What happened to all of the Umpires???
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BretMan2
TSZ/OFC Umpire in Chief
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I believe that the number of high school umpires is down slightly. Combine that with all of the make-up games being rescheduled due to the bad weather and you have a shortage. I'm in the central district and have recently received numerous emails practically begging for umpires to cover last minute make-ups.
The slight decline in numbers might be attributed to several things.
- Back a few years ago, when the economy was in the tank, there was a upswing in new umpires. Many seemed to view this as an opportunity for extra income. Now that the economy has picked up, fewer new umpires are coming aboard, plus those that were in it for the money have dropped out.
- Newer umpires that can't handle the pressure of dealing with irate coaches and fans tend to drop out after a season or two.
- When a lot of make-up games are being scheduled, many umpires either already have other games scheduled or have other plans for their "days off".
- The OHSAA instituted a new rule for umpires this year. They can no longer receive credit for both baseball and softball meetings by attending the same single meeting. In the central district the high school baseball and softball umpire groups are two completely separate entities. This means that an umpire who wants to work both sports must attend two separate sets of meetings, for two separate groups, in two separate locations. Unfortunately, these two groups hold their required meetings on the same night, at the same time.
I know of several umpires who have dropped one sport or the other due to this new rule. The rule was presented to us as a means to improve the training and quality of the umpires, but it may have also had the effect of reducing the number of umpires available to either sport.
Add it all up and, especially with all the make-up games, you have more games being played than there are umpires to cover them.
The slight decline in numbers might be attributed to several things.
- Back a few years ago, when the economy was in the tank, there was a upswing in new umpires. Many seemed to view this as an opportunity for extra income. Now that the economy has picked up, fewer new umpires are coming aboard, plus those that were in it for the money have dropped out.
- Newer umpires that can't handle the pressure of dealing with irate coaches and fans tend to drop out after a season or two.
- When a lot of make-up games are being scheduled, many umpires either already have other games scheduled or have other plans for their "days off".
- The OHSAA instituted a new rule for umpires this year. They can no longer receive credit for both baseball and softball meetings by attending the same single meeting. In the central district the high school baseball and softball umpire groups are two completely separate entities. This means that an umpire who wants to work both sports must attend two separate sets of meetings, for two separate groups, in two separate locations. Unfortunately, these two groups hold their required meetings on the same night, at the same time.
I know of several umpires who have dropped one sport or the other due to this new rule. The rule was presented to us as a means to improve the training and quality of the umpires, but it may have also had the effect of reducing the number of umpires available to either sport.
Add it all up and, especially with all the make-up games, you have more games being played than there are umpires to cover them.
Last edited:
FastBat
Well-Known Member
It's been very hard to get umps this year, especially for youth league play.
