Umpires - S/D

http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/images/2004/04/17/zQdAYJ8N.jpg

You could even hear him doing it when you listened to radio broadcasts of the games he was calling.

Destroy - Angel Hernandez

I've heard Gary Darling needs to be destroyed but I only saw the one game this year where he got into it with the 'Stros. I wouldn't search him out though.

Also destroy: any ump that walks towards a disgruntled pitcher and instigates an argument.

While you're at it, destroy the replacement ump who ruled that the ball nicked the helmet and not the bat from his position beyond second base.

Tony Randazzo is his name, according to ESPN. I don't recall seeing him before, but destroy!

here's another step, past QuesTec, w/ Zone Evaluation:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4034138&name=Neyer_Rob

via Neyer:

http://awfulumpiring.wordpress.com/

destroy all obvs.

I hadnt seen that Victorino ejection (in CF) til now

That Marlins/Astros play at the plate last night was really odd. Hermida very easily beaten by the throw, but Pudge stood over the plate with his glove up and his legs beside the plate (like he was too shocked about Hermida being sent to react normally). Hermida reached plate, tagged high, called out.

the marlins tv guys were musing that pudge was preparing himself for a collision since the ball beat hermida there by so many feet and that pudge was taken by surprise by the slide and reacted slowly

Jerry Crawford:

http://twitpic.com/dodfr

Situation: bases loaded, Red Sox leading 5-1 in the fifth.

Thanks, Jerry!

god joe west is awful

iyho do you think "bad calls" are increasing or merely a byproduct of broadcast/web technology improvements?

I always say I like the human element in baseball, unless it negatively affects my team and then its some bullshit.

Posnanski called out the 'human element' garbage this weekend.

http://joeposnanski.com/JoeBlog/2009/10/10/replays-the-thing/

When I was a kid I read an autobiography by some umpire, but for the life of me I cannot remember his name. Even after pulling up a list of every MLB umpire during the last century, I cannot figure it out. He was an umpire during the 80s, and he was incredibly fat. But most umpires were incredibly fat back then. He was known as a "funny" umpire, and his book would be filed under humor. His book included many passages describing arguments with Earl Weaver et al., and how many times managers would storm out onto the field and scream stuff like "I agree with your call 100% I'm out here because I've gotta show my players and our fans that I care about this team and I want them to win! I don't mean to embarrass you, keep doing your job and I'll keep doing mine!", before storming back to the dugout.

Whoever you are, mystery funny umpire, you are searchable.

It's Ron Luciano.

he committed suicide.

Yeah, car/garage/CO poisoning IIRC.

I used to enjoy reading his books though.

Not trying to make light of a man's suicide here ... but in life, he was a funny guy, and umpires' memoirs are still undervalued quantities in the baseball lit market!

Durwood Merrill wrote a pretty good one, too.

"I never called a balk in my life. I didn't understand the rule." - Ron Luciano

Good lord. RIP, I had no idea.

Cuzzi had called it foul, negating a leadoff double, and he spent much of the next 24 hours trying to figure out what happened. Part of it, he thinks, was playing an unnatural position - baseball only uses umpires along the outfield foul lines in the postseason and for the All-Star Game.

"We're not used to playing that far down the line,” Cuzzi said. "The instant the ball is hit, we usually start running. I think I may have been looking too closely at it. I never had a feel for where the left fielder was on the play."

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/sweetspot/0-6-36/Chewing-on-Cuzzi-s-call.html

The location of the left fielder does not matter, dipshit.

Cuzzi had called it a strike, negating a leadoff walk, and he spent much of the next 24 hours trying to figure out what happened. Part of it, he thinks, was playing an unnatural position - a plate umpire isn't usually scratching his ass during the postseason or the All-Star Game.

"We're not used to standing that way behind the catcher," Cuzzi said. "The instant the ball is thrown, we usually start watching. I think I may have been looking too closely at it. I never had a feel for where the hitter was on the play."

if his glove is in fair territory when he (nearly?) touched the ball, it might

xp

That's true, although in this case, the ball, the fielder's body, the fielder's feet, and the fielder's glove were all in fair territory during the entire play.

but he was too close to notice.

So it didn't make any difference where the fielder was, i.e. the ball landed in fair territory, so it was fair, there's no other possibility.

