An appeal from baseball fan and umpire: More officials needed to keep Kansas youth sports going
Editor’s note: Terry Knowles played on Great Bend’s state championship baseball team and was a three-year starting catcher for Kansas State University. He also had an extensive semi-pro career with teams in Kansas, including two years with the Wichita Boeing Bo-Jets. Knowles served in the U.S. Marine Corps as an infantry officer and retired from a 24-year career in federal law enforcement.
Baseball, America’s game for all ages, has been in full swing throughout the state of Kansas since March. High school baseball is more popular than ever with as many as 240 Kansas varsity teams competing for league titles, regional championships, and the ultimate achievement of state champion. With all these hopeful players on our ball fields, there is one glaring obstacle — a shortage of umpires to make it all happen.
Jeremy Holaday, assistant executive director of the Kansas High School Activities Association, is responsible for coordinating high school baseball at five levels of competition (1-2A thru 6A). Beginning in late March, each team can play 20 regular season games, meaning nearly 5,000 baseball games were played in Kansas this spring leading to post-season play in mid-May. Additionally, some schools have junior varsity and freshman teams also requiring umpires.
“There are only 410 registered umpires to call those games,” Holaday said. “With rain, lightning, high winds and darkness causing game suspensions or rescheduling, we are dangerously short of umpires. For example, on any weekday, there will be 100 baseball games played in northeast Kansas requiring some 200 umpires to cover those games.”
KSHSAA uses the two-umpire system to officiate games, which requires flawless coordination to properly cover the entire field.
“Umpires must be in the right position and be prepared to make difficult calls, regardless of the situation. Covering ‘trouble’ flyballs in the outfield, tracking runners on bases and calling critical plays at home plate is a challenge for any umpire team, regardless of their level of experience,” Holaday said.
By contrast, colleges and the major leagues use four umpires in every game, and a replay system is also available to review contested calls.
“I have been running the baseball program for 10 years, and there has been a steady decline in persons willing to umpire, yet without them, we cannot keep our baseball program going,” Holaday said.
Ten years ago, there were 482 umpires registered with KSHSAA, and today there are 410.
“The highest number of umpires in the state was in 2015, when we had over 500," he said. "Perhaps that can be attributed to the Royals as that was the year they won the World Series and baseball was king in Kansas.”
Why the reluctance to umpire?
In researching this question with those associated with high school baseball, three responses dominated:
(1) Verbal abuse by fans and relatives of players.
(2) Games scheduled in mid-afternoon.
(3) Lack of reward for the time and effort required of good umpires.
The first reason is almost a right-of-passage that begins early when youngsters first compete. Parents and other relatives are understandably passionate supporters, and that passion is often directed toward umpires if calls don’t seem to be going their way. A simple “thank you” or positive acknowledgement to umpires would go a long way to help solve this issue.
At Wamego’s baseball complex, signs are posted that remind fans to be good sports and positive supporters, noting that “umpires are human.”
Former American League umpire Nestor Chylak once said: “Fans expect an umpire to be perfect on Opening Day and then improve as the season goes on.”
Veteran Topeka-area umpire John Deedrick said, “Sure, there may be some grumbling on close 50/50 calls, but that is just baseball. Coaches play a major role in helping to keep the game in a positive flow.”
Known as “Big Dawg” by fellow umpires and coaches, Deedrick began umpiring in 1964 at the college level in the Big Eight Conference and is a member of the Shawnee County Baseball Hall of Fame. He umpires four high school doubleheaders every week and is always selected for regional and state tournament assignments.
Deedrick said: “I love the game of baseball and being able to participate as an umpire. I’m in good health and will be on the field as long as possible.”
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The second reason is a necessity due to the after-school time availability for student-athletes, as well as the lack of lights for some high school ball fields. Most games are scheduled as afternoon doubleheaders beginning at 3:30 or 4 p.m. Because of this time frame, the primary umpire pool consists of retirees and, thus, the average umpire age in Kansas is 55.
And the final reason stems from the continuing effort required to be a successful umpire. Most umpires have a sound knowledge of baseball having earlier played the game. However, the difficult task is learning baseball’s demanding rule book and applying those rules quickly during games.
KSHSAA-certified umpires attend clinics, complete online instruction, participate in group study sessions and pass an exam in order to keep abreast of baseball’s technical rules.
