BlueClue Posted July 31, 2023 Report Share Posted July 31, 2023 This thread was inspired by a recent experience I had at an 18U tournament. I really felt like I should list all the things I LOVE about summer ball: - Having to toss a half dozen managers and players because they really wanted to channel their inner Earl Weaver - Constant protest because they didn’t like your balk call, and it’s their god-given right to protest a judgement call! - Having baseballs thrown at you by parents because they’re unhappy you called their kid out at 2nd - Being called a fat **** who only thinks about pizza by a John Candy lookalike (he wasn’t wrong, I was hungry!) - Have a coach flip you the double bird after a botched double play - Have to toss a coach because he “just really wanted to get tossed this season” and, with no other coaches, have some random 17 year old take over as acting manager (TWICE!) - Have parents follow you back to the locker room and berate you the entire way there - Have some mom from several states over threaten to kill me in my sleep and praying my entire crew dies in a horrible accident, then the same mom follows us back to the locker room repeating those statements - Having a fight almost break out between parents, coaches, and players because some coach decided to pull a Lou Pinella on steroids - Having the tournament director say we should’ve “sucked it up” because we were getting a “free meal” (a ham sandwich and a bag of Cheezits was nutritious!) - Nearly having to forfeit the championship game because one team decided to walk off the field for several minutes out of “protest” for their manager getting tossed, and then proceeding to not send out any base coaches (tournament rules required two, player/coach/living being) in all seriousness, I’ve never been so frustrated and appalled with how some teams, coaches, players, and parents act. No wonder we’re facing a shortage of umpires… Thank goodness the tournaments over, and, in the words of the infamous Wally Backman: “let’s go grab a beer Doc”. 1 2 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArchAngel72 Posted July 31, 2023 Report Share Posted July 31, 2023 LL State Champ 10U here in Newhampster all I heard was a handful of chirps on strike or ball calls from the losing side and only 2 out of the 5 I would have said. "Well ok that is pushing it" But after there was more than a handful of fans that praised us and told us we were the best crew they had seen all year.. I mean THAT felt good. Losing side telling us We were awesome. Sorry you had a bad time from due to fans, players and coaches whom should know better. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderheads Posted July 31, 2023 Report Share Posted July 31, 2023 That's unreal!!!!! This was my first summer ball experience since 2016, and I wasn't doing many games (dipping my toe back in the water so-to-speak) ... I did 14 games this summer and only had one jack-hole. If YOUR EXPERIENCE was mine, ...I'd never do summer ball again .... ever! That's nuts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeeingEyeDog Posted July 31, 2023 Report Share Posted July 31, 2023 @BlueClue, my brother...don't ever forget that what we permit, we promote. The most egregious thing on your list was the TD telling you to "suck it up". No! Absolutely not! That is NOT ok. We can't control how anyone acts, behaves or speaks to us. Amateur umpires are independent contractors. Tournament companies, tournament directors, our assigners, etc...are ALL partners in The Game of baseball. When someone is a partner, that means they are equals. This partner handles this part of the operation and that partner handles that part of the operation. We work together towards a common goal. In the case of baseball, we need leagues, tournaments, players, coaches, parents, umpires and assigners all working together within The Game. People only know what you tell them...what that TD is telling you by not supporting you is, you are not a partner, you are not important and you are nothing. They don't have to like us. We don't have to like them. But, we have to support them by calling the very best game we can and they have to support us by handling fans, coaches and players and all of their administrative responsibilities. A tournament director who when faced with game management and or parent management issues cannot...can...NOT be permitted to say to umpires "suck it up". If ANYONE out there has a tournament director, league administer, or God forbid an assigner who is not supporting them? Do NOT work for those people! Do not! Brothers, we need to band together on this right now. We need to send a clear message to our PARTNERS that they need to support us in ALL that we do. Let's not do anything that can't be reasonably explained to our partners and let's expect FULL support from them in return. Without umpires, it's a scrimmage! Do not ever let our partners forget that. ~Dawg 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
