They are loved and loathed.

They are cheered one half inning and booed the next by the same person.

Their eyesight, IQ scores and worth as a human are questioned every other call.

They even make the nicest of grandmothers turn surly.

Baseball umpires do not have glorious jobs. Locally, at the high school level, it is a task where being a step out of place is not just noticed by fans, but also by the boss and his "little black box."

Babe Allen, the umpire booking agent for Nash, Wilson and Edgecombe counties, and Bunn High School, attends games on a nightly basis, accompanied by a digital voice recorder. He speaks into the small device and makes verbal notes of the smallest missteps made by umpires.

Allen meets with umpires after games and shares his critique. So no matter what the umpires might have heard about their shortcomings during the previous few hours, the real criticism comes when they meet with Allen.

"That's how we get better," Allen said of his postgame sessions with umpires. "They know a lot of times when they do it, what they've done wrong. That's the biggest thing everything boils down to – being there at the right time to make the call and being in the right position to make the call."

It's a system that is not mandated by the North Carolina High School Athletics Association, but one that local umpires are embracing. For some, it consumes them.

Richard Sarmiento has called 214 games since he embarked on his umpiring career last year. Sarmiento has read the umpires' case book – a selection of endless baseball situations – at least six times. He researches online umpiring sites on a daily basis. He picks the brains of more experienced umpires. Sarmiento, like his peers, is not on the field to just watch the game.

"The reason I have done so much work to become a decent umpire comes from the fear factor," Sarmiento said. "The fear factor for us to make a wrong call is terrible. It's the last thing we'd ever want to do. It happens, but it's the last thing we want to do."

It's not an easy job. Brad Thompson, a 13-year veteran umpire, said when he is behind the plate there are at least 10 things he has to think about before the pitcher throws toward the plate.

Is the batter out of the box when he swings?

Be ready for the check swing.

Will the pitcher balk?

Thompson said he must maintain a focus that does not allow him to hear the crowd or take a look an older lady who, he said, recently chased him down after a game, called him "a big, fat liar" and continued smoking her cigarette.

That's the easy part. Allowing himself to be blocked by the catcher on a bunt down the first-base line or calling an out too soon only to see the ball drop out of the first baseman's glove? That's where Allen's advice helps.

"If you listen and can take criticism, then you'll get better because every situation that you can possibly be in, he's already done it," Thompson said. "He's already been in that mess."

Just like the athletes who perform in front of them, some umpires are better than others. If Allen receives a call about a poor showing, he will sometimes show up unannounced. Sometimes that means watching from the press box or watching the game with the help of binoculars from his car. Those who do not take the job seriously can be suspended or have their jobs terminated.

"The more time and effort you put in, the more you get out of it," said Jay Williams, a high school umpire in his third year. "I think every umpire has played baseball and (goes) out there for the love of the game."

There are benefits to doing well at the high school level. Many of Allen's understudies have moved on to umpire at the collegiate level.

The little black box can take some credit for that. But after all the critiques, discussions and poring over rule books are finished, experience plays the biggest role. Mistakes are bound to happen in a game where 90-degree angles are the umpires' best friend.

"If somebody wants a job that is fun, has sun and is an utmost challenge, this is it" Sarmiento said.

Jessie H. Nunery can be reached at 407-9951 or jhnunery@coxnc.com