Higher pay rate for the Plate Umpire

[sdix00]

Some leagues pay the plate umpire more money than the base umpire. I used to think this was dumb. A league president actually told me it was because the base guy is usually the less experienced umpire , or the BU doesn't have to work as hard. I thought that was dumb until last weekend.

After working a loooong Memorial Day weekend of youth rec ball, I decided it was an awesome idea. I was helping out the league my sons work for, else I would not have taken the games. I got partnered with a good young umpire who wanted as much money and games as he could get. I gave him the first two plates and planned on rotating the next day, but after listening to clueless parents yell at him all day, I offered him all the plates and he took them. I worked 7 bases that weekend and couldn't have been happier.

Best $5 I never got.

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[umpcoachfather]

Thats good, that extra 5 can go toward wear and tear of plate gear, an excess of lost water weight etc.....

[VAUmp]

Each umpire is equally important to officiating the game.  Each umpire should be paid the same.  

[HeadHunterLA]

I work for one association that pays the same and one where the dish earns you $10 more.  I don't have a problem with either scenario.

[BRUMP]

IMO a good BU can make or break a game.

[hckyosgood30]

For most areas of the game I would say that all umpires should be paid the same.  We are team and thus should be paid the equal rate.  Now that being said.  Several collegiate conference and even the NCAA D1 tour will pay the CC more.  But that comes with a great deal more responsibility on and off the field.  That way I would justify the difference in pay.  But to give the plate guy more b/c he "works harder than the base guy" Nope I can't go there.

[plateumpire]

I do LL and they pay more for the plate. I have been doing games with my UIC. He let me do the plate for the first two games I did with him. I don't feel I should have gotten paid more than him. He had quite the work to do on the bases.

[VAUmp]

In our association, we decide between the two assigned umpires who will do the plate.  Since we both get the same pay, that makes it easy.  Plus, if the "more experienced" umpire is behind the plate, how do younger guys get experience.  I would also think that paying the plate guy substantially more (I know a place in PA that pays the PU $100, and the BU $50 per game), people would compete to do the plate.  You all know what that can lead to.

 

I

[Mike Prince]

I have worked in an association where the umpires were assigned by position and the PU got $5 more. My rookie year in the assn I got bases a lot, the $5 difference never bothered me nor did any one else ever make a big deal about it.  The pay was $65/man per game, so the PU got $67.50 and the BU got $62.50.

[law_reb]

For high school games in Mississippi we play most of our games JV/Varsity doubleheaders.  5 inning JV game and 7 inning varsity game.  Positions are assigned for each game by assignor.  This year pay was $105 if you had varsity plate and $100 if you had JV plate.  For playoff games it was $5 extra if you had the plate.  At our USSSA fields(Snowden Grove) I believe it's $2.50 more per game if you have the plate.  Those games the partners decide who has which position, and it's usually 3 or 4 games in a day.  Some of the crazier guys will call 6.     

[RichMSN]

If I get requests to work where they pay differently, I simply don't work.  If it's via email, I simply delete the email.  If asked, I'll tell them exactly why, too.

[mjr_2013]

One league I work pays $5 more for plate

 

Another pays the same

 

I think it all depends on the level. If we're talking like coach pitch up to most U12 leagues, where the base ump is just standing there, I'm ok with the plate ump getting a little more. They're doing way more!

 

But if we're talking U16, where both umps are busting their butt, they should be paid the same.

[grayhawk]

IMO:

Plate is more physically demanding. Chance of injury is much higher. Fans see you as being in charge, even if BU is crew chief. Have to manage lineups, changes, etc. It's hotter on a hot day but warmer on a cold day.

Bases is where most of the crap happens. The calls are usually more difficult. You tend to get more arguments out there. It's the more difficult job, overall, with the exception of the physical demands.

Don't see a need for PU to make more, but wouldn't matter to me if that was the case.

[JaxRolo]

Around here both umpires get paid the same. But in my opinion since I am the best Umpire in the world I should get double the pay!

[noumpere]

Around here both umpires get paid the same. But in my opinion since I am the best Umpire in the world I should get double the pay!

