What is the Roy Hobbs Umpires Association?
The primary focus of the Roy Hobbs Umpires Association is the annual Roy Hobbs World Series, held each fall in Fort Myers, Florida, and the Sunshine Classic, which spans the month of February and the first couple weeks of March. Last year there were 300-plus men’s amateur age group teams playing more than 900 games over 5 weeks at the RHWS and 114 teams playing 4-5-day events in the Sunshine Classic
Roy Hobbs contracted for the services of some 88 umpires last fall, and approximately 85% of Hobbs’ umpires return on an annual basis for at least one week. First-year Hobbs umpires are normally offered one week, with the possibility of more work in following weeks. Returning umpires can work as many as 5 weeks, but the minimum game guarantee is 28 games over that time. Multiple week contracts are at the discretion of the Roy Hobbs Umpires Association leadership.
The Sunshine Classic umpire list focuses on Florida-based RHUA members, and there are several RHUA umpires who visit Fort Myers for a week to get some February games under their belts. Roy Hobbs is committed to using RHUA-members during the Sunshine Classic, and traveling men in blue are welcome.
Umpires interested in working the Roy Hobbs World Series must be in good standing in their local association and have some experience working adult men’s baseball, which has game management issues unto itself. Roy Hobbs does do a background check on new umpires and checks references.
Additionally, Roy Hobbs contracts with each umpire at the RHWS, recognizing umpires as contract labor. The contract requires that umpires carry $2 million aggregate liability insurance and that they take a 20-minute on-line concussion management course from the CDC (Center for Disease Control) once every 2 years – it is free and provides certification with regard to recognizing concussions, an all-too-frequent injury on baseball diamonds.
Roy Hobbs pays $90 for 9-inning games, $70 for 7-inning games and has a housing bureau that will assist umpires finding reduced-rate umpire rooms during the Roy Hobbs World Series.
If you are interested in becoming a member of the Roy Hobbs Umpires Association and applying to work the World Series or other Hobbs events under a contract-labor agreement, please fill out and submit the application request on this page.
RHUA is committed to first-class officiating and outstanding customer service on the field. Umpires must be approachable on the field and have a focus on 1) getting the call right and b) applying the game rules, including the Roy Hobbs addendums, correctly. We also hope that umpires are open to learning on the field and dedicated to personal on-field improvement.
Additionally, RHUA would like to remind all of its members that off-the-field behavior reflects on-the-field judgment. Umpires at multiple-day Roy Hobbs events are expected to dress appropriately when in public, behave in a way that reflects a positive light on your peers, your avocation, your passion for the game and on the event itself.