Cyrus Cassidy #45437

Still a huge no from me.

I make it...so we have it.

You don't read very well, I see. I literally explained the "theory" and then highlighted that it "may" have a "ring of truth." In other words, I was explaining what some believe without acknowledging that it's true. There is literally no other way to read what I wrote.

1- He is "compensating." 2- With carbureted engines, the theory was that you could reduce "back pressure" (not all of the exhaust escaping due to constrictions in the exhaust system) by making the exhaust larger. With any back pressure, the carburetor cannot push in as much fuel/air mixture, so it reduces power. While this *may* have some ring of truth, I would wager the bulk of back pressure was caused by the valves, not the exhaust pipes. Still, they sold millions of oversized exhaust pipes to hotrodders over the years. That said, IT DOES NOT WORK ON FUEL INJECTED ENGINES, because everything was designed to function correctly as designed.

No, college umpiring is an entirely separate organization and chain. To become a professional MLB umpire, one has to pay out of pocket to attend one of two different month-long umpire schools. Each class has about 100 people in it, and only 10-15 will get a job offer. Those 10-15 start in the minor leagues and work their way up the same as players do. Those guys starting in the minors are usually in their 20s, because it is an average 10-15 year trek through the minors to get to MLB, and they want to have a career in front of them. A lot of folks who know they aren't going to professional baseball (too old, have an established career, don't want life on the road, have a family, etc.) will attend pro school to get a leg up on the collegiate competition or semi-pro independent baseball leagues. College umpires are hired by each individual umpire association. Each college league (Big 10, Pac 10, Mountain West, SEC, etc.) has a contract with an umpire association. Each association sets its own standards as to who they hire, but typically they are hired out of clinics such as I mentioned. However, for Division I umpiring, the vast majority have also been to one of those two pro schools but either weren't one of those top 10-15, or were too late in the game to make the journey through the minor leagues. Not only did Joe West retire the other day, but so did Jerry Davis. That means two AAA minor league umpires are making it to the show next year. Statistically, it's a lot tougher than making it as a player!

My goal in umpiring baseball is to work at the collegiate level. I have a mentor who has worked at that level, and he provides me valuable feedback. Getting there as an umpire is statistically harder than a high school player getting a scholarship, which is 1 in 250,000. So it's a tall order to begin with, For D2 RMAC, they have a four-day clinic down in Phoenix every year called the Desert Challenge. You pay to attend the clinic; they train you and then evaluate you during live games. The best get hired by RMAC to become umpires the next season. Everyone else goes home to their high school associations, hopefully a little better than they were before. It just so happens that my mentor is one of the founders of the Desert Challenge, and I was all signed up and paid. Most likely, I would not have been selected this year, but I would have gotten feedback directly from the assignor on what he wants me to improve on. It generally takes multiple times at this clinic before you get hired by these guys. This would have been my first one. Then I got COVID a few days before the clinic, and had to back out. I stayed in bed for 3 days. By the time the clinic was over, I was out of bed, but still very ill. I also lost hundreds of dollars on this -- clinic fee, nonrefundable plane tickets, etc. Most importantly, my goal of working collegiate ball is delayed by another year. ARGH!!!! Whelp, I still want to improve as an umpire, so I signed up for another clinic in Phoenix this November. It's not a collegiate level developmental one like the Desert Challenge; this one is just designed to make me a better high school umpire. Oh well, at the end of the day, it's still baseball.

You're kind of an idiot, huh?