ORIGINAL STORY
REFEREES ARE NOT ROBOTS
By ALEXIS DOWNIE | December 4, 2018
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Life on the road for six months isn’t a typical job.
But for Jude Koury, he said it’s his favorite months of the year.
“You leave for Spring Training in March, get assigned to a specific camp and you’re there for 2-3 weeks,” said Koury. “After that, you travel home for 2 days, and then fly out to your assignment to start the season.”
The job may not be for everyone, and you certainly have to be good at it to be selected.
Koury began his journey as a Minor League Baseball umpire right after he graduated college in December 2016. While this is not always the case for professional umpires, Koury said he wanted to get his foot in the door early.
There are only two schools to choose from in order to get certified for Minor League Baseball. Koury attended Wendelstedt Umpire School. The school is independently run by a Major League Baseball umpire, Hunter Wendelstedt, in Daytona Beach, Florida.
“There are about 100-150 students each year. You go for the first 5 weeks to the school, and then both schools select about 25 students each to go into a final week where the top students go through an evaluation course,” said Koury. “The Minor League Ball supervisors observe and select those who will get a job depending on the number of openings there are that year.”
Only about 10% of the students between the schools are chosen each year. Koury was one of them. Since then, he has worked his way through Class-A Minor League Baseball in the past couple seasons. He is now working in Class A advanced, just below double A.
Every minor league umpire has an ultimate goal, and for Koury, it’s to make it to the majors.
With six different levels to go through, it’s only a matter of patience.
“We get ranked by the league, and that’s the system they use to promote us. In order for anybody to move up, there has to be openings,” said Koury.
This process could take some time, but Koury said he is enjoying the journey as it comes. He noted that working as an umpire has given him the opportunity to travel to places he never would have seen before. He said the only tough part is the different fans that each team draws to the park.
“They think we’re robots. Everything is ready and we just pop up out of the ground, umpire the game, and then go back into the ground,” said Koury. “That’s how you get treated by fans most of the time. They don’t think we’re people too.”
According to Koury, no matter the fans, protecting the integrity of the game will always be his priority. He said he believes it’s important to do this by making calls the correct way and not allowing the fans to get to him is his way of doing this.
Even though Koury still has a few levels to go before reaching the majors, he said he believes every game is important.
“Don’t ever take it for granted, pretend like you’re working a professional game,” said Koury. “That way you’re always doing your best, evaluating yourself, and trying to do even better."
By ALEXIS DOWNIE | December 4, 2018
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Life on the road for six months isn’t a typical job.
But for Jude Koury, he said it’s his favorite months of the year.
“You leave for Spring Training in March, get assigned to a specific camp and you’re there for 2-3 weeks,” said Koury. “After that, you travel home for 2 days, and then fly out to your assignment to start the season.”
The job may not be for everyone, and you certainly have to be good at it to be selected.
Koury began his journey as a Minor League Baseball umpire right after he graduated college in December 2016. While this is not always the case for professional umpires, Koury said he wanted to get his foot in the door early.
There are only two schools to choose from in order to get certified for Minor League Baseball. Koury attended Wendelstedt Umpire School. The school is independently run by a Major League Baseball umpire, Hunter Wendelstedt, in Daytona Beach, Florida.
“There are about 100-150 students each year. You go for the first 5 weeks to the school, and then both schools select about 25 students each to go into a final week where the top students go through an evaluation course,” said Koury. “The Minor League Ball supervisors observe and select those who will get a job depending on the number of openings there are that year.”
Only about 10% of the students between the schools are chosen each year. Koury was one of them. Since then, he has worked his way through Class-A Minor League Baseball in the past couple seasons. He is now working in Class A advanced, just below double A.
Every minor league umpire has an ultimate goal, and for Koury, it’s to make it to the majors.
With six different levels to go through, it’s only a matter of patience.
“We get ranked by the league, and that’s the system they use to promote us. In order for anybody to move up, there has to be openings,” said Koury.
This process could take some time, but Koury said he is enjoying the journey as it comes. He noted that working as an umpire has given him the opportunity to travel to places he never would have seen before. He said the only tough part is the different fans that each team draws to the park.
“They think we’re robots. Everything is ready and we just pop up out of the ground, umpire the game, and then go back into the ground,” said Koury. “That’s how you get treated by fans most of the time. They don’t think we’re people too.”
According to Koury, no matter the fans, protecting the integrity of the game will always be his priority. He said he believes it’s important to do this by making calls the correct way and not allowing the fans to get to him is his way of doing this.
Even though Koury still has a few levels to go before reaching the majors, he said he believes every game is important.
“Don’t ever take it for granted, pretend like you’re working a professional game,” said Koury. “That way you’re always doing your best, evaluating yourself, and trying to do even better."
AP STORIES
NHL's best referee: Wes McCauley goes by his own book
By STEPHEN WHYNO | September 19, 2018 Wes McCauley keeps his good calls close and his bad calls closer. Any time the veteran NHL referee is feeling too good or gets down on himself, he breaks out a binder full of his missed calls and looks through it. “It’s a humbling book,” McCauley said. “Trust me, I’ve made a lot of mistakes. There’s times you wish you could saw your arm off.” AP LINK TO REST OF STORY HERE |
Wenger called referee 'not honest' and 'a disgrace' in rant
January 16, 2018 LONDON (AP) — Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger accused a referee of being “not honest” and called him “a disgrace” in a rant inside the match officials’ changing room that led to a three-match touchline ban for one of English soccer’s most experienced coaches. The English Football Association published Tuesday the written reasons behind its decision to ban Wenger for being abusive toward referee Mike Dean after Arsenal’s 1-1 draw at West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League on Dec. 31. AP LINK TO REST OF STORY HERE |