I saw a lot of games this summer from 1A to 4A and I have noticed that the quality of high school umpires have diminished. At a couple of games that I was scouting/recruiting at, the umpires were horrible. They may look the part, with all the fancy, new equipment, but their one job is to stay invisible. Spectators should be able to watch a game and never know the umpires were there.
I have seen umpires: flinch on a really good curveballs, blink their eyes on a hard inside fastball, pop their feet on a low pitch in the dirt - that is why you have plate shoes - some of them, out of position, not trailing/help out their partner, coaching the players, talking with the players/coaches, talking with the fans, laughing/make fun of players/coaches, etc. I could go on about some of the things that I have saw this summer.
When umpires try to be apart of the game, that is why players, coaches, and spectators get frustrated and start to vent. And the umpires can give the schools/teams a bad sportsmanship rating with the state. Believe me that I have also seen some really good umpires, but when I dug a little deeper, some of the good umpires mostly pick and choose the games they work - the better teams/bigger matchups.
My question to everyone: Should teams be able to rate umpires, since umpires get to rate teams?
I understand that coaches could just abuse the system and blame the umpires, but I have to believe that some coaches know what they are doing and give a honest rating. Maybe the highest ratings get postseason assignments?
I have seen umpires: flinch on a really good curveballs, blink their eyes on a hard inside fastball, pop their feet on a low pitch in the dirt - that is why you have plate shoes - some of them, out of position, not trailing/help out their partner, coaching the players, talking with the players/coaches, talking with the fans, laughing/make fun of players/coaches, etc. I could go on about some of the things that I have saw this summer.
When umpires try to be apart of the game, that is why players, coaches, and spectators get frustrated and start to vent. And the umpires can give the schools/teams a bad sportsmanship rating with the state. Believe me that I have also seen some really good umpires, but when I dug a little deeper, some of the good umpires mostly pick and choose the games they work - the better teams/bigger matchups.
My question to everyone: Should teams be able to rate umpires, since umpires get to rate teams?
I understand that coaches could just abuse the system and blame the umpires, but I have to believe that some coaches know what they are doing and give a honest rating. Maybe the highest ratings get postseason assignments?