ajaywill wrote:Skarp - the basic problem with your assertion is that you (Parents, coaches, players) are not my client base as an umpire. I'm not there to make you happy or win your approval.
My client is the game itself....my job is to make sure that each team has the opportunity to compete and win while adhering to the rules of the game.
Are there umpires that don't take this responsibility very seriously and don't put out their best effort - yep. I've seen plenty of 'em. And believe me, feedback is offered.
The only people on the field who do not have a stake in the outcome of the game are the umpires. Whether you want to admit it or not, your biased position in a softball game directly contributes to your view of my performance, therefore, your criticism means very little, if anything to me.
Interesting points. Couple of comments:
You impliedly assume that parents/coaches/players are not similarly concerned with the integrity of the game when they offer up criticism, which is not necessarily true. (When reasonable people criticize umpires they are not saying "
do it in a way more favorable to me." They are saying "
do it right.") And you further assume that observers always have a stake in the outcomes of the games they observe, and are therefore biased--which is not necessarily true either.
Your "game is the client" comment is well-taken, but it is ultimately a distinction without a difference. The game is nothing without the parents/coaches/players, and they, being the parties directly impacted by the level of competence that an ump brings to his craft, are certainly entitled to judge his performance (at least if they do so thoughtfully and honestly). And of course parents/coaches/players are the ones who write the checks that you take home...generally a pretty good indicator of who the clients are.