Not be argumentative but how do you know with such authority what type of umps we see in our area? The pool of umps where you are and the pool of umps where I am are 2 completely different pools. Is it too far fetched for you to believe that there is a large difference between the 2? I can tell you unequivocally that when we travel outside of our local area, the umpires get significantly better. I don't know what it is about our area but we get more than our share of doozies. A helluva lot more than 1%.But not as many as you think. Less than 1% in my experience - of course they probably stand out more so people probably perceive it as being more.