I play senior softball with a guy who is great pitcher. Unfortunately, every game his team looses, it's always his player's fault, ever pitch called a ball by the umpire is always a bad call, every call of safe on the base paths is always a bad call by the umpire.
Every game lost is always the umpire's fault.
He's a whining, pain in the ass. LOL!
“He’s a whining, pain in the ass.”
I’ll never understand why “fans” expect perfection from an umpire but accept their own players failures, to include theirs.
In MLB, a daily starting MLB position player typically records between 650 and 750 plate appearances (which includes at-bats, walks, and hit-by-pitches) in a 162-game season. While a high-volume hitter might exceed 700, injuries, days off, or lower batting order positions can reduce this number to around 500–600 for average starters.
The MLB league-wide average batting average has recently hovered around .243 to .248, with the 2024 season finishing at approximately .243. That means that the hitters are successful less than a third of the time.
Let’s look at the extreme success. Average MLB players with significant playing time (roughly 500+ plate appearances) hit approximately 15 to 20 home runs per season. While elite power hitters may exceed 30–40, the league-wide average for a regular starter is closer to 15-18, a number that has risen with recent trends in modern, high-power play. And those numbers equate to less than 10% of the at bats with power numbers.
So let your hero strike out trying to go deep, and it’s okay, he’ll get them next time. But let an official miss one call in hundreds, and it hits everyone’s distaste they need to spit out loudly.
It typically takes drafted players 4 to 6 years to reach Major League Baseball. It typically takes 7 to 10 years for an umpire to advance through the minor leagues and reach Major League Baseball (MLB). MLB players hit, throw, and catch. MLB umpires besides doing the immediate job are required to attend professional umpire training schools to reach the pro level.
The average wage for a player is $5.16M a year. The average wage for an umpire in the show is around $300k annually. And a lot less in the minors. You tell me which one earns their keep?
Senior softball? Fast, modified or slow and which ruling association, ASA, USSSA, or NSA? I’ve been sanctioned in all three at one time or another and called in three states and two countries with them. ASA is the biggest as it covers slow, modified and fast. Unfortunately fast pitch is a dying sport. But it’s the purest of softball. I’ve also been rated in NCAA and Nation Federation. And for more than softball.
My health has stopped me calling but I had a ball doing it from age 10 for minors league little league to NCAA basketball when I finally hung up the whistle in my 50’s. Wish I could still go, but I don’t want to be in emergency by half time.
wy69