How much are high school umpires paid?
Umpires are paid about $150 for each varsity doubleheader. Considerable time is involved for umpires on game day: pre-game preparation, travel to and from the game, five hours for two games and post-game recovery, which totals nearly eight hours or a full day’s work. Travel expenses to and from games are not reimbursed, and the umpires pay for their own uniforms and protective equipment, which totals about $650.
Most umpires limit their availability to 75 miles from their homes and often car pool to save on travel expenses.
When umpires were asked about compensation, the general feedback was that money wasn't the reason they devoted an inordinate amount of time, effort and preparation to baseball. Instead, most were glad for the opportunity to return to the field of play and to help youngsters with their baseball development. In the previously cited survey, 70% of the 1,158 officials stated that the No. 1 reason for officiating high school games was for their “love of sports.”
“My biggest reward is when I am thanked by fans, players, coaches or school officials for simply being part of their game and helping the youngsters,” one umpire said. “That’s always a great feeling.”
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Qualifications for being a successful umpire
Umpiring requires physical stamina and mobility. Given the length of a normal doubleheader, umpires can expect to be on their feet for about five hours. Brief rest only comes between innings, plus a 15-minute break between games.
Beyond the physical aspect, umpires must have good judgment and strong communication skills. Simply stated, can you deal with coaches and players during the course of a game? It is critical to ably express your knowledge of the game and the rules in controlling various aspects of the game. Maintaining credibility is a major key to success.
Reasons to become a registered umpire with KSHSAA
Well beyond the qualifications and compensation, there are several compelling reasons for becoming a high school umpire. Perhaps the No. 1 reason is that you will be welcomed into an elite group of dedicated individuals providing a vital service to benefit youths. Second, it will be a way to stay on the field once your playing/coaching days are over.
And finally, you will be genuinely appreciated by school officials, particularly athletic directors and coaches, who depend on your services in order to sustain high school baseball.
A 2020 national survey lists fan verbal abuse as the No. 1 reason for officials quitting. However, KSHSAA doesn't collect specific reasons for an official quitting and no exit interview is conducted.
Holaday said he is generally aware that verbal abuse does exist, and on occasion fans, coaches and players have been ejected from games for this reason. He said ejections are rare.
How to become an umpire
The first step in becoming a high school umpire is to contact KSHSAA at 785-273-5329 or KSHSAA@kshsaa.org, fill out an application, and pay the $55 administrative fee.
The next requirement is to study the rule book and pass KSHSAA’s 100-question open-book test. KSHSAA will provide online instruction, umpire situational clinics and announce study sessions with other umpires. The test is an annual requirement in order to maintain KSHSAA certification.
Once certified, an umpire’s name is placed in a computer website. Only then can an umpire be assigned games by the commissioner of the various high school leagues, such as Centennial, Flint Hills, Big Seven or NCKL in the Topeka area.
League commissioners work tirelessly in supplying umpires for high school games and are often confronted with last-minute changes and cancellations.
Youth baseball at Lake Shawnee.
During the summer months, youth baseball at the Bettis Family Sports Complex at Lake Shawnee literally comes alive with more than 1,000 games played June through August. As part of the Shawnee County Amateur Baseball Association, these games involve players ages 7 to 14 years and require umpires to manage the nightly games.
Derrick Mead, youth sports manager for Shawnee County, stated that more than 1,200 Topeka youths participate in summer baseball leagues at Lake Shawnee. There are six lighted baseball fields with artificial turf at Bettis with 12 games played there every night.
“It’s exciting to see these youngsters play the game and compete with passion and enthusiasm,” Mead said. “They start as young as age 7 with ‘machine pitch’ baseball, which automatically regulates pitch speed and ensures pitches are in the strike zone.
"Umpires are still needed in these games to make safe/out calls on the bases. Teams in the upper age brackets are very competitive, and our teams do very well in weekend tournaments involving visiting teams from around the state.”
At Lake Shawnee, umpires for the summer youth program are coordinated by Topeka Premiere Umpire Association. Based on age-level of the various leagues, umpires are paid $25 to $50 per game. Persons interested in umpiring at Lake Shawnee are encouraged to contact TPUA official Tegan Swoboda at 785-224-7595 or tegan.swoboda@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas baseball fan and umpire appeals to those who love the sport
