eah, I missed it — working the plate. I'd been calling a few games over the last several years — primarily for private schools and always from behind the mound. Why behind the mound?

Saving them money

Just so people don't think all officials are money-grubbers, I had suggested that the private school league only use one official — this after one of the coaches had approached me about officiating some of their games. I agreed to umpire, but didn't think it was necessary to have two officials (at $80 total expense) on the field to umpire games for kids ages 11-13, who were, by and large, quite inexperienced and unskilled.

So I suggested one umpire — me — and told them I'd do it for half that, saving them money over the course of the season. It was a good arrangement, since I pretty much ran the games as I saw fit, made a little cash on the side, and more importantly, had fun.

So what does all of that have to do with working the plate? Quite frankly, for those games I didn't work the plate. I worked behind the pitcher.

1890s all over again

I saw myself as an old timer, one of the early pioneers in umpiring baseball games. More on that another time.

Continued...