Female Umpires

by user ActiveSports

Cortesio is the only female umpire in pro ball. She will be in her fifth season at Class AA and ninth overall. "I was kind of expecting it," she said. "Umpires with my seniority usually get picked. I'm looking forward to it. There will be a lot more people in the stands than I'm used to."

Cubs first baseman, Derek Lee, commented, "It's awesome. I think it's about time. Female eyes are as good as male eyes. Why can't they be umpires? Good for her."

I think it's good for baseball, too. It is about time. I hope this story reaches girls who have thought that they might want to be an umpire but thought it wasn't their place. I wonder how long it will be until a female umpire gets to work a regular season MLB game.

During my college softball years I would hear comments, many times from other females, about how female umps were all terrible. Generalizations and stereotypes such as this are unfair, in my opinion. There are some terrible female and male umpires. There are also outstanding female and male umpires.

What are your experiences with female umpires? Do you support women as umpires in the major leagues?

Manny StilesMajor Leaguer

982 days ago

Score 1

If they're good, they're good. Male, female, hermaphrodite, other... I don't care, as long as they're good.

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Davis21wylieMVP

982 days ago

Score 1

I definitely support this -- although I'm not sure why anyone would want to be an umpire in the first place...

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Manny StilesMajor Leaguer

982 days ago

Score 1

to catch a flying Delmon Young bat, of course!

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ActiveSportsVarsity

982 days ago

Score 2

Haha, yeah I've umped 3 summers now and sometimes I ask myself the same thing! If you're good enough to be promoted up the ranks, you should have the opportunity to work the games at the highest level - and you can only have that opportunity if you are promoted up the ranks. I agree, it doesn't matter who you are as long as you call a good game.

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False ProphetAll-Star

982 days ago

Score 1

So long as they don't make it a big deal about being a female umpire, I'm fine with it. Assuming they're good

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KelsdadAll-Star

982 days ago

Score 2

Former NL umpire Terry Tata is from the same area as I am and he used to have an umpire school in the offseason. One year a young lady graduated top of the class and spent a few years umpiring local summer league and high school games in the area. She was really good on the bases but had consistency issues when calling balls and strikes. I probably had her a dozen times over the years and she was just as good as anyone else I came across and better than some male umpires. I have no problem with it.

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KelsdadAll-Star

982 days ago

Score 0

Of course, the fact she's been in Double-A for four years likely means she has peaked as an umpire.

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The BeastAAA-er

982 days ago

Score 0

Female umpires are fine. I am sure some of them can call a better game than some of the males. If they meet the standards than sure. All it does it create more options in terms of prospective umps. Good for the art of umpiring.

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Anonymous Fanatic #1

720 days ago

Score 0

Ria is gone now, fired by the same group of neanderthals who have been running the Umpire Development program in the minor leagues for the last thirty years. Her departure signals the end of an era: by the end of the next decade, those men will all be dead or retired, and perhaps then the next generation of supervisors will wake up and realize that a woman on the field of play is a good thing, not something to be resisted, denigrated, and actively opposed. The recruitment, training, and promotion of umpires will encompass all qualified candidates rather than eliminating half of them simply because of their gender. Women will umpire in the major leagues, and the professional baseball landscape can only improve as a result of equal participation by all. Thank you, Ria, for your service to baseball and your stalwart support of the concept that someday, "woman umpire" will be as redundant as "woman doctor" or "woman astronaut," and for fostering the idea that a woman's presence on the field of play should excite no more interest than a man's.

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