Dirty Toilet

As umpires we have a job to do.

With most jobs there are good, not so good and some plain terrible tasks that have to be addressed. 

Selectively choosing which workplace tasks you can ignore initially might sound good, but in reality we all know that has serious pitfalls.

Let’s consider the tasks of a janitor. It would not be too hard to imagine certain tasks he would not select to do. Such as cleaning the toilet or mopping around the urinals when they are messy. Let it go for a couple of weeks, who cares, what’s the problem? Unfortunately we all have discovered the problem, many at the least opportune time.

Police are dispatched to a domestic violence call. Rather than the officers responding, they weigh the dangers associated with this type of call.  They then decide to go to Starbucks and have a Frappuccino.

Umpires see a player in the home team dugout pointing a bat that he is simulating as a rifle at the opposing pitcher. Rather than confronting this unsportsmanlike behavior, the umpires choose to ignore it so they can go to Starbucks and have a Frappuccino sooner.

Our tasks as umpires are not selective, enforcing the rules as they are written is the main part of our job.  If you are selectively choosing which rules to enforce or not enforce you probably deserve a dirty toilet.

Not making a call because you don’t know the rule, is not good. Not making a call because it seems less problematic, is only delaying a bigger problem.