Going Patchless
... An Editorial

 Some days I start writing and stop.

No matter what you say in this "business" there is always someone, somewhere who knows better. There is always a Charlie who is prepared to cut you down, or embarrass you in front of your peers.

I feel sorry for many of the younger umpires or for those who confront the "old-boys-league" mentality that permeates many of our officials. Their frustration at finding help is reflected daily in the messages that come in. Ask a simple question, get a putdown. Seek help and get sent to work lower level games.

The internet has become a boon for the novice in practically anything. You read, you digest, you question ... you get verbally flamed. On most of the message boards it is often not enough to provide you with an answer, the umpire must be made to feel inadequate, a child to be put in their place, humbled before the gods of Charlie's ability to type. A product of the times? A product of the chaos we have surrounding us.

In my daily working life the "chaos theory" has been applied with great success. The process is remarkably simple:

  • Devalue the system
  • Devalue the people who work within the system
  • Create a useful "crisis" as a focal point for change
  • Manipulate public opinion enough that you even have those in the system questioning it
  • Instill the "Change is Good" mantra
  • Continue to find flashpoints until you have completely bankrupted the system
Now take control and mold the system into whatever you want, after all, who is going to stand up for the beleaguered employee, they are the reason the system is not working, aren't they? Who is going to speak positively about the work that is being accomplished, when everyone knows the system is peril.

This has been applied with equal results to professional and amateur umpiring. Find a wedge and drive it in, continually, sooner or later you will hit the heart. Once everyone believes the patient is on their last breath you can offer to remove it, a splinter at a time, pulling in the direction you want it to go.

We live in a video age. The instant replay is the worst thing to happen to sports, far worse then any rule put into the books. Sports in which referees and officials consult video replays in order to get the call perfect have become the authors of their own fate. Now we can't have even the simplest call without some form of appeal to an all-seeing authority. Small wonder the public sees no harm in questioning our every call when television regularly shows officials being required to review their work, and change their calls based on a piece of tape and a 26 inch screen.

It is, at best, the tyranny of "Fear Of Error".

Who among us does not forget their first real umpire shirt, with their first association crest carefully stitched on the arm or pocket?

Once I was proud to be an umpire working for a specific league. Now, mention that league, and you are greeted with muffled laughter. "So when did you decide to really start umpiring?" Despite accreditation from multiple associations and leagues my shirts became patchless this season. Rather then be labeled or have fingers pointed at me and my crew for "being-one-of-those-guys" the patches have come off. At this time it is easier to be patchless, nameless and faceless, then to live with the completely negative pre-impressions created by the factors at play.

Here is my point: Unless the support umpires need begins with me personally, why should I expect any different from the general public at a game?

It is time for all of us to take a few steps towards better officiating.

  1. Stop making negative comments about officials at any sport, anywhere
  2. Let your friends know just how difficult that umpire or referee's job really is
  3. Never let another official make disparaging remarks about any aspect of another official's work or game
  4. Be open to the training needs of senior officials around you and work together to develop ongoing education upper-level officials need
  5. Recognize the personal areas you need to develop in and actively move in those areas
  6. Encourage positive role models for the growth and development of new umpires, referees and other officials
  7. Support the call and the official who made it
In an August 8, 2001 New York Times Op-Ed piece former Commissioner of Baseball, Fay Vincent wrote:

"But who is standing in praise of the umpires? Almost nobody. That's why you have players shoving umpires... I'm here to stand up for the umpires because I don't see anybody else doing it. I stand up for the umpires not because my father was one, though he was (at the college level). I stand for then not because some of my best friends are umpires (though they are). I'm standing up for the umpires because the do what Joe DiMaggio used to do: make a hard job look easy."

You know the old saying: "The Umpire Is Always Right!" Let's put it into practice.

... in my personal opinion only





written August 10, 2001


Return to Articles | Main Menu | Comments