concertman1971 Posted July 31, 2023 Report Share Posted July 31, 2023 3 hours ago, SeeingEyeDog said: don't ever forget that what we permit, we promote this also goes for working games for less than +/- $10/inning 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Man in Blue Posted July 31, 2023 Report Share Posted July 31, 2023 @BlueClue ... damn. I hope you are able to NEVER work for that tournament again and can help spread the word to local umpires not to work it. I know that can sometimes be easier said than done, but when we start to develop the luxury of turning down tournaments, we start to take some power back. Contrary to what some umpires think, you do not HAVE to work that tournament and them not having umpires is NOT your problem. "But what about the kids" only goes as far as it being about the kids. When it becomes about the adults, then it is no longer about the kids. There can be two things that can cause me to not work a tournament in the future, and it sounds like you hit both of them: bad teams and bad administration. Some tournaments just draw d-bag teams and they will continue to do it as long as the check clears. That's fine, I'd rather work with a tournament that says, "You know what coach, somebody else will take your spot if this is how you/your team are going to act." I worked a "prestigious" tournament this weekend for a new softball group and it was ... shaky. The teams were fantastic the whole weekend, but the administration's "umpire relations" was a bit souring. They told us we could not bring coolers to the complex, but they provide food and drink. "Food" consisted of a meal ticket at the concession stand, which was nice ... but when you are there all day for 6-7 games and it is nearly 100 degrees with with National Weather Service issuing heat warnings ... there should be healthy (or even not-so-healthy) snacks available throughout the day. If you aren't going to provide that, then you need to let us bring coolers with what we need. (If I go back, I will take a cooler regardless.) Late in Day 2, they came to us and said, "Uh, they just added a 5:30 game, would anybody work it?" We were on a 2-on-1-off rotation, which my partner and I caught the short end that day and had 2-on-1-off-1-on (last game at 1:30). There was a 2+ hour gap between our last game and the "added" game. We were willing to work the game if they provided something for the 2 hour wait. They wouldn't, we didn't. Asking us to sink another 4+ hours into a single game check does not compute. Checks were supposed to be ready 30 minutes after our last game. We got done and they said we would have to wait another two hours for somebody to come with checks. (Nope, mail it ... don't care, but that should have been the communicated plan from the beginning.) On the flip side of that ... I know this won't make you feel better about that experience, but hoping it shows you there are good experiences to be had ... I started working for a new organization this summer. I was floored to find out they were giving me travel money when I traveled and offer a bonus for working a set number of games each weekend. On top of that, I received an e-mail out of the blue today asking me to verify how many games I worked over the summer because they give a season-end bonus for your total number of games worked. Holy SH*# ... Your disdain and love of summer ball will come and go with the locations you work at. A single bad experience can happen anywhere, but once a pattern is established ... This is why we need a Summer Tournament Federation of Umpires organization. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonnyCat Posted August 1, 2023 Report Share Posted August 1, 2023 20 hours ago, BlueClue said: This thread was inspired by a recent experience I had at an 18U tournament. I really felt like I should list all the things I LOVE about summer ball: - Having to toss a half dozen managers and players because they really wanted to channel their inner Earl Weaver - Constant protest because they didn’t like your balk call, and it’s their god-given right to protest a judgement call! - Having baseballs thrown at you by parents because they’re unhappy you called their kid out at 2nd - Being called a fat **** who only thinks about pizza by a John Candy lookalike (he wasn’t wrong, I was hungry!) - Have a coach flip you the double bird after a botched double play - Have to toss a coach because he “just really wanted to get tossed this season” and, with no other coaches, have some random 17 year old take over as acting manager (TWICE!) - Have parents follow you back to the locker room and berate you the entire way there - Have some mom from several states over threaten to kill me in my sleep and praying my entire crew dies in a horrible accident, then the same mom follows us back to the locker room repeating those statements - Having a fight almost break out between parents, coaches, and players because some coach decided to pull a Lou Pinella on steroids - Having the tournament director say we should’ve “sucked it up” because we were getting a “free meal” (a ham sandwich and a bag of Cheezits was nutritious!) - Nearly having to forfeit the championship game because one team decided to walk off the field for several minutes out of “protest” for their manager getting tossed, and then proceeding to not send out any base coaches (tournament rules required two, player/coach/living being) in all seriousness, I’ve never been so frustrated and appalled with how some teams, coaches, players, and parents act. No wonder we’re facing a shortage of umpires… Thank goodness the tournaments over, and, in the words of the infamous Wally Backman: “let’s go grab a beer Doc”. Why on earth would anyone put up with this crap? I would have left the tournament and told everyone to go F*#K themselves! You really put up with this SH*#? Why would you subject yourself to this abuse? 