Age range

[Ump242]

I plan on eventually taking the course for fun and the experience, but I've talked to several younger umpires (I'm currently 46 and know I'm way too old).  Some are in their 20s and they seem to want to know what the age limit for being selected for the advanced course and after the minor leagues is.  This also peaked my curiosity since I've heard guys in their late 20s are being selected nowadays.

[umpstu]

1 hour ago, Ump242 said:

I plan on eventually taking the course for fun and the experience, but I've talked to several younger umpires (I'm currently 46 and know I'm way too old).  Some are in their 20s and they seem to want to know what the age limit for being selected for the advanced course and after the minor leagues is.  This also peaked my curiosity since I've heard guys in their late 20s are being selected nowadays.

Mid 20's

[lawump]

They will definitely take late 20's.  Especially if you are a veteran or have a post-graduate degree.  (i.e. you've been in the military or college for most of your 20's.)

With the new CBA rules that allow umpires to be "fast-tracked", I think we will see more of this (first year minor league umpires who are older than what has historically been the case).

[dumbdumb]

starting age and how many started at that age for the current full time staff of 76 MLB umpires.

(18--2).......(19--6)......(20--6)......(21--5)......(22--11)......(23--16)......(24--14)......(25--9)......(26--2)......(27--2)......(28--1)......(29--1)......(30--1)

call up staff has 2 umpires that started at 33.

[MadMax]

15 hours ago, dumbdumb said:

call up staff has 2 umpires that started at 33.

The collective sentiment of the MLBU Development Staff was that, had I been "6 years younger", I'd have been a candidate for at least "seeing what I got" for the Advanced Course and Minor League Baseball. 

That was in 2015... when I was 39. 😕

Can't beat Father Time.

[JonnyCat]

3 hours ago, MadMax said:

That was in 2015... when I was 39. 😕

Did you go to Wendelstedt in 2015?

[dumbdumb]

@lawump

"With the new CBA rules that allow umpires to be "fast-tracked", I think we will see more of this (first year minor league umpires who are older than what has historically been the case).

just using retrosheet, in the not too too distant past, many umpires started out of umpire school in Long A (140 game) leagues to start with, skipping all 70 game leagues entirely.

Brinkman (MWL 68), Coble (WCL/Western Carolina/now Sally 75), Cousins (MWL 73), Crawford (FSL 67), Evans (FSL 68), Garcia (FSL 70), J. Hirschbeck (FSL 76), Joyce (MWL 78), McClelland (FSL 76), McKean (FSL 70), Montague (Cal 72)...Montague also skipped right to the PCL the next year 73, totally skipping AA), Pulli (MWL 68), Reilly (FSL 72), Shulock (FSL 74), Tschida (Cal 81, 82)...AA 83 called up to AAA in July 83, Vanover (SAL 81), West (WCL 74)... worked first NL game in Sept. of 76. Young (MWL 78). The late John McSherry (Carolina 67, International 68 totally skipping AA like Montague, John Roe, (FSL 77)...worked double A in 78, worked triple A in 79 until working as a, call up, on Jul. 3, 1979 for the rest of the season. Only 1/2 season basically in AAA before MLB, like the very more recent, Morales and Hoberg who came up from AA in the last 1/2 of AAA season in 2013 and then had full seasons of call up games starting at the beginning of 2014.

Would be nice to see short season/compound umpires in addition to any benefits bargained for in their agreement, to make at least $125 dollars a game at the professional level. $150 at the low A level, $175 at the high A level, $200 at the AA level and $300 at the AAA level, which of course would still include the bonus structure at the end of the season. Don't forget that those at the long season level, work 20 spring training games before traveling to their regular season destinations, working 2 rounds of playoffs that many times go 5 games each, instructional ball in Florida or Arizona, for 60 games and then the season is over.

That is 20 + 150 + 60 or a 230 game season.

now i have a friend that gets 7 weeks vacation per year. he gets weekends off so 365-104 or 261 days of work a year. he gets 11 holidays so we are down to 250 days of work and then he gets those 35 vacation days a year so now are down to 250-35 equals 215 days a year of work. wow, a minor league umpire working 230 days a year to my friends 215 days per year. it would be exactly even if my friend received only 4 weeks vacation. so lets add 15 days back. 230=230. exact same number of days worked at their job per year. That is not including travel days for the umpire to get to Spring Training, the season opening, the winter league or any meetings associated with the baseball season. we will count being at the game an hour early and 1/2 hour to hour after the game and the amount of time traveling from destinations all season and missing family and not sleeping at home at night as equal to the shorter hours worked per day at the actual job site.

a 9.56 billion (10.7 billion in 2019 prior to covid) industry in 2021. don't be afraid to give the pro guy at least a $125 bucks to start (about equal to high school in Connecticut), $150 at low A, $175 at high A, and  $200 in AA (all long seasons A and AA are less than lower tier D1) and $300 for AAA which equals a lower tier D1 per game for the season.

 

[MadMax]

17 hours ago, JonnyCat said:

Did you go to Wendelstedt in 2015?

No, that evaluation occurred at the 2015 MLBU Evaluation Day Camp in North Central College, IL (west of Chicago). If I had been 32-33, they might have sent me to HWUS or UTA... not sure... I do remember a particular Umpire snapping, "S#!t, if you were six years younger, I'd send ya to Florida tomorrow!" 

That's why these Evaluation Day Camps are so vital and beneficial to attend, and why they've since become the integral, definitive doorstep towards a potential Professional Umpire employment.