This Unpaid, Volunteer Little League World Series Umpire Should Be Fired On The Spot After This Call

I know they don't get paid, which means they're generally terrible, but it's probably time to start ejecting awful umpires in the Little League World Series. 

That's right. I said it. Start punting these buffoons to the sun. Get them out of my face, and off my screen. I'm sick and  tired of umpires being terrible at their job. I don't care what level they're at, it's unacceptable every single time. 

I feel like we've all just let it slide over the years when it comes to the LLWS. We just sit there for three weeks every August, and watch shitty strike after shitty strike called, and we don't say a word. We just chalk it up to being … a little league umpire who's an unpaid volunteer. 

And that's probably fair, to a certain extent. 

But it's past time to draw a line when it comes to horrific calls. Someone has to do it, so I guess I'll fall on the sword. 

This is pathetic:

Maybe start paying these guys? 

I mean, what are we doing here? That's just basic stuff that this umpire clearly doesn't know. You can have a bad strike zone and get away with it. That's fine. That's been going on for centuries. 

But this guy clearly just doesn't know the rules of baseball. That's a problem. Our little leaguers deserve better. 

That's as clear of a tag-play as I've ever seen on a baseball field. In no world should an umpire think it's a force-out. That's Baseball 101 stuff. You learn that within the first week of practice. Sure, you can chalk it up to a brain fart. That's fine. But that doesn't mean we should accept it, or excuse it. 

This is Williamsport! This is the Little League World Series. ESPN pays a lot of money for this shit. No, I don't know exactly how much. That wasn't disclosed in the most recent deal. They did pay roughly $7.5 million per year through 2022, though. I assume it's probably more now. 

So yeah, maybe it's time to start paying umpires so they stop sucking at their job, and so you can get some actual good ones? Just a thought. Yes, they have to attend some sort of boot camp to even be considered for Williamsport, and that's fine. But come on. Let's not sit here and act like that's enough. It's not. You know it, and I know it. 

Perhaps most importantly, it's also time for the powers that be at Little League to get off their insufferable high horse. 

How high is it, you ask? Here's an actual quote from Little League about the current state of officiating in Williamsport:

Appointment as a member of the volunteer umpiring crew for a World Series is the highest honor… To support their efforts, Little League International provides each of the selected volunteers with a travel stipend.

Oh gee, thanks! A travel stipend. That'll get the single, 45-year-old bachelor from Montana to call a better zone in August! Tone of incentive there. 

Morons.