By Josh
Umpires
I need to start this one by saying I am not talking about volunteer umpires or umpires who are doing little league games. Umpiring is hard and anyone willing to volunteer or take time to only make a few dollars, or get a free hamburger (which I will admit are usually really tasty) to help out little leagues has my respect.
What I am talking about is umpires at the upper levels; MLB, MiLB, and college level. There are a lot of great umpires out there. Men and women who understand that the game is bigger than them. They understand that coaches, players and fans are going to say crap to them but they have the ability to ignore it and let the game happen. They keep the game in check and allow the game to take center stage.
Then there are a small group of umpires who forget that they aren’t the focus of the game. They take every comment personally and seek out confrontation. And even though it is a small number of them they taint all of the good work that the others are doing.
Think about it this way. Name the first couple umpires in major league baseball that you can think of. Does Joe West, Angel Hernadez or C.B. Bucknor come to your mind first. To be honest these are the only three MLB umpires I can name. They are regarded as the worst umpires in MLB.
These three umpires hurt the reputation of all MLB umpires and they hurt the game. It is frustrating for fans to watch as these guys continue to do what they are doing with no fear of consequences. The MLB Umpires Association doesn’t hold its umpires accountable but it is quick to accuse a player of ‘workplace violence.’
I also put the blame on leagues for making sure they are hiring men and women who are qualified for the level they are hired for. This summer I have been watching umpires in a college wood bat league that are way over their head. Guys who I would guess haven’t even umpired high school games trying to umpire college athletes who are fast and strong.
Even though trainings are good for umpires to go through, that alone doesn’t make an umpire ready to oversee higher level games. In this wood bat league coaches are frustrated, players are making fun of what should be a highly respected league and fans are getting frustrated enough that they are leaving games early and not even coming out.