All You Are Doing Is...

Hurting the kids that play baseball.

What am I talking about? I'm talking about umpires that have personal agendas for their team or against another. And the Kentucky High School Athletic Association for letting these things to go on.

In the 14th region in Kentucky, they have one of the worst umpiring crews to litter a field. And before you umps out there that may read this say I am just belly aching because my team didn't get the right calls and that I just don't know what I am talking about, listen to what I have to say. I know that there are very high quality umpires in this country, in the state of Kentucky, and in the 14th region. I am not talking about you. You are the ones that make the elite crews what they are. You don't make calls for or against a team becuse you like or dislike "Litle Johnnie's" dad. You do your job because you like to do it and it feels good to help out in the community.

I'm talking about those that are there to make an extra $42.50 to $75 a game. The ones that are behind the plate because their nephew is pitching that game and wants to make him look good and so on.

This year the 14th region has had more complaints on the umpires than in the past 5 years combined. And not just by parents, (they always complain). Coaches, players, and school officials are complaining as well. It's getting to be an epidemic(SP). I have been to games throughout the state and have seen some quality umpires and then I have seen those that good but have umped on too many games that day. You guys get tired as well, I know that.

Now some of these guys that are umps in the 14th are upstanding citizens in the community. We have one umpire that recieved a very high honor in the state. Is he one of these bad umps? You bet he is.

Some examples I'd like to give.
1. During a game this year a batter checks his swing an a high pitch. The plate ump calls a ball. The catcher asks for an appeal to the ump and stays with the call, so the catcher wants to appeal to the field ump. He says "I didn't see it." He wasn't paying attention. In fact when the plate ump asked the field ump, he had to get his attention since he was looking up into the trees.

2. An ump hasn't been paid by the school where a game was held. Is it the team's fault? No. At the school in question they pay the umps by sending them a check. This ump complained to the president of the teams boosters a few times and the president said that the boosters don't pay the umps that the school does out of the gate money by check. All that the boosters can do is to remind the person at the school that this ump needs to be paid. But still, he decides to make bad calls against this team, even though they don't have control over what the school does.

3. A ump is behind the plate while his son is pitching. The opposing coach didn't know this until after the game, therefor he couldn't protest the ump being behind the plate. The ump calls strikes that should be balls. Heck, one blatant strike was called when the catcher had to almost stand straight up to get the ball.

4. During this years 14th region tournament we had 8 umps that qualified to ump the tournament. 8 out of 20 or more that we have in the region. Why just 8? Because those 8 were the only ones to go to the mandatory clinics held each year. Out of those 8, 3 are respectable umpires.

One coach in the region had had so much with these umps that he had umps that weren't KHSAA certified to come in and ump his last game. And did he pay for that. This team should have won their district, but they didn't. Yea, the umps that were supposed to call that last game were calling the district.

And the KHSAA doesn't care. Kentucky is a basketball and football state. That's all they care about. We have great baseball players. Caz Roe and Tyler Oliver come to mind. Some kids only play baseball. But, what do some people care?

Why am I complaining? I am complaining because somewhere down the road these kids that give so much of their time are going to be hurt by these going ons. Some of these kids may be scouted somewhere. And when we get an ump that tries to make another kid to look good because there's a scout watching isn't going to impress the those scouts. Scouts aren't dummies people. Scouts are scouts because they know the game, they know a strike from a ball, they know an average player from a high calibe player, and they know that when they see that they have been duped into believing a player is one of those high caliber players. All you are doing is making sure that scouts don't come out to see the players that deserve to be seen and giving our region a bad name. If I was a scout and knew these things were going on, I wouldn't bother showing up unless the coach was highly respected and known to the scouting community.

So, why don't you 14th region umpires and the KHSAA wise up and give these kids the respect that they deserve. You never know when this part of the state may get a good draft pick like Chaz Roe. Players like that aren't made because an ump makes him look good. Players like that are made because they give 110% percent on and of the field for the game that they love. So, don't take that away from them because you have an agenda.