20 hours ago, BlueClue said: No wonder we’re facing a shortage of umpires… Yeah, largely in part because many umpires put up with this bullSH*#. Conditions won't improve until this type of behavior is no longer tolerated. What you permit, you promote. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ousafe Posted August 1, 2023 Report Share Posted August 1, 2023 3 hours ago, The Man in Blue said: we need a Summer Tournament Federation of Umpires organization F'ing brilliant!! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Man in Blue Posted August 1, 2023 Report Share Posted August 1, 2023 I posted the hats in another thread ... and I'm sorry for forgetting who came up with the actual name since we only had an acronym before ... 😁 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dumbdumb Posted August 1, 2023 Report Share Posted August 1, 2023 who is the organization that sponsored this tournament and therefore condones this type of behavior through plausible deniability, due to not having the head honcho of the organization being at this tournament, because they are behind a desk only. how much are TD's making in this day and age. Come on, some of you guys who are in the know. is that still a 50-100k or more job, or it would be if it could go all during the year. how many people get to do the things mentioned above to their boss on their regular job, and how many let their employees to the same behavior to them? inquiring minds want to know. don't clam up on the important questions. does $$$$$ drive everything including sportsmanship and deportment, and what about doing this type of behavior at the regular 9-5 job. what gives. a lot of people know about this above, even if don't talk about it in print, just behind closed doors, and laugh all the way home or to the bank. p.s. sounds like that TD does not want to hear the crapola he is going to get. he expects you to be the only one and you are expected to take it. get to H.S. ball and then college ball if you can. there are more safeguards and protections. there use not to be travel ball anyway. it has become a new industry unto itself. if you do it, get an office job with that organization. just don't umpire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin_K Posted August 1, 2023 Report Share Posted August 1, 2023 13 hours ago, The Man in Blue said: I started working for a new organization this summer. I was floored to find out they were giving me travel money when I traveled and offer a bonus for working a set number of games each weekend. On top of that, I received an e-mail out of the blue today asking me to verify how many games I worked over the summer because they give a season-end bonus for your total number of games worked. Holy SH*# ... Holy Sh*t is right. That should tell every umpire that works for them that they are more concerned with their profit than paying the umpires what they earn. In NJ we have a group that operates under the name USABL. They are shylocks who underpay umpires and then send out blasts crowing about Elmer P Suggins who worked 18 games in three days at the My Parents Check Cleared Elite Baseball Tournament. They add that he will get a paltry bonus of about $2.50 per game for 30+ hours of baseball umpiring. Like most things in life, if you want to know the real truth, follow the money. I will not work rather than work for them. Their concern is churning games and boosting profits. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Man in Blue Posted August 1, 2023 Report Share Posted August 1, 2023 @Kevin_K I don't disagree with you that tournaments could/should be paying more up front, but I'm not 100% following your line of logic that offering this bonus (which was not mentioned before) is a bad thing. If the group is underpaying on the front end and then holding it out as an unreasonable carrot, "Work 1,000 games and get ..." then I may agree with you. It isn't earth-moving ($5/game), but it is notable. I was around 75 games for them this summer. I have no issue with an incentive structure. I'd like to see it based more on performance than volume, but hey, it is a product. Money is the problem that will keep umpires from ever uniting on better working conditions. We think we want more money when what we need are better working conditions as evidenced in the OP. Here are just a few suggestions: *Support from administration and promotion of good sportsmanship *Mandated education / preparation for coaches before the tournament -- e.g., a pre-tournament MANDATORY coaches' meeting where they