As a former high school pitcher, the one thing that frustrated me the most was the differences in strike zones by high school umpires. I honestly believe they are the worst officials in sports.
To be fair, high school umpires don't make nearly enough money to merit high quality service, but the fact is that they get paid to do a job. Many of them just don't do their jobs.
I have had countless games where there has been a check swing. The umpire will point down to the baseline umpire for a ruling, and the guy will be staring at the sky picking his nose. It's pathetic.
The worst part is that when an umpire knows he made a mistake, he will try to correct his action by making another bad call in favor of the opposition, "evening it out.” All that does is make the game become something else.
A game is defined as athletes of the specific sport playing the game according to its rules and having those rules upheld.
As a pitcher or a batter for that matter, how can you expect to perform at your highest level when a pitch that is a strike one game is a ball in the next game?
If we are to try to make high school baseball as well organized and cherished as, say Japan, we need to have a better trained umpire system, with re-certification constantly, as the USSF (United States Soccer Federation) does for their certified referees.
There are umpires that have been in service for over 35 years and whose interpretations of the rules have been unchecked since original certification. This needs to change.
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4 months ago
lol, I didn't know high school refs were that bad. You deserve better.
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