Bad Umpires

does the night club king "Spano" still do local games?? what a joke that dude is!

true story: I once had Spano in a college game, and he called a "ball" when the batter swung and missed a pitch!! he claimed the catcher blocked his view trying to throw a runner out stealing. once some of you kids get old enough, you will see him around town judging bakinii contests.

 

The last time I saw Spano, he was umpiring third base at a Knight's game. In between innings, he was over flirting with several ladies in the box seats.

 

I asked a player that I know fairly well about an umpire after a game once, because I was thinking the calls were awfully inconsistent towards our team. The player replied"Well, I hated it when I was batting...but I liked it when I was pitching" Just goes to show how little I know!!!

 

I spend a lot of time at games in the press box directly behind home plate umps. Though you can't tell high/low from there you have an excellent view of the plate. The main problem is just inconsistency. There are too many umpires calling balls - strikes that are off the plate. The kids get used to it and when they get an ump that calls the plate as it should be called the complaint from the pitcher is "he's squeezing me". It really ticks me when I hear an ump say "I have a wide zone". In other words he is saying he is gonna call a ball a strike. If they would just concentrate on calling the plate according to the rules there would be no problem and there would be fewer complaints. And pitchers that have lived 4" off the plate just might have to learn how to throw inside.