go over tournament rules and expectations (here is the rule set we are using, here are the house rules, NO you cannot wander around on the field, NO you cannot set your bucket on the field, YES you have to turn in a line up at the plate meeting, etc.) *Adequate food / water / amenities if we are told it is being provided *Umpire "locker rooms" with privacy and cooling (even a tent with shade is a start) *Proper breaks -- this is tough since some guys will kill themselves for another $60 rather than take a game off (see below); honor this if people ask for it *Compensation for delays / breaks -- provide a 1/2 game fee for a scheduled off game to promote umpires properly re-hydrating and taking care of themselves; if you ask me to wait a whole game to stay and work an extra, offer me something for the wait *Single hotel rooms 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catch18 Posted August 2, 2023 Report Share Posted August 2, 2023 This thread was inspired by a recent experience I had at an 18U tournament. I really felt like I should list all the things I LOVE about summer ball: - Having to toss a half dozen managers and players because they really wanted to channel their inner Earl Weaver - Constant protest because they didn’t like your balk call, and it’s their god-given right to protest a judgement call! - Having baseballs thrown at you by parents because they’re unhappy you called their kid out at 2nd - Being called a fat **** who only thinks about pizza by a John Candy lookalike (he wasn’t wrong, I was hungry!) - Have a coach flip you the double bird after a botched double play - Have to toss a coach because he “just really wanted to get tossed this season” and, with no other coaches, have some random 17 year old take over as acting manager (TWICE!) - Have parents follow you back to the locker room and berate you the entire way there - Have some mom from several states over threaten to kill me in my sleep and praying my entire crew dies in a horrible accident, then the same mom follows us back to the locker room repeating those statements - Having a fight almost break out between parents, coaches, and players because some coach decided to pull a Lou Pinella on steroids - Having the tournament director say we should’ve “sucked it up” because we were getting a “free meal” (a ham sandwich and a bag of Cheezits was nutritious!) - Nearly having to forfeit the championship game because one team decided to walk off the field for several minutes out of “protest” for their manager getting tossed, and then proceeding to not send out any base coaches (tournament rules required two, player/coach/living being) in all seriousness, I’ve never been so frustrated and appalled with how some teams, coaches, players, and parents act. No wonder we’re facing a shortage of umpires… Thank goodness the tournaments over, and, in the words of the infamous Wally Backman: “let’s go grab a beer Doc”.Holy SH*#. I mean, other than baseballs thrown at you, the rest is fodder.I took the summer off for the first time since 200-something. It’s been a much needed rest for me. But hell, to get a front row seat at this SH*#show, I might come out of summer-retirement 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudisfun Posted August 2, 2023 Report Share Posted August 2, 2023 Hello, 911? Yes, I am a sports official at XYZ park and there is a woman, 5'4, 260 (guessing?) LBS, yes... yes, looks like Large Marge from Pee Wee making terrorist threats to me. She stated "kill me in my sleep" several times. Yes, I am scared for my life. Yes I would love to press charges. Yes, she is still here. F this woman. Call the cops and screw the TD who allows this BS. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMSANS Posted August 12, 2023 Report Share Posted August 12, 2023 On 8/1/2023 at 8:30 AM, Kevin_K said: Holy Sh*t is right. That should tell every umpire that works for them that they are more concerned with their profit than paying the umpires what they earn. In NJ we have a group that operates under the name USABL. They are shylocks who underpay umpires and then send out blasts crowing about Elmer P Suggins who worked 18 games in three days at the My Parents Check Cleared Elite Baseball Tournament. They add that he will get a paltry bonus of about $2.50 per game for 30+ hours of baseball umpiring. Like most things in life, if you want to know the real truth, follow the money. I will not work rather than work for them. Their concern is churning games and boosting profits. All they want is somebody with a pulse. I got tired of working with guys that couldn't spell ump, never mind know or care about rules. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Man in Blue Posted August 12, 2023 Report Share Posted August 12, 2023 1 hour ago, LMSANS said: All they want is somebody with a pulse. I got tired of working with guys that couldn't spell ump, never mind know or care about rules. I'm not even certain about that first part ... I've worked with a few corpses that were propped up in B the whole game. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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