quote:Originally posted by Jimmy03:
I have to admit...some of the worst umpiring I've seen this year. LL needs to put performance above politics when assigning umpires to the WS.
I'll be the one to say it.
LL needs to allow its umpires to be paid. (Yes, I know umpires can be paid, but LL's selection criteria for regionals and WS...)
It is the same argument I make when it comes to PBUC/MLB. If you want the best at the top, then you need to make it so your pool of candidates is the biggest possible at the bottom. The best umpires that could otherwise do LL are elsewhere, since there is a significant personal investment in being a competent umpire, and expecting remuneration is not out of line.
I was 17 years old, doing a LL state tournament, with $800 invested in my equipment, uniforms, training, etc. I chose to have those tools. I chose to go to advanced clinics. I would not have been able to do it had my local league not given me $20 a game and as many games as necessary. They didn't expect me to do that with my game fees, but I loved doing it and wanted to get better so that I could do it the best I could. By LL's logic, that makes me inferior, ironically; the umpires and leagues that foster the sense of mutual commitment were the ones that were (and still are) in the wrong.
LL is correct when it says that paying umpires does not guarantee a better job. Seeing through that (technically correct) statment is the one thing LL doesn't want people to realize when it comes to umpires: paying umpires improves the chances that there is someone there who is competent.