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Member
I apologize in advance if there is an other thread or forum where this question should be asked.
After 34 years of being exposed to organized sports, it is safe to say there will always be the controversial call or no call when it comes to officiating sports. In fast pitch, everyone of us knows there are those umps we like to see and those we absolutely cringe when we see them enter the diamond our team is playing on.
It is hard to complain when an umpire makes a decision on a bang/bang play. It is also hard to complain when an umpire is consistent with his or her strike zone calls. Whether the strike zone be like pitching into a coffee can or a 6x6 box, we all tend to accept it as long as it is consistent.
For all of the other controversial calls .... short of whipping out the NSA / USSSA / ASA Umpire Voodoo doll the only (legal) recourse we have is our not so flattering comments and maybe an official complaint which goes in one ear and out the other or gets thrown into the trash can if filed in writing.
Does anyone know of any tournaments which have such a thing as an umpire grading system? The system I would have in mind would actualy have a form where each team can evaluate the ump. The ump would then have to sign off on the evaluation after each game. The ump could also rate the team and their fans? It would be nice to have a system in place where good umps are rewarded and bad umps are simply not invited back. This goes for problem teams as well.
The umpire topic has become a hot item for me after a tournament in Akron my DDs played in over Memorial Day Weekend. One particular ump (who stands about 6'4 and wears Harry Caray sized glasses) was one of the worst umpires I have seen in my lifetime. EVERY team we came across had something to say about this particular guy. The reason this particular guy is on my radar is because after three days of bad calls, he completely missed a call which would have been a third out. The very next pitch my daughter takes a line drive back to the pitchers circle which ended her day and thankfully nothing worse. This particular tournament was an NSA tournament. Knowing we would not be playing in any other NSA tournaments, I had assumed we would not see this guy again.
A week later, we enter an ASA tournament in Massillon. Who the heck shows up at our first game on Saturday? The same guy! Let's just say, the guy was not having a "bad day" in Akron ..... this guy is plain horrible!
Our second game on Saturday brought us an entirely new umpire crew. The guy umping the bases was one of the best I have EVER seen. Good or bad call, this guy hustled his butt off to get into a position to make a call. Whether is was play at a base or outfield or with runners on base, this guy put himself into a position to make the call.
The only thing I was able to do was to track this guy down after the game and thank him for doing a nice job.
I have heard people say "this guy should be umping rec games" ...... I say sending them to rec leagues would be unfair to those kids trying to learn at that level. I say don't hire them period.
For the record: Yes, it is only a game. It is a game where all of us have made some sort of commitment both financially and through blood sweat and tears. The (amature) umpire gets paid to do his/her job. It would be nice to see a system in place which rewards the good and does not invite back the bad.
Good Luck this season!
After 34 years of being exposed to organized sports, it is safe to say there will always be the controversial call or no call when it comes to officiating sports. In fast pitch, everyone of us knows there are those umps we like to see and those we absolutely cringe when we see them enter the diamond our team is playing on.
It is hard to complain when an umpire makes a decision on a bang/bang play. It is also hard to complain when an umpire is consistent with his or her strike zone calls. Whether the strike zone be like pitching into a coffee can or a 6x6 box, we all tend to accept it as long as it is consistent.
For all of the other controversial calls .... short of whipping out the NSA / USSSA / ASA Umpire Voodoo doll the only (legal) recourse we have is our not so flattering comments and maybe an official complaint which goes in one ear and out the other or gets thrown into the trash can if filed in writing.
Does anyone know of any tournaments which have such a thing as an umpire grading system? The system I would have in mind would actualy have a form where each team can evaluate the ump. The ump would then have to sign off on the evaluation after each game. The ump could also rate the team and their fans? It would be nice to have a system in place where good umps are rewarded and bad umps are simply not invited back. This goes for problem teams as well.
The umpire topic has become a hot item for me after a tournament in Akron my DDs played in over Memorial Day Weekend. One particular ump (who stands about 6'4 and wears Harry Caray sized glasses) was one of the worst umpires I have seen in my lifetime. EVERY team we came across had something to say about this particular guy. The reason this particular guy is on my radar is because after three days of bad calls, he completely missed a call which would have been a third out. The very next pitch my daughter takes a line drive back to the pitchers circle which ended her day and thankfully nothing worse. This particular tournament was an NSA tournament. Knowing we would not be playing in any other NSA tournaments, I had assumed we would not see this guy again.
A week later, we enter an ASA tournament in Massillon. Who the heck shows up at our first game on Saturday? The same guy! Let's just say, the guy was not having a "bad day" in Akron ..... this guy is plain horrible!
Our second game on Saturday brought us an entirely new umpire crew. The guy umping the bases was one of the best I have EVER seen. Good or bad call, this guy hustled his butt off to get into a position to make a call. Whether is was play at a base or outfield or with runners on base, this guy put himself into a position to make the call.
The only thing I was able to do was to track this guy down after the game and thank him for doing a nice job.
I have heard people say "this guy should be umping rec games" ...... I say sending them to rec leagues would be unfair to those kids trying to learn at that level. I say don't hire them period.
For the record: Yes, it is only a game. It is a game where all of us have made some sort of commitment both financially and through blood sweat and tears. The (amature) umpire gets paid to do his/her job. It would be nice to see a system in place which rewards the good and does not invite back the bad.
Good Luck this season!