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Online Manual - A Letter From An Umpire
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"I'm an umpire; I try hard, but I can't do a perfect job"
By Bill Conlin
Donald Jensen was struck on the head by a thrown bat while umpiring a youth baseball
game in Indiana. He shook off the blow and finished umpiring the game, but that night
went to the hospital with head pain. While being kept overnight for observation, the
umpire wrote the following letter to parents of youth baseball players everywhere:
"I'm an umpire. I don't do it for a living, but only for fun and because it provides a
little extra spending money for my family. I've played baseball, coached it, and watched
it. But somehow, nothing takes the place of umpiring. Maybe I feel deep down that I
am providing a fair chance for all kids to play the game without disagreements or
arguments. There is one thing that bothers me about youth baseball umpiring. Some of the
parents don't understand why I am there.
Some of you feel that I'm on a power trip to exert authority over your son. For that
reason, you often yell at me or encourage your son to yell at me when I make a mistake.
Do you understand that I try to be perfect? I try not to make a mistake. I don't want
your son to feel that he got a raw deal from the umpire. Yet, no matter how hard I
try, I can't be perfect.
I counted the number of calls I made in a six inning game today.
The total number of decisions was 146. I tried to get them all right, but I'm sure I
missed a few. I could have missed eight calls today and still gotten 95% of them
right. In most occupations, that percentage would be excellent.
Let me tell you more about the game today. There was a close call that ended the game.
A runner for the home team was trying to come home on a passed ball. The catcher chased
the ball down and threw to the pitcher who was covering the plate. The pitcher made the
tag and I called the runner out!
As I was getting my equipment to leave, I overheard
one of the parents say, "It's too bad the kids have to lose because we have rotten
umpires. I have never seen a call that bad." Later, at the concession stand, a couple
of kids were telling their friends, "We would have won today if we didn't have such a
lousy umpire." When I heard that, I felt terrible. Those kids made a lot of mistakes
that cost them the game. I may have missed the call at home plate. I truly don't know,
but it was an honest effort, and I think I got it right.
A parent or a coach who allows a child to blame his failures on an umpire is doing the
worst kind of injustice to that youngster. That kind of irresponsibility is bound to
carry over into future years. As I sit here writing this letter, I am no longer upset.
At one point, I wanted to quit umpiring behind the plate for a pitcher who pantomimed
his displeasure at any close call. One could sense that he wanted the crowd to realize
that he was a talented player that was being victimized by this black hearted villain
of an umpire. This kid continued for two innings while, at the same time, yelling at
his own teammates who made mistakes. For two innings, the manager watched this. When
the kid returned to the dugout in the top of the third inning, the manager called him
aside. In a voice I was able to overhear, he said, "Listen son, it is time you make a
decision. You can be an umpire or a pitcher, but you can only be one at the time. Right
now it is your job to pitch, and you're not doing a very good job of it. Leave the
umpiring to the guy behind the plate, or you won't do any more pitching for me." Needless
to say, the kid chose the pitching route and went on to win the game. When the game
was over, the kid followed me to my car. Fighting back tears, he apologized for his
actions. His dad thanked me for umpiring and said he didn't understand how I could
continue to take the kind of abuse that parents and kids seem to dish out. The kid
learned a lesson that he would not forget.
I can't help but wonder how many more young men are missing the chance to develop into
outstanding ball players because their parents encourage them to spend time blaming
the umpire rather than working harder to improve their own game. I love the game of
baseball and enjoy the kids.
I could have a variety of part time jobs to allow my
family a few extras in life. I chose to umpire, and I try very hard. I wish parents
would understand that the majority of youth umpires are simply doing it for the love of
the game, and we don't try to cheat anyone. I wish they could see how foolish they
look to others when they verbally attack us. If they could be an example and get onto
their child instead of the umpire, we would develop better players and people.
The following morning, Donald Jensen, part-time umpire, died of a brain concussion
resulting from a blow by a thrown bat.
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