Paying Umpires is Wrong
In our area an umpire’s “association” has popped to serve the local Little Leagues in the area. Now if this association were formed with the kids in mind, as Little League is, then they would simply organize the best staffs, perform the proper background checks, provide training and equipment, and distribute the talent where needed. Unfortunately, this is not the case. As with any organization, profit is the motive.
The Little League guidelines specifically prohibit paying umpires. Umpires that want to get paid can join associations that provide officials to high schools, travel programs, and various leagues that are not volunteer community based. Or basically, anything that isn’t Little League!
Of course, where does this association go to get their officials? They dip into and steal the local umpires that are so generously volunteering their time for their community. The kicker is the small stipend they pay for a game. Yet, umpires are shunning their local league and entering other league’s boundaries just for a few dollars. Have we forgotten that every $1 we give, we receive $10 in return? This is truly the case.
I am the first to admit that I accept every paying umpiring job offered to me that is NOT Little League. I have no problem w/ that, those organizations have no desire to be volunteer organizations, nor do they pretend to be. I have umpired USSSA and AAU, but have not had time for High School. This association tried to recruit me as well, I told them, “I will never accept pay for umpiring a Little League game”. It is wrong on so many levels.
Not only is it wrong, I have a couple of issues that must be addressed by the association, though I know they won’t reply in public.
1. If Little League’s are boundary specific, how can umpires cross those boundaries?
2. Every volunteer “in regular contact” with the children MUST have completed a volunteer application. How does the association accomplish this since the local league performs the checks?
3. Am I being asked to put my children on fields w/ umpires who have not been properly screened when we visit other locations? This troubles me as the parent of teenage girls and young boys. Is there any proof of this documentation?
How can I know that my children are safe on the fields, in the parking lots, and in the bathrooms of Little League facilities if proper due diligence is not the norm? Are you as a Board of Directors that pays an association to provide you with umpires willing to accept the personal liability that comes with an incident God forbid? It would be “easy pickin’s” for even the least experienced of attorneys.
What we must do:
1. Terminate any league membership of any umpire that gets paid to umpire a Little League game.
2. Not allow any umpire that gets paid to umpire a Little League game to umpire ANY all-star or special privilege games.
3. Terminate all relationships with any associations as Little Leagues.
4. Recruit and train volunteers within our organizations to be the best they can be. You will be surprised who will say yes if you simply ask them.
5. Inform existing umpires if they leave for pay, their membership in the league will be terminated. This means they will never be able to coach, manage, serve on the board, umpire, vote, or volunteer in any way, shape or form, within the organization.
6. Recognize and embrace those willing to volunteer. Award them, provide them gear, drinks, and a pat on the back.
7. Do not antagonize or constantly criticize their work. They are doing the best they can.
Hey, don’t get me wrong. One of my best friends is our Umpire in Chief, and I hear every day about the struggles he goes through to get our games umpired. I don’t envy his position. But paying umpires is NOT the solution. Besides, we are a small league, but we play more than 10 games a week or so at home. That means $350/week for umps or about $3,500!!! How can you say you are being a proper steward of the people’s money if you are simply taking the easy road?
How do you feel about paid umpires in Little League?
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The Great Bat Debate Continues
Received this letter from Little League International today about bats in the Junior, Senior and Big League Divisions:
October 9, 2008
Dear District Administrative Staffs and Local Little League Baseball Officials:
Beginning with the 2009 Little League Baseball season, baseball bats with a diameter of 2 ¾ inches are no longer permitted for use in the Junior League Division of Baseball.
Baseball bats with a 2 5/8-inch diameter are now the standard for all teenage baseball divisions (Junior, Senior and Big League).
The "minus-3" requirement – overall weight (in ounces) of a bat can be no more than three ounces below the overall length (in inches) of the bat – remains in effect in Senior and Big League Baseball divisions, but is NOT a requirement in Junior Baseball.
Also, in effect for the 2009 season is the requirement that all non-wood bats used in Little League Baseball Divisions and below shall be printed with a BPF (bat performance factor) of 1.15 or less.
Sincerely,
Little League International
The biggest part of this to me is the fact that the bats must now have the BPF printed on the bat. No BPF, no can use.
