CHARLOTTETOWN – The number of baseball umpires on P.E.I. is at a critically low level.
Baseball on P.E.I. has grown significantly over the past number of years, including a growth in players and teams of approximately 33 per cent from the period of 2014 to 2017. However, the number of umpires registered with the Prince Edward Island Baseball Umpires Association (PEIBUA) has not. In fact, over that time, there has been a slight decrease.
“It’s a huge problem,” said Randy Byrne, executive director of Baseball P.E.I. “The number of players, teams, games go up by roughly one-third over that time, and the number of umpires stays stagnant.
“Last summer, there were a lot of stories about games having to be postponed or cancelled simply because teams couldn’t get umpires. In our own provincial championships, game times for over 20 games had to be adjusted to accommodate the lack of umpires. It’s a serious issue.”
During the off-season of 2017-18, the PEIBUA and Baseball P.E.I. worked hard on new initiatives to try to recruit more umpires. After the final PEIBUA umpire clinic this past week, there were eight fewer umpires who received their certification than in 2017.
“It’s frustrating, to say the least,” says Kent Walker, supervisor of officials for the PEIBUA. “It’s leading to a lot of problems, and it’s leading to burnout for a lot of guys. With the growth of baseball in the province, we need more umpires. It’s that simple.”
Byrne agrees.
“While abuse of umpires is always an issue, on the whole, it isn’t the problem it once was,” continued Byrne. “Many coaches, teams and players understand we need more umpires and are more civil and responsible to umpires in order to try to retain them.
“Even still, numbers have not risen. We need parents, we need older minor baseball players and we need ex-players to step up and help. If kids can’t play games, that’s a huge issue.”
As a result of this, the PEIBUA is holding one final umpire clinic for new baseball umpires and umpires with three years' experience or less at Queen Charlotte Intermediate School in Charlottetown on Tuesday, June 12, from 6 to 9:30 p.m. Participants must pre-register by sending an email confirming their attendance to [email protected] by Saturday, June 9. Participants are asked to bring a mask and baseball glove, if possible, and dress for the weather, as much of the clinic will be outside, weather permitting.
Any questions can be directed to Kent Walker at [email protected].