excited to be attending CDP

[JasonPalo]

Ive searched and searched for a team to attend CDP this coming season and with help of fellow umpires also helping me my search has come to an end.  I will be attending the week of June 27 through July 3.  I look forward to working with some great umpires and hopefully meeting some U-E members as well.

[Pete Peterson Sr]

Ive searched and searched for a team to attend CDP this coming season and with help of fellow umpires also helping me my search has come to an end.  I will be attending the week of June 27 through July 3.  I look forward to working with some great umpires and hopefully meeting some U-E members as well.

 

Better be looking forward to working with some awful umpires, as well.

[UMP45]

 

Ive searched and searched for a team to attend CDP this coming season and with help of fellow umpires also helping me my search has come to an end.  I will be attending the week of June 27 through July 3.  I look forward to working with some great umpires and hopefully meeting some U-E members as well.

 

Better be looking forward to working with some awful umpires, as well.

 

That was my experience as well Pete. I would watch a call and say to myself "where the f$%k did you learn that"?

[Rulekeep]

 

Ive searched and searched for a team to attend CDP this coming season and with help of fellow umpires also helping me my search has come to an end.  I will be attending the week of June 27 through July 3.  I look forward to working with some great umpires and hopefully meeting some U-E members as well.

 

Better be looking forward to working with some awful umpires, as well.

 

Yeah, Jax is gonna be there...

[JasonPalo]

Is he there that week??? That would be cool to meet him.  why the bad feedback on CDP????

[Rulekeep]

Jason.

That was a joke.

I heard he was going, I don't know what week.

[Pete Peterson Sr]

Is he there that week??? That would be cool to meet him.  why the bad feedback on CDP????

 

I have been to CDP twice, and I enjoyed it, both times. I made some friendships that will likely last until death ends them, and these guys are scattered across the country. I worked with guys that I would work ANY game with, anywhere, but I also worked with guys who made me cringe just watching them. Poor mechanics, attention whores, suspender-wearing idiots, you name it, and I saw it. The food sucks, the kids are great, the fans are seemingly non-existent, and there's a lot of ball to work. Pete Junior and I went together the last time I went. That was the BEST part.

[MadMax]

@JasonPalo, I can only echo what @Pete Peterson Sr said. This will be my fourth year in a row upcoming, and I've become a multiple-week guy. Granted, I don't have the lifestyle or fortitude (especially intestinal) to be a Thirteen (13 weeks, entire CDP season) guy, but I figure 2-4 weeks makes it worth it. I did six weeks last year. I've met and formed at least a kinship with hundreds of fellow umpires, and developed near-sibling relationships with around a dozen. Guys you call at Christmas to check in/up with. Guys that, if you're passing through their hometowns, you make a point of stopping in and visiting. Guys that, if you're going to be working in a local/regional tournament, and you need crewmates, you actually consider (and sometimes do) requesting to work with you.

Then there's the other end of the spectrum. You'll figure out who they are in short order. If not during the Orientation Meeting on Saturday, you'll know it by Sunday night, after the first round of games.

One must realize, this is, foremostly, for the ballplayers. It is not a development camp for umpires. Nor is it a showcase for us either. For the ballplayers, this is (or may be one of) the experience of a lifetime. We umpires are just part of the theme park – we're the guys in the Goofy, Pluto, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, etc. costumes. For us, it's more like a car convention. You roll in, park your car, open the hood, and show off what kind of work you've been doing on it; amongst fellow car builders who range from rust as an inspirational muse, to kitbashed tinkerers, to performance hounds, to pretentious preeners and polishers. You'll share stories and practices and methods. Some guys may have a particular mechanic or manner that you'll want to try out... then there are those that you'll stand back and just remark, "This just can't end well."

CDP is also one of those experiences that make you appreciate what you've got. After seven nights, you painstakingly realize the value of a proper bed.

[Umpirechick1]

I went for the first time last year, week 1 and will be there again this year week 1.

The fact that some of those men were wondering why I was there as a woman made me laugh, especially when I saw the poor mechanics some of them had on the field. Yeah, you might want to check yourself before you start pointing fingers at the lady umpire! But overall, it was a great experience and I'm looking forward to this year!!

