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Posted

As an umpire who takes my "paid hobby" very seriously, I've grown very weary of coaches who enter their 11u and 12u teams in tournaments without bothering to read the Rules Set under which they are playing ... but there's something FAR worse …

Tournament Directors seem often to be no better.

I get that TD's are often doubling as coaches and may take on the role by default because no one else will step up ... but how dare you allow your name to be published as the State TD, and never have read the Rules Book for the "brand" of baseball you're "selling" … for profit?

I call everything from 11u to college, and feel obligated to have read up on the rules of the brand at least the day before the tournament begins. I create "Cheat Sheets" that fit into my folio for quick reference, so that I can quickly enlighten a coach who may be confused… Understandably… Because he's bouncing between brands of baseball each weekend.

So why is it incumbent upon the umpires to know the various rules, but not so for the Tournament Director?   Why is it not a "given" that the Tournament Director sends out a text or email to each coach 2 to 3 days prior to the tournament to remind them of the basic rules set and the five or six variations associated with?

One weekend we play GMB which is almost purely based on MLB. The next weekend, we play BPA which is almost purely based on NFHS (high school).

Balk rule is different.

Mound visits are different.

Courtesy Runners are different.

Until 2017, IBB rule was different.

Illegal slide rule is different. 

Half swing appeal rule is different.

Aside from these few randomly stated differences, the TD has discretion to add his own Tournament Rules ... which often are made up on the fly ... not in a text or email sent the night before the tourney starts.

Coaches bite our heads off, and all their parents blindly believe the coaches, for accusing us of not knowing the rules. Then we seek support from the TD and he just shrugs.  This is BULL$HIT.

Then the TD hears the one-sides story from the coaches (who are lining his pockets) and often won't even hear the umpires' version. As long as the TD Remains ignorant of the rule book, he and the coaches may collude.

And then they wonder why they can't get enough good umpires for their tournaments.

AMAZING

  • Like 3
Posted
19 minutes ago, VolUmp said:

As an umpire who takes my "paid hobby" very seriously, I've grown very weary of coaches who enter their 11u and 12u teams in tournaments without bothering to read the Rules Set under which they are playing ... but there's something FAR worse …

Tournament Directors seem often to be no better.

I get that TD's are often doubling as coaches and may take on the role by default because no one else will step up ... but how dare you allow your name to be published as the State TD, and never have read the Rules Book for the "brand" of baseball you're "selling" … for profit?

I call everything from 11u to college, and feel obligated to have read up on the rules of the brand at least the day before the tournament begins. I create "Cheat Sheets" that fit into my folio for quick reference, so that I can quickly enlighten a coach who may be confused… Understandably… Because he's bouncing between brands of baseball each weekend.

So why is it incumbent upon the umpires to know the various rules, but not so for the Tournament Director?   Why is it not a "given" that the Tournament Director sends out a text or email to each coach 2 to 3 days prior to the tournament to remind them of the basic rules set and the five or six variations associated with?

One weekend we play GMB which is almost purely based on MLB. The next weekend, we play BPA which is almost purely based on NFHS (high school).

Balk rule is different.

Mound visits are different.

Courtesy Runners are different.

Until 2017, IBB rule was different.

Illegal slide rule is different. 

Half swing appeal rule is different.

Aside from these few randomly stated differences, the TD has discretion to add his own Tournament Rules ... which often are made up on the fly ... not in a text or email sent the night before the tourney starts.

Coaches bite our heads off, and all their parents blindly believe the coaches, for accusing us of not knowing the rules. Then we seek support from the TD and he just shrugs.  This is BULL$HIT.

Then the TD hears the one-sides story from the coaches (who are lining his pockets) and often won't even hear the umpires' version. As long as the TD Remains ignorant of the rule book, he and the coaches may collude.

And then they wonder why they can't get enough good umpires for their tournaments.

AMAZING

Don't work for them.

Posted

Most of our site directors are pretty good at the rules, if there is a rule they don't know they refer to either the complex UIC or our associations UIC. It does help that our UIC is on an equal footing with the TDs, they need him and us as much as we need their business.

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

  • Like 1
Posted

The TD that runs the multiple summer tournaments has teams sign the rule sheet before the tournament and rule number 1 is "umpire's ruling is final".

Not that they listen to it, but it gives us some sort of leg to stand on.

  • Like 1
Posted
3 hours ago, UMP45 said:

Don't work for them.

And this is not the way to get things fixed, to encourage each spoke in the wheel to do its job, to come together as advocates rather than adversaries. This is simply the last resort.  I'd like to think there are ways to fix it.

I'm waaaaay too old to do this for the green. I like the coaches for the most part, I like the kids, I miss my own kids being that age, I like the parents who enjoy the life lessons learned, but the admin disorganization is simply not acceptable.

  • Like 1
  • 2 weeks later...
Posted
On 5/22/2017 at 1:35 PM, BrianC14 said:

See also:  Georgia High School Association and what they just did to their umpires.  

I've been out of HS for a month now, what happened?

Posted
16 minutes ago, DVA7130 said:

I've been out of HS for a month now, what happened?

@DVA7130 :   Look in the "Close Call Sports" category under "Umpire News" section.    There's a thread titled "UEFL Game Ending Appeal on a Force Play".    I tried to link that thread here, but for some reason it wouldn't let me.   

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