, only men's pants were available.) They only just fit him. He did a quality job on the plate, we were both complemented by the coaches on the job we did. The coaches were able to look past the uniform.

The second experience was a bit different. I arrived at a Little League game to work with a new partner. He was wearing khaki pants. His shirt hung over his pants. I asked if he wanted the plate. Sure, he let me know he had been umpiring for 30 years. He showed up on the field with shinguards on the outside and hat on backwards. (I did say something about that.) You should understand that around here, Little League umpires hold themselves to a higher uniform standard.

It wasn't how he was dressed that was the real issue. Once he learned how we try to dress a little more professionally around here, he has done the same. No, it was how he umpired. His plate conference was mainly warnings, he signaled strikes with his left hand. He overall sucked. He has repeatedly shown that he is an umpire who has had "one year experience 30 times". He has used his "30 years experience" as a hammer to show how what he thinks goes.

So it's not how my partner is dressed. It's how my partner umpires that counts.

Rita