[Umpire in Chief]

You've got to remember with CDP that each team has to bring their own ump and they may go for the cheapest easiest to get. Yes I've heard some horror stories about some of the people that go there, but I also personally know several high level veteran umpires who go somewhat regularly. So it is a mixed bag.

[JasonPalo]

Either way,  I'm very excited to go no matter what.

[JaxRolo]

Either way, I'm very excited to go no matter what.

You will enjoy it!

[UmpJeff]

I've been to CDP 6 times.  Like everyone has said, you meet some really good umpires, some really bad umpires, and some great people.  You will also run into some pretty sizable egos.  But, you will, most likely, quickly see through the bull$hit. 

 

At the end of the day, the key to the entire week is to have fun!  So, let that be your focus and you'll not be caught up in all the politics and distractions. 

[renegadewolf]

It's looking like I may well be headed down there myself this year the week after you (July 4-10).  Haven't received final confirmation from the association I work for that is sending a team, but I was told I am the only one who has expressed interest at that point in time.... Should hear soon, so here's hoping.

[Mick]

It's a lot of fun.  When I arrived for the first time last year on Saturday morning, the first thing that caught my attention was all the players full of energy, running around, having a blast.  Some were at the supervised batting cages, some were doing fielding drills, and one group was playing a pickup whiffle ball game.  They're trading pins all over the place, non-stop.  Can't say I saw a single bored kid.

 

I recommend when you get your trading pins, visit your sponsored team and give the captain one pin per player.  Keep the rest for games; I gave them to the catchers when I did the dish.

 

When you get a chance for a break, I highly recommend Kelli Jean's Steakhouse, a few miles north from the park on 28.

 

They will read the riot act to the umpires on the first day of your week.  Dreams Park doesn't tolerate ANY unprofessional crap from anyone.  Their standards are very high, and that's a good thing.  It's a great learning experience, and lots of fun for any baseball lover.  So far this year, I'm in for week #6, and I'm looking for 2 more bookings.

[JaxRolo]

@Mick

 

When you got there Saturday morning did you have a hard time finding a bed?

[Mick]

No.  You're already assigned to a cabin, which will have a bed for you.  You may have to, like I did, look around inside to find the last available one, but it will be there.

[JaxRolo]

@Mick When you got there Saturday morning did you have a hard time finding a bed?

I've been there 4 times and never heard of assigned cabins.

[Mick]

When I went for the second time, week #7, I was automatically assigned the same cabin as I had in week #4.  Last year was my first year there.  Could that be something new?  Did you go to CDP in years past?  Will you be going this year?

[MadMax]

Uh, @Mick, it's a "free for all" for beds...

CDP has 10 set hutches for umpires, with 10-12 beds per hutch. Female umpires are put up in the luxurious Peaches hutch, and there are some umpires that stay off-campus. Certain hutches have Thirteens and "permanent residents" in them (Area51, 41Bravo) – guys who make a point of putting guys they know and trust into the spots around them. Some groups will grab a particular hutch for the week (33Beach, used by Dreamcrushers, for example, or 40Baker, used by the ThroatPunchers). Likely, you had a guy in your hutch figure you were coming back and wrote you in for your same bunk when you returned. Or, you caught a break and got there before someone else grabbed it. The bunks haven't been in high demand in recent years. In 2012, we had over 112 umpires at the Orientation Meeting on Saturday. This past year, 2014, I was there for six weeks (3 through 8) and we didn't break 100 umpires until Week 8 (Induction Week), and even then, it didn't feel crowded because most of those fellas stayed off-campus.

[JaxRolo]

When I went for the second time, week #7, I was automatically assigned the same cabin as I had in week #4. Last year was my first year there. Could that be something new? Did you go to CDP in years past? Will you be going this year?

I've been the 3 years prior to last year. I go for 1 week and stay in 41b..
One of the guys always save me a bunk.
This year I'm going week 1. So I guess I will get there early and grab a bunk.

A couple of years ago they tried to put the 13 week guys in the same barracks. But most didn't want to do that.

[Umpirechick1]

Uh, FYI... The Peaches cabin is the same as yours but with only 6 bunks... And probably smells a little better.

[Mick]

Uh.....huh-huh-huh