Working Over Your Head

Must be the end of the season

"You'd better learn the rules!" .... Here we go again. Another umpire yelling at the fans, all the while screwing up yet another call. It would be nice if the umpire actually knew what the balk rule was before he called it rather then messing up a perfectly good pitcher with an unsupportable version of what a pause is, or what a double-set is. "That's not a balk! ... you don't have to step off the rubber to throw to a base." It would be nice if he had some instruction that would have readied him for the level of ball he has happening in front of him ... it would be nice.

Hey, its the end of the season. A time of year when many leagues reward their umpires by giving them the plum game assignments ... so here we sit and watch another umpire who has not set foot on a diamond larger then 60 feet all year pretend he can handle the mechanics and rule interpretations of competitive baseball at the upper levels.

"That's not a balk!" ... the second time you blew it ... and even if by some remote circumstance it was a balk that is not how the penalties are imposed. "There are four of you out there, at least one of you has to know what is really going on." ... judging from the bobble-heads, maybe not.

"Hey, that was your call at third base, your partner had the play at second!" ... Oh, sorry ... you don't move from behind the plate do you? ... "By the way, the pitch you just bailed on is called a curve ball. If you hang in long enough you discover that it goes through the strike zone." Parents sit in the stands and hang their heads. ERA's blow up and batters stand there caught between concealing their rage and containing their bewilderment. Here we go, threaten the players now. At least the kids know the rules and how the game is played! Get defensive and threaten to eject the coach because he supports for his players. Yell at the fans, what do they know anyway?

Do I sound bitter? It comes from the other part of me: being a parent and sitting watching how umpiring often gets worse as we move deeper into the most critical part of the year. Parents and players rejoice in a simple two-umpire crew who can maintain a decent strike zone, handle accurate base calls and enforce proper rule interpretations as opposed to the dog-and-pony-show that presents four or six guys lumbering around the field without a clue.

Bitter? ... as a parent ... absolutely ... as an umpire ... embarrassed isn't even a good enough word for it.

Players who have played 60-80 games this season and practiced an equal amount deserve better, much better. Unfortunately as the season comes to an end "better" is not what we find.

There are many crews that make it work They study and practice. They bring their "A" game to post-season play. Their supervisors ensure they have the best as season-end tournament time approaches and that they are out there on the diamond. Two can accomplish what others cannot accomplish with six ... and if we give them three ... whoosh!

Why? They know baseball. They know the diamond they are working, and the game they are calling. They have been there all year and know the professional coverage systems cold. They don't jump from umpiring little kids one day to college-bound players the next. They know that to work at the level the players expect from them they have to specialize, particularly late in the year. What is especially sad is the old-boys network of "youth league" probably made sure the qualified umpires don't get the coveted year-end assignments. Don't want to risk being shown up. It is just safer that way.

More does not mean better! In the post-season "more" is often simply a way to compensate for the inabilities of the umpires to handle the game properly at the level they are facing in the first place. An excuse. A cop-out. But then, it is the end of the season right? .... and it shows.

"That's not obstruction! ... Where did you get that rule from?

... in my personal opinion only

The opinions expressed above are solely those of the author and do not reflect the policy, practice, teaching or instruction of any individual, organization, association or group.