MLB fans unite against kid umpire at Cubs-Cardinals game

The "kid umpire" should avoid social media.
Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell
Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

When you were a kid, did you dream of being a major league ball player? If so, you have plenty of company. Many a child has had aspirations of turning pro. Did you ever dream of being an umpire? I certainly didn't. But the kid who does took center stage during Sunday Night Baseball between the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs.

If you haven't already seen the 13-year-old kid named Bradley cosplaying as an umpire, then you simply haven't been watching the Cubs vs. Cardinals series this weekend. Here he is during Saturday's game:

Listen, I don't make a habit of yucking other people's yums, especially kids. If the child wants to be an umpire, more power to him. At the same time, if a kid came to the ballpark in a complete Cardinals uniform and stood in the middle of the aisle taking ghost at-bats...well it'd get old pretty fast.

Kid ump at one game? Aw, that's cute. Kid ump at two games? Ok, you've had your fun. A third game? Bud, we get it. Fans on social media had similar thoughts.

MLB fans on social media are over the kid umpire

That's not to say everyone hated the gimmick. Here's at least one levelheaded take:

I'm all for a bit of whimsy here and there. We all take sports too seriously and should take every opportunity to be reminded that it ain't that deep. Truthfully, this isn't worth getting worked up over. Having said that, can we talk for a second about the umpire of it all?

This is the worst time to dream about becoming an umpire

Umps are...the worst. Sure, there are a couple of good ones, but by and large they're massive egos in masks who can't get out of their own way. They have an impossibly tough job. Too many of them do it poorly. Even more insist on inserting themselves into the game far too often. How did this kid end up imprinting on the most unlikeable figure in any given ballpark?

You've gotta feel bad for ump kid on some level, though. He's 13 and dreams of being an umpire when the ABS system is right around the corner and full-blown robot umps are on the horizon...well, he'll at least have something in common with the majority of those kids who dreamed of being major leaguers.