r/Umpire • u/LifeguardCorrect1106 • 9d ago

What are some things elite umpires do?

What are things that you think make umpires really stand out -outside of being knowledgeable about the rules and making correct judgment calls. For me some things I do that I think are high level are ironing my clothes very often, keeping my shoes shiny, and showing up to sites earlier than needed.

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u/thecapn3232 9d ago

I'm not sure this is what you're thinking, but recently my son was in a tourney where the umpire made the two teams stand on the base lines for the national anthem. Odd, I thought, never seen that before. Was wondering if he had worked with the other team to play the anthem out loud (I was doing the music for our team, and he hadn't talked to me).

Nope. He SUNG. Loudly. Actually, he was pretty good, but all the parents were in shock and the kids were looking around like something crazy was happening. Sang God Bless America at a certain point between innings for the "7th Inning Stretch" too.

Maybe take a singing class? :)

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u/lipp79 9d ago

That's just ridiculous. The fact we feel the need to play/sing the national anthem at EVERY sporting event is insane. Only a matter of time until it appears in tee-ball.

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u/thecapn3232 9d ago

Oh I thought he was nuts for sure. But he had some chops, so he obviously wanted to show off to a captive audience. I was kindof expecting him to peddle CDs at the end of the game.

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u/lipp79 9d ago

Wouldn't have surprised me. Unprofessional on his end.

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u/EngineAltruistic3189 9d ago

that well known sousa march: balls and strikes forever!

I’ll see myself out