I guess that umpires are trained to watch the fielder's glove and feet on a play like this, and if the ball isn't caught, only then they focus on where the ball is? For plays at first base, for example, umps aren't supposed to watch the ball, they're supposed to watch the bag and listen for the sound of the ball hitting the glove.

Otherwise, I have no clue what Cuzzi is talking about.

xpost

While federal laws prohibit Major League Baseball from discussing injuries of employees, FOXsports.com has learned that the sidelined umpires include crew chiefs John Hirschbeck (testicular cancer), Charlie Reliford (back), Jerry Crawford (back), Tim Welke (concussion), Ed Montague (concussion and neck), Gary Darling (ankle and foot) and Rick Reed (stroke).

Other umpires who are sidelined by injuries include Kerwin Danley (concussion), Alfonso Marquez (back), Brian Runge (details unknown), Bill Hohn (back) and Ed Hickok (concussion).

holy crap!

Concussions from foul tips??

From looking at replays the next day and smacking themselves in the head.

laz diaz is the worst

Sheehan on Aybar's neighborhood play:

"Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, maybe 995 out of a thousand, Cabrera is called out. Last night, Jerry Layne, at random, called him safe. He suspended the de facto rules in favor of the de jure ones in extra innings of a playoff game. It's good for baseball that the Yankees didn't score in the inning, leaving the call as an afterthought.

You cannot run the game a certain way 99 percent of the time, then randomly decide to make a by-the-book call in a high-leverage moment. It turns the game into a farce. We see this now and again, an umpire calling a runner safe, or denying a batter first base for not making an effort to get out of the way of a pitch, and it becomes a nightmare every time. If the umpires want to have a set of rules separate from the ones in the book, fine, but they can't go back and forth between the two at will."

(several BP commenters disagree)

Pretty sure the "problem" was that the umpire WAS going by the rules in the book, and according to the production team, Aybar had actually touched second on every other force at second prior to that.

Bill (New Mexico): What do you think of the MLB move to install "veteran" umpires in the World Series after all the umpiring screwups of the post season so far? Will it actually help? Color me skeptical.

Eric Seidman: A lot of these blown calls have been from veteran umpires. In my mind there is no solution other than a correction-based system. Either the umps need to correct each other or someone needs to be watching the game capable of making corrections. If official scorers are simply watching the game and making decisions why not something for umpires?

Long... but well-done:

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20100606%2FSPORTS02%2F6060457%2F1318%2FHow-ump-went-from-Ohio-to-bigs-to-national-scrutiny&;template=fullarticle

(could be xposted tot he kisckass media thread?)

http://twitter.com/DSpxp/status/24543405780

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- New York Yankees catcher Russell Martin said plate umpire Laz Diaz decided on an unusual way to punish him for arguing balls and strikes.

Martin said Diaz wouldn't allow him to throw new baseballs back to his pitchers after fouls during New York's 6-5 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday night.

"Laz Diaz is a d---. Write it hard," Martin shouted as he came into the clubhouse.

Martin said the ball ban was put into effect after he and Diaz exchanged some words over strike calls early in the game.

"He said that it was a privilege that I had to earn, for me to throw the ball back," said the catcher, a seven-year veteran and three-time All Star. "That's never happened to me before. I even told him, because there's guys on base, I like to keep my arm loose. Nope. 'I'm not letting you throw the ball back.' That's pretty strange, to me. That's a good story, huh?"

https://www.si.com/mlb/2017/07/20/joe-west-umpire-major-league-baseball

Look: We know you’re getting paid $25 million a year, but before you step into the batter’s box and try to hammer a fastball, you’re damn well going to say hello to Joe West.

You have no choice. If you don’t greet him before your first plate appearance, West will hold up the game. He is the only umpire who does this, but so what? He is the only umpire who does a lot of things, like moonlight as a country-music singer, which has made him the only umpire with three nicknames: Country Joe, Cowboy Joe and the Blue Cowboy. He has a website, umpirejoewest.com, where he sells umpiring equipment, including a chest protector he invented, the WestVest. There is a reason Royals reliever Peter Moylan splits the umpiring profession into two groups: “There’s umpires, and there’s Joe West.”

Other umpires work games; West controls them. He is the only umpire who stands between managers and other umpires on his crew, effectively ending arguments before they begin. Arguing with West directly is just as futile. When Ron Gardenhire managed the Twins, he went to dispute a call, and West warned him, “Don’t step in my dirt.” He meant the dirt around home plate. Gardenhire put one foot on it and was ejected before he opened his mouth.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DFwrgUWV0AI2J-z.jpg

is this a Joe West incident?

