Smitty..

[umpcoachfather]

I saw me one.  My son had a soccer game in Wall township NJ on Sunday, Smitty was there, so I watched a couple innings.  Indicator in his right hand, calling strikes with it and pointing to first with right hand on ball 4.  Also appeared to be down on one knee behind the catcher, his head was even with the catchers. Uniform was a little dumpy. 

[BRUMP]

Hey umpcoachfather, f u. I was working in wall township yesterday!

[th3]

I saw me one.  My son had a soccer game in Wall township NJ on Sunday, Smitty was there, so I watched a couple innings.  Indicator in his right hand, calling strikes with it and pointing to first with right hand on ball 4.  Also appeared to be down on one knee behind the catcher, his head was even with the catchers. Uniform was a little dumpy. 

was he giving a good effort? who gives a f*%k what hand his indicator was in or how he indicated ball 4? 

[James Walker]

I saw me one.  My son had a soccer game in Wall township NJ on Sunday, Smitty was there, so I watched a couple innings.  Indicator in his right hand, calling strikes with it and pointing to first with right hand on ball 4.  Also appeared to be down on one knee behind the catcher, his head was even with the catchers. Uniform was a little dumpy.

was he giving a good effort? who gives a f*%k what hand his indicator was in or how he indicated ball 4?

Th3 is right, you have to evaluate the whole package, not just be nit picky on one ore two things. If they hustle, have decent rules knowledge, look professional and give 100% they get a little lee way on little stuff like that. Hell, my two favorite partners have a little smitty in them. One wears a ball bag on the bases, the other indicator in his right hand. But they show up early, pregame, hustle and know the rules. Is it a little odd to me, Yeap. But I know when the stuff hits the fan who's gonna be there with me instead of tossing me under the bus. Guys that are new or just don't know any better ( from lack of traings or competent mentors) fall into this catagory too. With some work and training, these guys will be at the same level we expect from ourselves and generally do a good job.

Now if its a combination of major sins (shorts, hat backwards, wrong color pants, lack of hustle, etc) and small things ( indicator in right hand, bags on bases), its a smitty. We have a guy that no one will work with. He wears a wrinkled navy shirt, black pants, hat backwards (on his rare plate games), has the mobility of a brick wall and wouldn't know the difference between inference or obstruction if it bit him in the backside. He's 1000% smitty and won't ever change, so he's assigned a lot of t-ball and coach pitch.

[spiritump]

the problems with a SMITTY is that they do not know or care that they are SMITTY

[RichMSN]

 

I saw me one.  My son had a soccer game in Wall township NJ on Sunday, Smitty was there, so I watched a couple innings.  Indicator in his right hand, calling strikes with it and pointing to first with right hand on ball 4.  Also appeared to be down on one knee behind the catcher, his head was even with the catchers. Uniform was a little dumpy. 

was he giving a good effort? who gives a f*%k what hand his indicator was in or how he indicated ball 4? 

 

 

It does show a lack of training, though.  2 things that can easily be corrected in about five seconds.

[renegadewolf]

Smitty or no, some kids got to play ball because of him. I'm all for projecting a professional image, I pride myself on looking my best and having a sharp looking uniform, but I would call a game in a pair of runners, shorts and a "wife beater" shirt if it made the difference between a kid playing or not.  Just sayin

[umpire_scott]

Smitty or no, some kids got to play ball because of him. I'm all for projecting a professional image, I pride myself on looking my best and having a sharp looking uniform, but I would call a game in a pair of runners, shorts and a "wife beater" shirt if it made the difference between a kid playing or not.  Just sayin

 

I'd rather umpire with a Smitty that had a good consistent zone, made proper judgement calls, and was approachable, then a sharply dressed, mechanically sound, asshole that made poor calls.

[RichMSN]

Smitty or no, some kids got to play ball because of him. I'm all for projecting a professional image, I pride myself on looking my best and having a sharp looking uniform, but I would call a game in a pair of runners, shorts and a "wife beater" shirt if it made the difference between a kid playing or not.  Just sayin

 

I'd rather umpire with a Smitty that had a good consistent zone, made proper judgement calls, and was approachable, then a sharply dressed, mechanically sound, asshole that made poor calls.

Why choose one over the other?

I've rarely seen an umpire that's sharply dressed and mechanically sound consistently make poor calls.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

[umpire_scott]

 

Smitty or no, some kids got to play ball because of him. I'm all for projecting a professional image, I pride myself on looking my best and having a sharp looking uniform, but I would call a game in a pair of runners, shorts and a "wife beater" shirt if it made the difference between a kid playing or not.  Just sayin

 

 

I'd rather umpire with a Smitty that had a good consistent zone, made proper judgement calls, and was approachable, then a sharply dressed, mechanically sound, asshole that made poor calls.

Why choose one over the other?

I've rarely seen an umpire that's sharply dressed and mechanically sound consistently make poor calls.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

 

 

Agreed that it does not often happen, but I worked a championship game of a 12U softball tournament a few years ago with an umpire that had worked the high school state championship game a few months earlier.  He was mechanically sound, and very professionally dressed.   He also almost created a mutiny with his strike zone.  Now I generally don't question another umpires zone, but this guy refused to call anything higher then the belt a strike.  He was consistent, but it was horrible.  But I do agree those are few and far in between.

[Mudder]

Have a smitty I work with (looks like Curly from the 3 Stooges), hat backwards, beige, wrinkled (usually stained) pants, has never worn a cup or shin guards, ever! (been umping a lot of years), really beat up mask, dried up and cracked dough pads, food stains on his navy shirt.  Loves to stand at the backstop between innings to talk to the ladies, etc, directly behind the cather.  He has taken 2 hard head shots on overthrows from pitchers during warmups, since I've worked with him, does not phase him.  One of these shots was during a tournament and he ended up with a massive lump on the back of his head, they took him to the hospital.  His father, who was a long time ump, told him after the hospital incident, that he was a long p****y a** for not being able to take it!  (like father like son I guess)

 

Anyway with all his perceived shortcomings, I absolutely love working with him, as some have said, he hustles, knows the rules, never seen him make a call on the bases I didn't agree with, has a great zone, and always has my back!

[scrounge]

Looks and dress are an indicator, nothing more. A shortcut used in the absence of more detailed information. Fair or not, we all use shortcuts like that for first impressions. Sure, later evidence might contradict it...but that's why those are memorable, they're the exceptions. Usually - not always but usually - someone who looks like a clueless ragbag is a clueless ragbag.