Umpires Gone Wild

Braves · Jun 17, 2005 at 4:01 PM

DodgerBlues said:

But anyway, had their been an obvious balk call, even on the intentional walk (pitcher dropped the ball standing on the rubber; pitcher started to home and stopped, etc.) I would have called it and it would have hurt me badly to have to call it. But this call was not obvious -- in fact it is still questionable even on the replay. And given the intent of the balk rule, to prevent the pitcher from deceiving the baserunner in any number of illegal ways I won't go into here, it certainly was not a time to be looking to make that call. There were only two possible reasons for the ump to make the call he made in the situation that it was made. One was to determine the outcome -- and I'll say that I do not believe the umpire made the call because he wanted one team to win and one team to lose. The other more likely reason was to call attention to himself, to get on tv, to let everyone know he was in charge and had the power to make such a call. Certainly the reason couldn't have been that the pitcher's alleged failure to come to a discernible stop (again a questionable conclusion from the replay anyway) disadvantaged a baserunner.

Once the intentional walk was over, and the pitcher is pitching to the next batter (a possible squeeze play situation, a potential play at the plate on any ground ball -- the baserunners' jump at third is critical), the umpires better call a balk if they really see a balk. And whether they really see it -- that is where I go back to the rules of calling a balk that piaa ump provided before. Do you want to lose a game on a balk call where only one of four umps claims to have seen it and where the replay is unclear about the call? And, apologies in advance to Intimidator Coach, but do you really want to win one that way? I know I don't. If I make a balk call in that situation, it better be clear to all baseball people on the replay.

I am not saying anything here about changing rules. I am talking about umpires applying the rules and applying good judgment -- maybe better defined in this instance as COMMON SENSE. I've heard it said before that umpiring is two-thirds science and one-third art -- anybody with good eyesight, a brain and a willingness to learn can learn the rules and get the two-thirds part -- the truly good umps are the ones that know how to apply their art and get that one-third part right at least most of the time. To me that means lots of things -- proper positioning to get the best angle, selling your calls on close plays, knowing how to interact with the coaches, players and fellow umpires, being confident without coming off as arrogant, deciding when in a lopsided game it may be appropriate to enlarge the strike zone to avoid a marathon, deciding how much rope to give a player to react to a close or tough call without tossing him -- allowing an honest reaction to a tough call but knowing when the player or coach crosses the line; and most certainly knowing whether and in what situations it is appropriate or not to make some ticky-tack call (most times it is NOT).

In my much earlier life I was the student supervisor of officials for the UNC intramural program. It probably won't surprise you to hear that the officials I received the most complaints about were the officials who went out on the field with an arrogant attitude determined to show the participants that they knew rules that the participants hadn't even imagined. It was like they studied the book and then looked for places to apply a remote rule they had learned. I just don't think that is what umpiring is about. The best officials I had, who enjoyed the games with the participants, explained their calls i they weren't clearly understood, kept emotions in check with their good attitudes and approach to their job, etc. And by the way most of those good officials also played and enjoyed sports and understood what it meant to compete.

Yeah, it is especially tough to be an umpire if the kid clearly misses a base on a homerun and the other team appeals; it is tough to make a balk call that determines the outcome of a game even when the call is obvious; it is tough to toss a player when he throws his helmet to the bench after a bang-bang play at the plate. I want my umpires to hurt when they believe they HAVE to make a call like that to protect the integrity of the game and in soome circumstances they'll know they have to. I don't want them to go out searching for a time where they can inject themselves into the contest so that everyone will see what they know. All they really see is a jerk.

The umpire is there as the judge -- the arbitor, to ensure the game is played fairly, to keep order, to make the judgment calls, and yes to enforce the rules as they need to be enforced to ensure the game and the outcome are fair and that order is kept. After all, the rules were made to provide structure and ensure a fair game, not to be followed blindly like a cookbook without the application of common sense and a human touch. Yes, I want an umpire to make the calls clearly covered by the rules that have an impact on the contest. But I also want an umpire who has some sense and knows how to use it.

When I was a little league district official I had an umpire call a home run hitter out in an all-star tournament for giving a high five to the third base coach coming around third. I sat at the official scorer's table waiting and hoping the coach would properly protest so I could overrule the call (as the rule clearly requires "assistance" by the base coach). He did not, so the call stood. After that game I advised that umpire he wouldn't call anymore little league tournament games in our district. He ws the kind of ump that just looked for ways to make a call to draw attention to himself. Not the guy I want.
Click to expand...

Dang...you ought to be an attorney

Village Idiot · Jun 17, 2005 at 5:32 PM

DodgerBlues said:

When I was a little league district official I had an umpire call a home run hitter out in an all-star tournament for giving a high five to the third base coach coming around third. I sat at the official scorer's table waiting and hoping the coach would properly protest so I could overrule the call (as the rule clearly requires "assistance" by the base coach). He did not, so the call stood. After that game I advised that umpire he wouldn't call anymore little league tournament games in our district. He ws the kind of ump that just looked for ways to make a call to draw attention to himself. Not the guy I want.
Click to expand...

good job

tj21 · Jun 17, 2005 at 9:50 PM

I like what "some big-city" boy told me the other night at the ballpark, (I'd never thought of it this way),,,,,,, but with umpires, you have some Andys and then you have some Barneys,,,,,,,,,,, luckily for us, most of the umpires are Andys...

...author's name begins with a "B"...

Log in or Sign up

Umpires Gone Wild

Braves Watauga Pioneers #6

Village Idiot cloud of dust

tj21 Moderator

Share This Page

Log in or Sign up

Umpires Gone Wild

Braves Watauga Pioneers #6

Village Idiot cloud of dust

tj21 Moderator

Share This Page

Useful Searches