ELITE BASEBALL UMPIRES ASSOCIATION

The History

Umpiring in Little League and youth baseball has changed dramatically in the last decade. In the beginning, most leagues used volunteers to umpire their games. Parents, family members and past coaches would give up one night a week to do the best they could calling balls and strikes, fair and foul and safes and outs. Some were good and some were not. A few umpires had some training; but for the most part, it was limited to their own experiences from playing ball. What these volunteers did have was a love for the game and an interest in providing children a place to grow and learn in sportsmanship and character. 

As it became more difficult to find volunteers, local leagues turned to paid (patched) umpires to officiate their games. Most of these Umpires were trained using high school rules and were expensive to leagues. 

On the positive side, the patched Umps were a lot better at calling balls and strikes and controlling games than the volunteers that came before them. However, most had limited understanding of the differences between the various leagues. Additionally, there was a growing sentiment that a percentage of these Umpires were calling games for the sake of speed and remuneration. Another unfortunate development was that as Umpires joined Pro-Camps to refine their skills, a greater divide grew between them and the Coaches. The lens that was being used to view the relationship between the two most influential figures on the field became slanted and unfortunately left both sides feeling that the other was the enemy. 

Our Approach

We were both High School Umpires that had officiated for over twenty years when the idea of creating an association took root. A common dominator in our friendship was our shared love for Little League baseball. Earl was the Chief Umpire at Peekskill Little League and Tom held the same position at Cortlandt American Little League. We heard many of the complaints from local league officials and observed many problems when attending games, and so it was then that we decided that we had to act on it. 

In order to mitigate the problem of not having appropriately matched Umpires to youth baseball, we decided to create our own association composed of umpires just like ourselves. Although both of us are trained Umpires, Earl and I each have a heart of a teacher. We care deeply about not just teaching the rules, but helping fellow Umpires understand the complexities of the rules, how they should be applied and how umpires can be stewards in passing on baseball ethics to others. We want to bring back the reason why people umpired games when it was an act of volunteering; and being able to match it with the reward of being compensated for their time. 

Umpires make the difference between a scrimmage and an official game. Umpires can also make the difference in providing an opportunity for mentorship and growth with anyone that takes the field. EBUA Umpires are human and understand that there is no such thing as perfect - including always making the right call. We welcome the chance to work alongside Coaches, and when there is a misunderstanding or need to discuss a call further, we will explain our ruling in between innings. 

Where We Are Today

After the first year of providing Umpires for local Little Leagues, we received calls from other youth baseball leagues not affiliated with Little League and began providing Umpires for them. We made sure that each Umpire we assigned to those games were knowledgeable of all the applicable rules and rule differences between Little League, Cal Ripken and Federation regulations. More importantly, we assigned Umpires who have a love for baseball and care about the longevity of the game; and care about developing relationships with the Coaches, Teams and Players that will foster the love of baseball and pay it forward for future generations. 

Because of our experience and dedication to the game, we are honored to pass on our knowledge and love of baseball to the more than 260 Umpires who now proudly wear the EBUA branded apparel. As an Association, we fully expect every single one of our umpires to handle themselves with dignity, class and respect while “Calling 'em as they see 'em”. 

In partnership,

Tom Kienzle

EBUA Co-Founder

Earl Berry

EBUA Co-Founder