New NFS time between inning rule

[John T]

So ... you want us all to be $#!++y umpires? I am so confused.

Do we need to? That is up to you coach. Don't make me do it and we don't need to do it.

Just starting a conversation, no need for the snark!

So ... you want us all to be $#!++y umpires? I am so confused.

Do we need to? That is up to you coach. Don't make me do it and we don't need to do it.

Just starting a conversation, no need for the snark?

 

[The Man In Blue]

Just starting a conversation, no need for the snark!

Just starting a conversation, no need for the snark?

It's not the snark we need, but it's the snark we deserve.

 

[BlaineAB]

The first topic discussed at the umpire clinic I went to about a month ago was, don't be the umpire who causes the next umpire that a team has to hear 'but the last umpire didn't enforce that rule' or the last umpire enforced a made-up rule.

This ^^^^.

Points of Emphasis are great, provided umpires and coaches emphasize them. Unfortunately, a lot of the time they aren’t.

My own take on why some of my fellow umpires don’t make necessary calls is that from a game management perspective they don’t want to ruffle feathers.
Not pausing to take a sign or appear to with the hands separated is a great example. Was a point of emphasis, but wasn’t emphasized, at least here in Massachusetts. Hell, I watched a state championship game last year and the team that won the game had a starting pitcher that was illegal every single pitch. Not one illegal pitch was called.

 

[CoachJD]

They might 'walk up 5-10 before the game', but do you really know how long there have been at the park? Likely, they checked in with the coach/administrator, found their partner, figured out who was plate or field, got their clothes/gear on, reviewed their signals/responsibilities/techniques, had a snack and then walked onto the field to start the game. If they haven't check in with the admin 20-30 minutes before they game, the admin is calling the scheduler and asking where they are.

Defense really takes 45 seconds to get off the field?? I highly doubt that. If they are, they are not well coached or organized. That and it should only take about 25 seconds to get 5 pitches thrown. I doubt the defense leaving the field is a reason you can't get 5 pitches in in a minute.

LOL I am the coach/administrator at these games. I'm not just making up a scenario.

The ones I'm talking about are not doing anything you just talked about. They show up, throw on their gear (so, sure, they arrive an extra 5 minutes before I see them), and walk over ready to start the games. Sometimes without actually meeting their partner, if they even have one for that game (we almost always get 2 for varsity games, but other schools often don't).

There's a reason why I now bypass an assignor whenever possible and just use the handful of people I trust to do a good job.

 

[CoachJD]

On one hand, we are choosing to be there. On the other hand, when you are good at doing something, you should not do it for free.

We are the only ones getting paid to be there for that game. We don't get paid more for staying longer.

I know that will be misconstrued six different ways, but it is a fact. No, I am not there to screw you out of a check and get home as fast as I possibly can. I am also not there to twiddle my thumbs and watch paint dry while you screw around unnecessarily. That is not what I am there for or getting paid for. My time is not valueless.

I don't think it takes very long to figure out which umpires are "on it" and which ones are there to get in and out as quickly as possible without any regard for the game or the kids playing it. There's a huge difference.

We had a varsity girls basketball game this year with a first quarter that took 10 real-time minutes (8-minute quarters, for those who don't know). This really should not happen, especially at the level of play our team plays at. But the two guys did nothing. They'd barely move up and down the floor. They saw the two teams weren't that skilled, decided to get out of there ASAP, and the kids suffered. That's a couple refs just trying to get their check and go home.

An umpire who doesn't want to stand around all day waiting and actually enforces rules is not doing what those guys did. I don't want to be there forever, either.

 

[Agcy]

LOL I am the coach/administrator at these games. I'm not just making up a scenario.

The ones I'm talking about are not doing anything you just talked about. They show up, throw on their gear (so, sure, they arrive an extra 5 minutes before I see them), and walk over ready to start the games. Sometimes without actually meeting their partner, if they even have one for that game (we almost always get 2 for varsity games, but other schools often don't).

There's a reason why I now bypass an assignor whenever possible and just use the handful of people I trust to do a good job.

