The Dark Side of Summer Baseball

There are a lot of great things about summer baseball. It is an opportunity for players to work on skills against players that are the same age level. The competition is pretty good. It is a place where potential college players can get discovered by a college. It is USUALLY a relaxed atmosphere.

However, there is a distinct, disturbing darkside to summer baseball that all umpires are (or at least should be) aware of and need to exercise caution when officiating these contests.

Now, before I talk about the negatives (for umpires) about summer baseball, let me say that I am talking about travel teams/leagues main for high school aged players. Little League and high school conference (like the NLC here in Indiana) summer leagues are exempt from most of these negatives.

1. The biggest reason to be concerned about summer baseball is the lack of accountability. These coaches and managers can basically do anything, say anything, act anyway they want with basically no consequences for those actions. Coaches that an umpire ejects will be right back coaching the very next game, quickly forgetting the reason he was removed in the first place. It is a tough situation for umpires to be in. Trust me, there is a reason I am writing this kind of post.

2. Because these teams have basically no oversight, the players attitudes are much worse during the summer. They talk back to umpires, don't hustle as much, and act more like professional ballplayers than the high school players they really are.

3. The umpire abuse is much worse at these games. Parents, players, and coaches don't have to respect the umpire because there are no consquences.

4. For umpires, the pay isn't worth the games. Most of these teams wait either until the end of the game to pay you or mail the check to you which always makes me nervous.

5. As umpires all you end up doing is getting worn down.

Work some summer games, just be careful with the amount.