Will Little just threw a pitcher and catcher out of game on the same close pitch. Embarrassing. Bring on robot umps. pic.twitter.com/tnajBzV0Nu

— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) July 27, 2017

i'm still mad at whoever tossed adrian beltre for moving the on-deck circle

imagine

http://mlb.nbcsports.com/2017/08/08/report-umpire-joe-west-suspended-three-games-for-bashing-adrian-beltre-publicly/

what the hell, that's totally undeserved

the suspension that is, not the comments on Beltre. dude is a whiner.

though I do support him getting a 3-game suspension just for being a dick in general

rare angel hernandez footage

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfqq48OEDdo

Kinsler was asked if he was surprised how quickly he was ejected: "No, I'm surprised at how bad of an umpire he is." Angel Hernandez

— Chris McCosky (@cmccosky) August 15, 2017

Kinsler on Angel Hernandez: "He needs to re-evaluate his career choice. He really does."

— Chris McCosky (@cmccosky) August 15, 2017

Kinsler asked if he wanted that on the record: "Yeah. If I get fined for saying the truth, so be it."

— Chris McCosky (@cmccosky) August 15, 2017

Fair amount more here. Uh...WOW.

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/mlb/tigers/2017/08/15/kinsler-angel-hernandez-hes-messing-baseball-games-blatantly/104635246/

Ian Kinsler!!!

— Rick Sutcliffe (@Sut_ESPN) August 15, 2017

Angel Hernandez went up to Kinsler and shook his hand. Kinsler did not seem comfortable with it. But shook with him anyway

— Chris McCosky (@cmccosky) August 17, 2017

Some umpires across Major League Baseball wore white wristbands Saturday, a show of solidarity after Detroit Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler was fined -- and not suspended -- for harsh criticism of Angel Hernandez earlier this week.

"This week, a player publicly and harshly impugned the character and integrity of Angel Hernandez -- a veteran umpire who has dedicated his career to baseball and the community," the World Umpires Association (WUA) said in a statement. "The verbal attack on Angel denigrated the entire MLB umpiring staff and is unacceptable."

Kinsler, speaking after the Tigers' 3-0 loss to the Dodgers in Detroit on Saturday, said he didn't care much at all about the umpires' protest.

Ian Kinsler did not disclose the amount of the fine, but did note that he had no regrets for what he said about umpire Angel Hernandez.

"I really don't think too deeply into it. I hope they wear the white wristbands for the rest of their careers. I don't care. I said what I felt and what I thought. If they take offense to that, that's their problem.''

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/20389152/umpires-ban-together-ian-kinsler-criticism-angel-hernandez

At first, Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said he didn’t care if the umpire’s union was staging a protest against what they consider a lack of support from Major League Baseball.

“I couldn’t be less concerned,” he said. “I don’t even care.”

But then he looked deeper into the content of the umpire’s protest, particularly the part where Ian Kinsler’s rant against umpire Angel Hernandez earlier this week was at the center of it, and that the umpires thought Kinsler’s fine with no suspension was too lenient.

At that point, he called reporters back into his office and was much more fired up, calling the union’s action “petty.”

“To single out one player is completely wrong and goes against what the sport is,” Ausmus said. “It's a team sport. There are often arguments between players and umpires, managers and umpires, coaches and umpires, and it's part of the game. To single out one player as a union is completely uncalled for.

“I've been a part of many arguments, and there are many things said both ways, player to umpire and umpire to player.

"To act like anyone's innocent in a particular argument is not only unfounded, it's a lie.”

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/mlb/tigers/2017/08/19/ump-union-blasts-mlb-kinslers-lenient-punishment/104756494/

kinsler, hernandez,, MLB, the union, and ausmus are all wrong

None of the umpires at Comerica Park are wearing white armbands as Justin Verlander makes his first pitches to Curtis Granderson.