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Little League White Paper Hits and Runs, Bumps and Bruises: Health, Safety and Injury Prevention are the Keystone of Little League
I received a white paper from Little League today that provides a historical perspective of their Safety Initiative Program. Nobody can touch Little League for safety initiatives. All others follow their lead. They began tracking injuries in the early ’60’s and continue their efforts today.
Key Safety Initiatives:
- 1961-Batting helmet mandatory
- .0003% of injured Little Leaguer’s required medical attention.
- 8 fatalities in Little League 6 from wood bats, 2 from aluminum bats
- Since 1990 not 1 death in over 18 million games and 40 million practices!
- Bat performance factors of 1.15 approved
- 25-35 injuries of pitchers hit by batted balls/year amazing!
- Pitch counts instituted (The best rule ever!)
- 80 free background checks offered to each league, more than enough for most, additional checks for only $1 each!
This is really good stuff and makes me proud to be part of this organization.
Here is a copy of the letter they sent:
For more than a half-century, Little League International has maintained extensive records on injuries in Little League games and practices. These records have been used over the years to monitor trends and, when necessary, to effect positive changes in the Rules and Regulations.
In many cases, these changes have eventually been adopted in other youth baseball and softball programs, as well as professional baseball. It is just one of the many aspects of Little League that sets us apart from all other youth baseball and softball programs.
For the first time, Little League International has produced a comprehensive report on the history of Little League’s efforts and accomplishments regarding the wellbeing of its participants and volunteers. This white paper entitled “Hits and Runs, Bumps and Bruises: Health, Safety and Injury Prevention are the Keystone of Little League” provides an extensive review of advancements in these areas.
We invite you to review this important document, produced by the Little League International Communications Division. The white paper can be found at the Little League International web site by clicking on the link to the PDF below, or by pasting it into your web browser:
http://www.littleleague.org/Assets/forms_pubs/Hits_Runs_Bumps_Bruises08.pdf
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Wood vs. Aluminum/Composite/etc. Debate
Image via WikipediaBanned in NYC
I found the following article in relation to wood vs. metal bats being banned in New York City High School Leagues. It is apparent that Little League fully anticipates the city trying to impose this rule on all city programs, including privately run and chartered, Little League Baseball .
Hate Gov’t!
I have to admit that I hate ANY kind of government intervention in ANYTHING! I am a total anarchist! Provide military to protect me, judicial to rule when states have a battle, and legislative to assure my rights are not trampled on THEN get out of the way!
That said, Little League has more rules than just about ANY organization yet I fully support it! Why? Because it is a private organization that is fully self sufficient. It is one of the greatest organizations in the world.
What Makes Little League so Great!
What makes it so great is the way it provides minimum standards, rules, and guidelines, then allows the local leagues to impose additional rules, decide draft procedures, decide all-star selection processes, and much more, to reflect local culture. Being a worldwide organization, I do mean culture! Having participated in Little League in one of the busiest metropolitan areas, Northern Virginia, and one of the smallest DeBary, FL , I have seen both extremes. Both function very differently, and both function very well!
Therefore, if Little League decided to vote to use only wooden bats, I would support it. If ANY form of government tells us to use wood only bats, I would disagree. Please read the statement from Little League below to decide for yourself.
Savings, not Performance
I would remind everyone that when I started Little League we only had wooden bats, they broke all the time. Using aluminum bats originally wasn’t about performance, it was about savings! We could use one bat for many years.
I submit that if we go to wood only bats, manufacturer’s will develop technology that makes them perform just as good as the composites on the market today. What will happen then? We will have the same performance ratings, but have to replace the more expensive bats more often. Sounds like a great deal for the bat manufacturer’s and a bum rap for the local leagues and parents that have to purchase more bats.
To prove this point we need only look to Major League Baseball . The bats they use are today are considered "hot" to the ones of the past. The increase in home runs certainly supports this theory.
What Little League Says
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (March 23, 2007) — Recently, Little League International has received a number of inquiries regarding non-wood bats, particularly in relation to a March 14 vote by the New York City Council to ban the use of non-wood bats in high school baseball games.
It is important to note that the New York City Council’s vote applies only to high school baseball games played in the city, and does not apply in any way to Little League games at any level in the city or anywhere else.
