Infield fly

[The Man In Blue]

????

We aren't talking to him blue, we're talking to each other. It's not as if he is watching this thread. Guarantee he has no idea this is a topic on this board.

Ummm ... ok, you’re vindicated. He’s just wrong then. What difference does it make why.

 

[Dabears17]

There is a lot more to criticize in that video than just that. I would start with “Why is there only one umpire?”

Good point. Why only one umpire at a high level 14u A game. Was it a friendly?

 

[testandor]

Agreed. i would guesstimate that about 50% of the umpires now have never played the game. I'm talking about never even playing little league. They see an easy way to make some extra cash on weekends and they go take a class or two and the next weekend you see them at the fields. Clueless.

Other than hard fought softball games on the local school's blacktop in my teens, I never played the game. But I spent 19 years as the asst. varsity coach at a large suburban HS, and 20 years as the head coach and President of a travel organization I started, coaching at the 12U, 14U & 16U level. I know and love the game.

But I want to comment on your other thought. As to all umpires doing it for the money, I believe that's mostly true. But while you don't state it directly, you certainly insinuate that they do it ONLY for the money. And that can't be farther from the truth. Other than many years ago when I first umpired for our local Little League Baseball teams, I don't know anybody who umpires for free as a volunteer. But using that as the distinction between good umps and crappy umps is 100% wrong. I believe that the real difference is between those umps who really care - about their performance, about the kids, about getting it right - and those who don't give 2 s*its. Yes, all of us get paid. So that can't be the differentiator. What does make the difference in umpires is the same thing that separates the good ones from the bad ones in any vocation - pride in your work, dedication to doing your job right, and genuine care for your customer.

As an example, a few months ago at a 12UB tournament, I was introduced to an umpire I'd never met. I mentioned that the toughest thing for me was adjusting to a different strike zone when the pitchers can't consistently hit the strike zone, especially after doing 18UA where I have a fairly tight top of the zone. I will NEVER forget his answer. "If you keep calling balls, you'll be there forever. Do what I do. I just start calling everything that doesn't bounce a strike. You'll see how fast they start swinging." While we didn't work together that day, I got paid for my games and he got paid for his. I guarantee you, he and I are nothing alike - not that day, not ever.

 

[MTR]

Six pages on one of the simplest rules in the game

 

[eddieq]

Six pages on one of the simplest rules in the game

To be fair, 5 1/2 pages of it are people bitching that the umpire was lazy/got it wrong/in it for the money/etc.

 

[Eric F]

There is a lot more to criticize in that video than just that. I would start with “Why is there only one umpire?”

We play more games with one umpire than we do with two.

 

[texasheat]

But I want to comment on your other thought. As to all umpires doing it for the money,

For the 2nd time in this thread, you have gotten something completely wrong. I never ever said that all umpires do it for the money so please don't put words in my mouth. I was referring to those umps that I see every weekend that have never played the game and whose body language indicates there are 1000 other places they would rather be if not for the money they were being paid. Unless you have watched games in my area and have seen what I have seen, you have no clue as to what I speak of. So you can continue to doubt my opinion or you can open your mind a little bit and realize that things are different outside of the little softball bubble that you exist in, just like they are outside of my bubble.

 

[Eric F]

For the 2nd time in this thread, you have gotten something completely wrong. I never ever said that all umpires do it for the money so please don't put words in my mouth. I was referring to those umps that I see every weekend that have never played the game and whose body language indicates there are 1000 other places they would rather be if not for the money they were being paid. Unless you have watched games in my area and have seen what I have seen, you have no clue as to what I speak of. So you can continue to doubt my opinion or you can open your mind a little bit and realize that things are different outside of the little softball bubble that you exist in, just like they are outside of my bubble.

Just curious...Why do you think having played the game themselves is critical to being an umpire? You've mentioned this a couple of times.

 

[texasheat]

Just curious...Why do you think having played the game themselves is critical to being an umpire? You've mentioned this a couple of times.

I'm speaking about their general inexperience with the game overall. It's not just the fact that they have never played the game, it's the fact that they have never played the game combined with the fact that they are brand new umpires. Surely you would agree that a new umpire would be better equipped to call a game if they had played the game a number of years versus never having played the game at all? Playing the game gives a person a leg up on someone who has never played the game when they start out. Now after they have been calling a few years, that advantage dissipates. In my area we are seeing more and more new umpires show up to call games and their inexperience shows. When asked casually after the game about their playing experience, it is shocking the number that have never played at all. Even in little league.

 

[The Man In Blue]

Six pages on one of the simplest rules in the game

Obstruction?