Man, you have to give it up to umpires who kneel behind homeplate and take pitches, foul balls and even sometimes baseball bats to the face! It sure is a tough thing being and umpire, but it is even worse when you take things off your face or any part of your body!
VERY true ,and the best testament to an ump is when you DON'T hear his name mentioned in the game recaps... A thankless job, and one that's under the microscope constantly...
I've just had oral surgery, and I would gladly plop my butt back into that chair rather than take a major-league fastball square to the jaw, even with a facemask.
Here's to a speedy recovery, and gripe all you want the next time a call is blown, but put yourself in their shoes first... We're all humans, playing a GAME. Luckily, people are willing and passionate enough to put on the "zebra-stripes"/"chest protector" and act as the arbiters in these contests, elevating them beyond the sandlot and closer to the precision and art we've come to not only love, but expect...
excellent summary there charger! I wish you a speedy recovery with your surgery!
Yes as much as I gripe about the umpires and bad calls they make, you really do have to respect them! They are in a thankless job and they get beaten up a lot! Even with all of their padding it stills hurts like heck!
Glad to hear he is okay...that was a nasty pitch to the head. I think for the most part Baseball umps do a really good job. WIth as much movement as some pitches have it is tough to call balls and strikes. I've umped little league games and it is tough to call curve balls from 14-15 year olds I couldn't imagine how tough calling major league pitches would be.
I will admit umpires this year have been doing a bangup job, with the exception of the crew chief in the IndiansYankees game when Robinson Cano clearly did not have the ball in his glove and the ump still called him out! Oh well!
I love the love surrounding this post. Hurry back KD. I think the umps of this era are much better than in the past. I remember the fat, lazy umps like Eric Gregg who were too lazy to run out on texas league hits to see if they were caught or not. These guys seem to care about doing a good job. What's with the catcher Martin? I've seen catchers getting crossed up, but never completely wiffing other than knuckleballers.
Yeah, I was behind the right-field foul pole, and saw the mess Mr. Cousins caused... I leapt up and screamed "He was off the BAG!!!!", while my dad shot out of his seat and screamed "He bobbled the BALL!!!" Turns out, after getting home and seeing the replay, we were both right. Oh well, we won on Saturday anyway, and nobody got beaned by a fastball...
...Remember those big-ass padded chest protectors they used to wear? Man, I swear the average ump has lost about 50 pounds since back in the day...
I think the tide turned when John McSherry collapsed and died (God rest his soul...)
The times, they are-a-changin'...
BTW, I spotted the greatest bumper-sticker I've seen in ages the other day, cruising along the lakefront... It's springtime, but it put me squarely into Autumn mode...
I'm a little slow on the pop-culture references, but Ed is at the forefront... it read:
Being an ex major league umpire, I know that hurts. I retired due to concussions. KD is a friend of mine. We umpired several games together. I am glad he is doing much better. He will be back in a couple of weeks if not sooner.
Oh man, I am sorry to hear that NDIRISH32! Thank you for your service!
But I will have to give umpires credit, I don't like them most of the time, but man it is a thankless job and they have a split second to make a decision whether someone is out or safe so you have to give them some slack!
I saw that game live and have to admit...it was some tense times waiting for the ambulance. Glad the ump is OK! Brad Penny was throwing faster as the game went on, and I'm sure that fastball was somewhere around 96-98. You have to give it up for the toughness of MLB umpires!
