Single Ump

I havent seen that yet from our local PA HS games, But our summer association has had this happen for some lower youth ball.

Obviously having only one umpire is a serious disadvantage to a well called ball game.....I have done one man games all the way up to HS Varsity and NCAA fall ball....but that has always and only been as a result of an umpire scheduling error.

In those instances, I take ZER0 gruff from any coach or player....I call the game behind the plate so we can get the balls and strikes right... then bust out to get the best angle I can on all plays....what I see is what it is......and it has happended to not to be always right....

here is my example...

One man HS varsity game.....man on first....ground ball to deeper short....I come out from behind the plate and into fair territory.....SS relays the ball to the second baseman....who is right behind the bag....who throws to first for the double play......

No problem....except the second baseman was a good foot+ behind the bag and never touched the base on the pivot.....clearly seen by the base coach and the fans in the first base stands....

But not visible to me.....double play stands....

Unfortunately thats they way it can be....and if the school decides to have only one umpire for whatever valid or unvalid reason....then they have to know that there is a reasonable loss of accuracy.....

At the high school level there is no justification of using one umpire...not even budgetary. The primary issue, in my opinion, is safety, not convenience.

Six years ago, we told the local high school districts we would no longer one man games. We invited them to find other umpires who would hanlde those games, if they wished...no hard feelings and good luck.

They chose to stay with us and with two man crews.

The expense of one umpire for the number of home games HS teams play is insignificant compared to the safety of having two sets of eyes instead of one.

Our assoc did the same thing the year I joined 25 yrs ago. They used to use one man for JV which led to bad calls and no training for new guys. How are you supposed to teach new guys without a partner.

Gentlemen, I think most booster clubs would be willing (or at least try real hard) to pick up the cost for a second umpire at freshman or higher level. I hope they're given the opportunity to do so...

No offense to you hard working men in blue, but we can do better than to put you in these situations, especially at the HS level. All these fund raising activities need to go to pay for things in priority order. Umpires, buses, uniforms and baseballs are pretty basic items...

These budget cuts have gotten out of hand and I'm a die hard Republican. We've got to find a way to educate our youth and prepare them properly to bail us out of the mess we've created.

In my area, for high school games, it's a matter of numbers. Not dollar numbers but umpire numbers.
Our contract with the various athletic sections (I officiate in Section 2) indicates game fees and how many game officials are to be provided. We are to provide 2 umpires for each game whenever possible. Assignments are made from the top down. Varsity and JV games always get 2 umpires.
At the lowest level (Modified) we sometimes don't have enough umpires available on a given day to cover every game with 2. For insurance reasons we can't just grab a body from somewhere and have them work as the second umpire. Unfortunately, a "solo game" is more common here than we would like to see.

Very interesting.

Around here we seem to have more umpires than we can employ. Lots of guys trying to work their way into HS ball and willing to do whatever it takes to get in.

I've talked with several who were part time umps but lost their day jobs (with the economy in the toilet) and became full timers over the last couple of years. They're looking for any work they can get (LL, men's rec league softball, girls fastpitch, etc) and openly approach asking if I've got any ins with the tournament assigners, local leagues, etc. Most will do anything but Sunday morning men's leagues - the economy isn't THAT bad...

One of my fellow HS dads is also an umpire and helps assign at youth baseball & softball tournaments, so I try and hook them up with him.

Our problems are all financial. Cut backs have changed what the booster club is picking up to more basic items. It's also more of a challenge to find local businesses willing & able to donate.

Perhaps I need to differentiate a bit.

In my area the high school season (predominantly Apr/May) and the summer season (predominantly June/July) are two very different animals when it comes to assigning umpires.

There is an exclusivity to ump assignments for the high school season. The schools in my coverage area, by contract, can only use umpires assigned by my chapter. They can request that certain umpires not be sent to work a game at their school but they're not free to call in their own umps.

Another limiting factor is the game schedule. The vast majority of high school games are Mon-Fri with start times of 4-4:30pm. Some of our umps can get out of work early enough to travel to game and some can't. It depends on their job/work schedule.

Another consideration is "Certification". Only a certified (some called them Patched) umpire can work a Varsity game.

During the summer season the situation becomes more flexible. Although the majority of games are covered by umpires from my chapter, the summer leagues/teams can actually call anyone if they so choose. Also, weekday games don't start as early. Most start in the 5:30-6pm range. More umps available at that time. And a great number of games (travel ball/Legion/tournaments) take place on weekends. Still more umps available for coverage.

quote:

Originally posted by JMoff:
Umpires, buses, uniforms and baseballs are pretty basic items...

I was forced for budgetary reason to go to one man in the past, nobody wanted it, but the bottom line our league simply didn't have the dough.
This was BR, two man for 14-15's and Sr division, one man for the 13's.
Our 16K yearly budget consisted of a 12K umpire bill. Nobody was complaining mind you, but 4K doesn't go far for uni's, baseballs, equipment, water, lights, and field/facility maintenance.

And I'm thinking your priorities are backsidewards, baseballs (gotta have em), uni's (nicety), busses (we can still play 1/2 our games w/out em) then umpires (three's heaven, two's great, but one will do).