Little League International has and will continue to provide as much factual information as possible on the subject to the media, to volunteers, and to legislators considering laws that would dictate the use of certain types of equipment in Little League Baseball and Softball. It is Little League International’s belief that the same governmental imposition may soon be directed at Little League Baseball and other youth baseball programs.
Little League Baseball has always advocated that local leagues and individuals may choose wood or non-wood bats for use in our program.
Little League supports the right of a local Little League to implement a wood-only rule, and we support any league’s right to make that choice for its local community. Some prefer the game played with wood bats, and that’s fine as well. But Little League International does not accept the premise that the game will be safer if played exclusively with wood, simply because there are no facts — none at all — to support that premise.
As a result, any individual or league choosing a wood-only option must understand that the choice is not being made because of any factual data or scientific information.
Little League volunteers already know that participation in Little League is made safer by Little League rules, regulations and policies. Little League’s safety record is second to none, as less than 1 percent of all participants annually in Little League require medical treatment of any kind as the result of an injury in a practice or game.
As Steve Keener, Little League Baseball and softball president and chief executive officer, said: "If there was a safety concern, based on Little League’s proven history of attention to safety with matters such as mandating background checks and pitch counts, we’d be the first in line to address it."
Safety continues to be Little League’s No. 1 concern, and the non-wood bat issue is no exception. For that reason, we are providing these facts:
* More than 10 years ago, the major manufacturers of non-wood bats reached an agreement with Little League to limit their bats to a "Bat Performance Factor" (BPF) of 1.15. … The BPF is essentially a measure of a non-wood bat’s performance (how fast the ball exits the bat when hit) in relation to a standard wood bat’s rating of 1.00. A very good wood bat’s BPF is 1.15.
* That means today’s best non-wood bats (usually made of aluminum) used in Little League perform statistically the same, in terms of how fast the ball exits the bat, as the best wood bats.
* For the last 10 years, bat manufacturers have only been producing non-wood bats for play in Little League Baseball that do not exceed the 1.15 BPF. Most of these bats are already printed with the BPF of 1.15, but beginning in 2009, all bats used in Little League Baseball must be imprinted with the BPF.
* A common misconception is that lighter bats always translate into a baseball being hit harder. This is not the case, because there is a point at which a lighter bat (even though it is swung at a higher speed) does not exert the same force on the pitched ball as a heavier bat does. A simpler way to understand this is to consider a small hammer used to pound a nail: Although the small hammer may be swung with much greater speed, a heavier hammer (swung at a lower speed) will drive the nail with fewer blows because it has more inertia at the point of impact. This is why the non-wood bat manufacturers have agreed to the current standard — so that the non-wood bats perform at a level close to wooden bats, even though a Little Leaguer may be able to swing them faster. … Imposing a wood bat mandate could result in fewer players in the game. A more forgiving bat means more players have a chance for some success and therefore will want to play and enjoy the game.
* Little League reached this agreement in the early 1990s with the manufacturers of non-wood bats because it noticed the number of reported injuries to pitchers who were hit by batted balls had increased to about 145 in a year.
* Since that agreement, these types of reported injuries have decreased to their current level of 20-30 per year. Considering there are more than a million Little League games played each year, with hundreds of millions of pitches, this safety record is nothing less than outstanding.
* Little League also has addressed the baseballs used in games. Requirements for baseballs to have standardized hardness and liveliness have been in place for several years as well.
* In 2002, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reviewed this issue thoroughly and resolved that there was inconclusive data to support such a ban of non-wood bats from use in high school and youth baseball.
* Since records were kept beginning in the 1960s, tragically there have been eight fatalities in Little League Baseball from batted balls. Six of those resulted from balls hit by wood bats and two from balls hit by non-wood bats. Those two fatalities occurred in 1971 and 1973, prior to the 1993 implementation of today’s youth bat standards.
* This is not a business interest for Little League Baseball. While Little League does receive royalties from the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association Youth Bat Licensing Program, these royalties amount to only about 2 percent of Little League’s annual operating budget of $18 million. … If a wood-bat mandate were imposed, Little League estimates that its royalties from this program would either equal or exceed current levels.
I wonder why there is no outrage about using big barrel bats in AAU and other travel programs?
What is your opinion? Wood or Metal and why?
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