— Jason Beck (@beckjason) August 20, 2017

yikes

https://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2017/8/21/16181980/home-plate-umpire-hit-by-pitch-head-leaves-game-red-sox-indians

lol timing

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/20421613/mlb-commissioner-rob-manfred-says-computer-umpires-available-sooner-later

I wonder who they hire to play the game at Umpire School so the students can practice.

good question!

maybe ask here https://twitter.com/HWumpireschool

Ah, college and high school teams, according to their website. So, unpaid labor.

https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/incredulous-responses-to-bill-millers-strike-zone

damn i know it was bad but wtf why even have a strike zone ffs

imagine what the score would've been if he called those all correctly as balls

shit is pure vertiginous

Dale Scott has retired after 4 concussions in 5 years.

https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/MLB-ump-Dale-Scott-retires-rather-than-risk-more-12423444.php

Ex-MLB umpire Dale Scott downloads on 32 seasons behind the plate... and why Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds are HOF’ers https://t.co/XIKiKTtyaT

— John Canzano (@johncanzanobft) January 3, 2018

this is pretty good (plus dale scott was a top-40 dj in the late seventies and has the radio voice to prove it)

uploads, canzano, uploads! and even that is sort of wrong.

Michael Fulmer, after reviewing the video, told home plate ump Pat Hoberg that there were 10 pitches in the strike zone that he called a ball. Said Hoberg apologized. Fulmer said it was the worst strike zone he'd ever seen

— Chris McCosky (@cmccosky) July 14, 2018

Sensitive umpire Laz Diaz turns baseball game into extended temper tantrum: https://t.co/cJpIGFgA71 pic.twitter.com/25SsdJrxGg

— Deadspin (@Deadspin) September 15, 2018

i'm surprised umps don't lose their cool like that more often, tbh

@Buster_ESPN
Didi Gregorius was safe; for a third time tonight, Angel Hernandez will have a call overturned.

wow, who could have guessed

he's fucking suing mlb?!

no idea who these people are, but

MLB's senior umpire, ALCS Crew Chief Joe West, fell one pitch shy of perfection in Game 3, correctly judging 159 of 160 callable pitches for a plate accuracy score of 99.4% as Boston's Red Sox defeated Houston's Astros. West's score sets a UEFL record, as this is the first time our system has ever tracked an umpire missing just one pitch during a postseason game.

https://www.closecallsports.com/2018/10/joe-west-sets-record-in-near-perfect.html?m=1

joe west is apparently joe westing

joe west in the field
west in the field
west in the field
west in the field
ong gone, long gone, long gone, long gone
joe west in the field

I get that Tanaka missed his spot and Sanchez didn’t do a great job framing this, but when the result is a ball right down the middle... https://t.co/7v4rRiiWrr

— Jon Tayler, Smiling Politely (@JATayler) June 5, 2019

gotta love this guy

Officiating is incompetent in all sports. Either he had something in his eyes or he has money on the outcome

— And with the 15th pick the Habs select... (@CJ_Casselman) June 5, 2019

when i think back to my childhood in the 70s and 80s it's stunning how much better umps are at calling balls and strikes now. you used to have umps who'd have "their zone", often low and an extra inch or two off the outside edge. pitchers would be rotated specifically for particular umps. just ridiculous.

another big difference from the baseball of my childhood, which i guess tangentially relates to umpiring, is how pretty much any contact of any kind - bat, dirt, plate - results in the catcher grabbing a fresh ball from the umpire. the decadence! the daintiness! where do all those barely-used balls go???

just realized there's probably a long read or five answering that last question

They are all sold for money duh

they're sent to Nigeria to be recycled, but instead get incinerated.

electronic balls/strikes officially starts tonight in the atlantic league: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/07/10/baseballs-robot-umpires-are-here-you-might-not-even-notice-difference/?utm_term=.22147a3229e8

stealing first!!!??

i don't condone this, but it's definitely funny

the umps really hate that banging on the dugout roof thing gardner does

It doesn't get worse than this.

Umpire Joe West blew 16 calls on the night, but none were worse or more significant than this one to Brett Gardner. It missed the zone by 5.23 inches. #Yankees v #BlueJays pic.twitter.com/lJfMyKh4is

— Umpire Auditor (@UmpireAuditor) September 21, 2019

joe west in the field

HEATED IN THE BRONX!

Yankees Manager Aaron Boone has been EJECTED from today's game for arguing balls and strikes with umpire Joe West.#YANKSonYES pic.twitter.com/UekksepE2U

— YES Network (@YESNetwork) September 21, 2019

Michael Kay mentioned today that West's first ejections were Steve Henderson and Joe Torre (1977).