Poorly Run Little Leagues

Where to begin, where to begin...I guess I will start with tonight. I was scheduled to umpire a game in central Iowa where there are only four fields. 2 of those fields are for t-ball and do not require an umpire. The other 2 are for 12 year old baseball games. When I arrived at the fields 30 minutes before game time, both fields already had umpires and the games had already started. I was scheduled for a 6pm game, as was the other umpire who arrived to find that his field was double-booked as well. The other umpire called our assigner "Fred", who said that apparently these were make-up games.

When I returned to my car, I called Fred and asked what happened. He said that he was on vacation and did not have the schedule memorized. I said that I understood that and explained the situation. Fred's response: "Huh...I'm not sure what to say. Sorry about that." Really? That's the best you can say? Good thing this game wasn't one where I had to drive 40 minutes to get to, or I would have been really mad. I would have understood if this was the first time this had happened (disregarding the lack of care in Fred's voice.) Screw-ups happen. But this isn't the first time this has happened. Last week when I was working for the same league, Fred apparently double booked my field. Fortunately, there was another field there that had no umpire, so I still had a game to work. Clearly there was no communication between Fred and the league commissioner, because he was asking if I had the field, or if he was going to have to umpire. He didn't even know an umpire was supposed to be there!

Obviously, this league has major issues. There is little to no communication it seems between the umpire assigner and the league commissioner once the season has started. The league uses non-certified umpires, guys who come to work in jeans and a blue shirt (don't get me started again). It's no wonder why I hear constant complaints from co-workers whose kids are in the league about the umpires. The umps sit behind home plate, never removing their masks. The league provides 0 new game balls, and you have to hope to find one in an empty laundry basket in a shed. The least they could do was have new balls and have someone teach their umps some basic mechanics!


Another thing - since when is the umpire the butler? Iowa is the only place where I have to take the score sheet or pitching sheet back to the concession stand in order to get paid. It's bad enough that the umpires are not paid until after the games, but when you have to wait for the coaches (who if you are lucky enough hated you throughout the game) to get score sheets, then it's just ridiculous. Also, the umpire is not responsible for grabbing game balls - that's the coaches' job. Not ours. I'm getting really tired of some things in these leagues - it really makes me appreciate the way things were run in Ohio. The assigners were fair and understanding, and you never felt like you were screwed as long as you showed some empathy and were respectful towards your assigner. 


Get with it Iowa! I have seen enough bad umpires this year that it makes me happy when I get to work by myself. I don't have a huge ego, but I know I am a good umpire. Not the best, or else I would be doing higher level games. I know that I am better than a lot of these other guys who represent the rest of us.