Day -1

After a long day of driving, I am finally at my hotel in McDonough, GA (just south of Atlanta). Highlights from the drive include a truck on fire somewhere in southern Illinois, a University of Kentucky Tennessee license plate, a Gas Station-Fireworks Store-Grocery Store near the Tennessee-Alabama-Georgia border, Bud Light billboards for 3 different NFL teams, and a spectacular wreck just north of Atlanta that had a couple cars on their sides. Add in fairly constant misty rain and fog and it’s a wonder I even made it this far. A shorter drive tomorrow puts me in Florida. Before I crash for the night, I figured I would give you a little bit of info on this whole umpiring school thing.

Orientation is Sunday evening, with regular training starting Monday morning. The course runs through February 8 with plenty of lectures, field work and plate work. At the end of the course, the best prospective umpires are named Honors graduates and are invited to the PBUC Minor League evaluation course in March. At the week-long evaluation course, they take a look at the Honors students from both of the umpiring schools and rank everyone. Then they start placing people into open slots in rookie leagues. From there, you get evaluated constantly and try to work your way up toward the Majors. But that’s getting a bit ahead of things. For now I’d settle for a good first day, which is why I’m staying at a Holiday Inn Express tonight.