Then I feel for you. I have yet to hear about any varsity games in Iowa that resort to 1 umpire. Some have been cancelled/moved, but only a handful that I have heard of. I have been told if I can't be there 45 minutes prior to coordinate before to make sure we're all on the same page. I am guessing that I wouldn't get very many games assigned to me if I was any later than 30 minutes before.

Hope it gets better for you!

 

[The Man In Blue]

LOL I am the coach/administrator at these games. I'm not just making up a scenario.

The ones I'm talking about are not doing anything you just talked about. They show up, throw on their gear (so, sure, they arrive an extra 5 minutes before I see them), and walk over ready to start the games. Sometimes without actually meeting their partner, if they even have one for that game (we almost always get 2 for varsity games, but other schools often don't).

There's a reason why I now bypass an assignor whenever possible and just use the handful of people I trust to do a good job.

I'll actually join your side on this one ... if they are just arriving, then they likely aren't throwing their gear on. They likely are that guy who shows up late hoping it forces their partner to take his 5th plate in the last 4 days.

That said, I wholly acknowledge that there are work conflicts and guys and gals will arrive later than we hope for. I know I have a couple of games like this coming up ... in each case I let the AD/assignor and my partner know "Hey, I get out of the building at 3:30 and it is a 40-minute drive barring any issues." I do not mind plating up when I am behind, but I want to know ahead so I can get my mental state in the car.

I applaud you for doing your own assigning! There are perks and problems both ways, but around here I have more problems with assignors than I do ADs. I would FAR prefer to work for ADs than most assignors. I will bite my tongue on the details.

That said, how far north of me are you? (How "Chicago" is "Chicago"?) Maybe I'd like to make a weekend trip up for a double-header or round-robin ...

 

[The Man In Blue]

Then I feel for you. I have yet to hear about any varsity games in Iowa that resort to 1 umpire. Some have been cancelled/moved, but only a handful that I have heard of. I have been told if I can't be there 45 minutes prior to coordinate before to make sure we're all on the same page. I am guessing that I wouldn't get very many games assigned to me if I was any later than 30 minutes before.

Hope it gets better for you!

That also. I know there are areas where one-person umpiring is becoming not just the norm, but the expectation. I won't do it at any level. While we never imagine that situation when we are actually in physical danger, it is not safe. I've been there twice. Even just for "natural health" aspects, I do not want to be at a school where people know my name and nothing about me. I want a partner there so that when I go down with heat stroke, or god forbid and actual stroke ... I have somebody there on my side.

It definitely is not in our best interests for our mental health. Being the only person out there with "everybody against you" (when it happens) and not having ANY support or anybody to even just decompress with after the game day after day ... Even after normal games, this will take a toll on you. In surveys, one of the main reasons many officials officiate is because of the camaraderie and the social aspects. This is especially true of many of our aging umpires. Not many people are doing this to pay the bills (though it may help), but nobody is going to keep doing it if we don't enjoy it.

It most definitely is not in the best interests of the game for training, learning, and gaining experience. This is especially true for our younger umpires and people who are getting started. Coach, you want to play with one umpire ... do you want that one I worked with last year who had just gotten started and was wearing cargo pants, a Walmart polo, and his hat backwards under his catcher's gear? That's what you will get. How about the volleyball guy I worked with who was my R2 and started to follow me over to the tower? That's what you will get.

And if you don't care about any of that ... it also is not in the best interests of your players. Just as a young umpire will gain nothing good from the experience of working alone, your players are not getting a beneficial experience that will help them develop, get better, love the game, and continue to come back. What is it we hear all the time, "It isn't the ump show!" Well, it is when you hire a one-an band. A one-man band is noticed. Problems are more noticed. Players get sick of it, too.

The ONLY person whose interest it is in is the person who is profiting from it.

I will hang it up when it happens around here. It isn't a matter of if, it is a matter of when. We are not doing a good job of recruiting, training, and encouraging new umpires in my area. Most of the guys I work with are 60+, so it is coming. When I get a new partner, they are very rough and many are not around the next season because of how they were treated and/or not supported. (Callback ... I blame the assignors around here for a large part of that. They aren't assigning for the benefit of the game.)