jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I'm so glad that I was never involved in Little League. When I was a kid, we put baseball games together on our own. There were also leagues organized by my schools and the town. NO problem - just fun.

With the advent of Little Leagues, parents are ruining the sport. In Taunton, MA, all the umpires in the area quit because they were being harassed and threatened, even being followed into the parking lot by angry parents. The league offered to have police at game. That offer was declined. In most cases, parents don't have the same view of the field that the umps have, and they don't know the rules.

I was riding Amtrack home from NYC years ago, and two managers from Little League were sitting behind me. They had nothing good to say about the whole system. One guy said, "I'd like to know what happens to all the money they collect."

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Some people...

Stash Loc: South Central Massachusetts

Many years ago I umpired both Babe Ruth League and Little League Baseball. I once walked off a little league field because of all the harassment I was getting from parents. It just wasn't worth the hassle and aggravation. The home plate umpire did the rest of the game by himself. I didn't feel good about it but at the time it seemed like the thing to do. I might add we volunteered our time and were not paid for the games.

whatdat Loc: Del Valle, Tx.

It’s sad what has happened in so many young person’s sports. I played little league & pony league about 70 years ago & it was thankfully different then.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I wouldn't have liked play if there were stands full of spectators - and guys selling $10 hot dogs.

pendennis

I coached little league in the 70's, and fortunately we didn't have nearly the troubles that happen now. We had a couple of dads who were designated "order keepers". They'd speak up quickly if parents, etc., started in on the umps or the kids. We were all volunteers, and most parents understood that. We also had regular meetings with parents after practice, in which we re-stressed the rules, and what we expected from them. The meetings seemed to help quite a bit.

Glad my time is passed. Couldn't stand the harassment today.

Shellback Loc: North of Cheyenne Bottoms Wetlands - Kansas

I umpired little league in the early 80’s - parents get rowdy, they are asked to calm down - if not, they are evicted from the field. During the tournament playoffs - 3 fields going at the same time - the stands were pretty much empty after the 3rd inning because all the parents were evicted for foul language and badgering the ref’s and umpires - it hurts the kids to see their parents thrown out of a game and they lose interest and don’t want to play.

whatdat Loc: Del Valle, Tx.

I really feel for the kids; not only embarrassing for the kids, but, I think the time will come when the parents find that the kids have lost some respect for their parents. Sad!

wjones8637 Loc: Burleson, TX

A friend at church told me that one place he lived used only preachers for umpires. Most parents were reluctant to harass their preacher.

Laramie Loc: Tempe

I pitched one non LL game at my local park and struck out 9. "A natural curve ball" some adult said. Next game I walked everyone I saw, till said adult pulled me. I prefer bowling over baseball on TV.

jrcarpe Loc: Jacksonville,AR

I know a man who umpired in NLR AR. he would not hesitate on sending someone to the shade trees whether it be a fan, coach or player. He recently resigned as the head football coach at No. Little Rock High School to become parks director in NLR AR. I would be hard to find a more honest man or umpire.

jrcarpe Loc: Jacksonville,AR

Some of the most rowdy teams were Church softball teams. I have seen preachers call time out to remind players who they were.

marine73 Loc: Modesto California

My two oldest boys (I have 3 boys, commonly referred to as The Beach Boys) played from the time they were 6 until they were to old to play in the League which I think is about 16. They played in tournaments as well as their regular season games. I missed a lot of their games due to my work schedule. The umps were usually high school kids for the 8 to 12 year olds and for the 13 to 16 year olds it was a parent or college student. All was volunteers. I remember I was a home plate ump for one of the older kids game because the ump didn't show up for the game. Normally when I was there I was the score keeper for my sons team, it was difficult when both boys were playing at the same time. If at any time the parents got out of hand they were asked to leave the game, if it happened a second time they were banned for the remainder of the season.

The youngest of the two went on to ump games at the league and then he started to get call from various churches to ump there games for which he was paid $10.00 dollars a game. He eventually gave that up and became a assistant manager for carls jr which he work at from the time he was 17 until he gave it up at I think 27 years old at which time he started working in the oil fields in Oklahoma as a truck driver moving and setting up drill equipment at the drill sites, he was laid off from the oil field so he went to work for a firm hauling by products from the oil refineries to Kansas, Texas, La.,and within OK. When he is home he coaches his two oldest boys in football and little league in Fairfax Ok. His boys also do wrestling and the oldest one took state champion for his division and weight class. My 4 year old granddaughter wants to be a wrestler like her brothers. All my grandkids in OK are also avid hunters and fishermen/women

Both of my two oldest boys have been go getters. The oldest one is part owner of Goldbeach Logistics and him and his business partner is talking about creating a logistics company in OK to do business as Goldbeach Logistics. Then oldest one also drives for Uber and Lyft.

sgt hop Loc: baltimore md,now in salisbury md

i coached little league baseball and football in the 80's and i don't remember having the problems that others are describing...all in all it was an enjoyable time for me....

edrobinsonjr Loc: Boise, Idaho

I umpired Little League games while my son was in the game and a few of the parents and even some of the coaches set a terrible example for the kids.

My grandson is in it now and they no longer rely on parents to volunteer to umpire.

Sad.

Ed