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Umpire from Oregon


Thomas Mullaney
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Hey folks!

I'm an umpire out in Oregon, fairly new to the game. Though in my limited experience (a full Summer league and the current season to this point) I've fallen in love with umpiring and everything about it. I find that I would rather be watching baseball (actually watching the umpires), reading the NFHS rules or practicing mechanics in the mirror. I've already been given the opportunity to work a few varsity games when my commissioner needs someone, which feels good as a young guy. I am just about to turn 21, which I've realized is a lot younger than most start. 

If all goes according to plan in my life and in my umpiring career, I have some pretty big aspirations. Once I graduate college, I plan on going to one of the accredited pro schools (likely Wendlestedt, but I'll look more in to that in a few years). I figure this path gives me a few years of umpiring at the HS level and some time to develop in to a consistent and solid umpire before putting myself in a position to move up.

I'm on this site really just to soak up as much knowledge from others as possible. I figured this would be a good place to be if I ever need advice on anything from brands of gear and attire to discussing calls and situations that come up in a really respectful and helpful environment.

Cheers,

Thomas

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2 hours ago, Aging_Arbiter said:

Welcome!!   I thought all it did in Orygun was rain, therefore, not much baseball......:sarcasm:

Trust me, you're not wrong. First three weeks of the season were rained out. But the sun is finally starting to shine on Southern Oregon!

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17 hours ago, Thomas Mullaney said:

Hey folks!

I'm an umpire out in Oregon, fairly new to the game. Though in my limited experience (a full Summer league and the current season to this point) I've fallen in love with umpiring and everything about it. I find that I would rather be watching baseball (actually watching the umpires), reading the NFHS rules or practicing mechanics in the mirror. I've already been given the opportunity to work a few varsity games when my commissioner needs someone, which feels good as a young guy. I am just about to turn 21, which I've realized is a lot younger than most start. 

If all goes according to plan in my life and in my umpiring career, I have some pretty big aspirations. Once I graduate college, I plan on going to one of the accredited pro schools (likely Wendlestedt, but I'll look more in to that in a few years). I figure this path gives me a few years of umpiring at the HS level and some time to develop in to a consistent and solid umpire before putting myself in a position to move up.

I'm on this site really just to soak up as much knowledge from others as possible. I figured this would be a good place to be if I ever need advice on anything from brands of gear and attire to discussing calls and situations that come up in a really respectful and helpful environment.

Cheers,

Thomas

If the opportunity presents itself try to find somebody in your unit who has been a pro umpire, meaning actually worked in MILB and have them mentor you.  They can help you get ahead and spot things that other umpires might deem as ok.  They can teach you the way they want it done in the schools and possibly give you a head start.  Good luck.

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4 hours ago, umpstu said:

If the opportunity presents itself try to find somebody in your unit who has been a pro umpire, meaning actually worked in MILB and have them mentor you.  They can help you get ahead and spot things that other umpires might deem as ok.  They can teach you the way they want it done in the schools and possibly give you a head start.  Good luck.

Thank you so much! That's an awesome idea. I was talking with my local association's commissioner and recently found out he made it all the way up to AAA and even umpired during Spring Training. I hope to talk a lot more with him about potentially forming some type of mentor-mentee relationship with me. I really appreciate the good advice!

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We're fortunate here in AZ we have a lot of current and former pro umpites. I learned a lot from working for and with them. Especially about being a good partner.

Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

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5 hours ago, KenBAZ said:

We're fortunate here in AZ we have a lot of current and former pro umpites. I learned a lot from working for and with them. Especially about being a good partner.

Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk
 

Are they really, really tiny?

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Welcome @Thomas Mullaney

Because you want to advance, the best advice I can give you is resist the urge to work, work, work apart from observing and learning. 

Especially for a young guy, you'll learn quickly that you can earn cash in decent amounts by working like crazy. But working games at a crazy pace, WITHOUT learning will quickly help you develop really bad habits that'll be hard to break, and ultimately cost you time in reaching your goal. 

While you can't make money going to college or pro-games and watching GOOD umpires, and asking them questions, you CAN learn what you need to apply when you DO work games, and then develop good habits. 

Working games is certainly necessary, but working them wrong, especially with many partners who'll give you bad advice, will slow you down. Learn the RIGHT way first, then practice it. And be very careful who you listen to. 

Have fun Pal. 

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