If you were half as good as you think you are, youd be twice as good as you really are.

 

Put that on your bumper sticker.

[umpire_scott]

Here both get paid the same.  I would like to see a slight differential but for a different reason.  I live in St. Louis, MO but get scheduled quite frequently across the river in Illinois.  Most of my games during the week are single games at 6:00 p.m.  I end up doing the plate like 80% of the time.  I always call and check with whoever my partner is and more often then not they have some excuse why they would rather do the bases that day.  I know I could be a stickler about it, but I generally don't mind doing the plate.  But if I'm going to do it because the other guys doesn't ever want to, then I think it's fair to get compensated for it.

[johnnyg08]

For most areas of the game I would say that all umpires should be paid the same.  We are team and thus should be paid the equal rate.  Now that being said.  Several collegiate conference and even the NCAA D1 tour will pay the CC more.  But that comes with a great deal more responsibility on and off the field.  That way I would justify the difference in pay.  But to give the plate guy more b/c he "works harder than the base guy" Nope I can't go there.

 

 

The CC isn't making more for what he is doing on the field though.  It's all of the off the field stuff.  I think that is the difference.

 

The base umpire still has to buy plate gear.  

[MB_Ump]

I do LL and they pay more for the plate. I have been doing games with my UIC. He let me do the plate for the first two games I did with him. I don't feel I should have gotten paid more than him. He had quite the work to do on the bases.

Our Little Leagues here only pay the plate ump. The base umps are expected to just volunteer. Like you might expect, almost all the games are 1 man, there are almost no young umps (as in 1), and there is a serious shortage of umps. Got to love leagues run by coaches...

[johnnyg08]

Our Little Leagues here only pay the plate ump. The base umps are expected to just volunteer.

That's a good one!

[grayhawk]

 

I do LL and they pay more for the plate. I have been doing games with my UIC. He let me do the plate for the first two games I did with him. I don't feel I should have gotten paid more than him. He had quite the work to do on the bases.

Our Little Leagues here only pay the plate ump. The base umps are expected to just volunteer. Like you might expect, almost all the games are 1 man, there are almost no young umps (as in 1), and there is a serious shortage of umps. Got to love leagues run by coaches...

 

 

Our LL is all volunteer and it works well.  We allow managers and coaches to umpire in their own division (oh, the horror!), and other parents fill in and help as well.  When I was UIC, out of the 360 slots to fill (180 games x 2 umpires) in minors and majors, all but a handful were filled and we had very little in the way of complaining.  We put the responsibility on the shoulders of the managers to ensure there are enough volunteers.

 

We have a zero tolerance policy that every parent has to sign.  We recite the LL parent pledge before each game, and we enforce the rules of parent conduct.  It's what LL is supposed to be - a community getting together with baseball as the theme.  We ain't perfect, by any means, but we are lucky to have what we have.  These guys that volunteer to umpire do their best, even though they do some interesting things on the field, make a bunch of mistakes and have poor mechanics, but it's just Little League.  If parents want real baseball, with real umpires, and where every player is competitive, then they really should look elsewhere.  Around here, at least, they have plenty of options.

[cyclonehokiece]

Umpires should be paid the same, period.  The official reason one of the associations I was a member of that the PU got more was because he had to file a game report after the fact and does more during the game.  The unofficial reason I heard around the grapevine at the car trunk was that there were lots of plate dodgers who would never do it, so they had to sweeten the pot.

[RichMSN]

I always get a kick out of the plate dodgers.  When they start acting like that, I always take the plate without complaint.  

 

I figure if an umpire doesn't want to work the plate and tries to weasel out of it, I'm much better off working it myself.

[NCAAump2]

I personally never understood why someone wouldn't want to work the plate.  To me, it doesn't matter whether I work the plate or bases; all the games I work pay both umpires the same fee.  I bought all the gear, I might as well use it.  

[BigUmpire]

Should the third base umpire get paid less in 3 man?

Slippery slope.

[bluegorilla]

I actually prefer the plate over bases .