Umpires

[godwulf]

One of Baseball's true, unsung "royalty" - the ones who are never wrong and virtually unaccountable for anything they do - is slapped down, in a small way.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7946518/charlie-manuel-philadelphia-phillies-umpire-bob-davidson-suspended-rhubarb

I don't know what it's going to take to improve the officiating in Baseball, but it's going to take more than a one game suspension every few years - that's for sure.

Does anyone at MLB actually track these guys' calls and conduct? How are some of these characters, like Joe West, even employed? Union or no union, the umpires need to be sat down and told, look, if you don't want photo replay on baserunning calls, or to be overruled by a Pitch Trax machine, do a better job. Suspensions, fines and firings are on the way.

[flota89]

Couldn't agree more with you. For whatever reason, the umpires are seemingly let off the hook. In my opinion, they should be graded each game, and based on their performance, they are able to keep their job. Maybe just track all their calls at bases and with the strike zone. Say the goal is to get 90% of ball/strike calls according to a set zone and a 85% rate correct of base/catch calls. Any umpire who falls under the goal over a period of time (say 2-3 months) goes into a probation period, and any umpire who falls under goal while on a probation period loses their job.

I get so sick of umpires calling "their zone." Instead of being a guy who gives the pitch that is a foot low but won't call anything a strike remotely close to the top of the zone, umpires need to be forced to call an actual strike zone ... not their own idea of it.

Not to mention many umpires in the game (Joe West, Bob Davidson, C.B. Buckner) completely set out to eject anyone who even attempts to question a call. Davidson could be heard cursing Charlie Manuel from the batters box.

I agree with the fines as well. Along with the umpire goals I outlined in the first paragraph, fines should be given on a game to game basis. The goals would be extremely attainable, and an umpire who fails to meet the goal for their game would be fined an amount (maybe half of their earnings for the game) for their poor performance.

If MLB would put some pressure on these guys to actually perform at a professional level and hold them accountable, I guarantee you wouldn't have nearly as many terrible calls every game.

I fully understand the umpire being a part of the human element of the game. I just get angry when one tries to be the center of attention and "make up" his own idea about the rules/strike zone.

-Tyler

[sox83cubs84]

Couldn't agree more with you. For whatever reason, the umpires are seemingly let off the hook. In my opinion, they should be graded each game, and based on their performance, they are able to keep their job. Maybe just track all their calls at bases and with the strike zone. Say the goal is to get 90% of ball/strike calls according to a set zone and a 85% rate correct of base/catch calls. Any umpire who falls under the goal over a period of time (say 2-3 months) goes into a probation period, and any umpire who falls under goal while on a probation period loses their job.

I get so sick of umpires calling "their zone." Instead of being a guy who gives the pitch that is a foot low but won't call anything a strike remotely close to the top of the zone, umpires need to be forced to call an actual strike zone ... not their own idea of it.

Not to mention many umpires in the game (Joe West, Bob Davidson, C.B. Buckner) completely set out to eject anyone who even attempts to question a call. Davidson could be heard cursing Charlie Manuel from the batters box.

I agree with the fines as well. Along with the umpire goals I outlined in the first paragraph, fines should be given on a game to game basis. The goals would be extremely attainable, and an umpire who fails to meet the goal for their game would be fined an amount (maybe half of their earnings for the game) for their poor performance.

If MLB would put some pressure on these guys to actually perform at a professional level and hold them accountable, I guarantee you wouldn't have nearly as many terrible calls every game.

I fully understand the umpire being a part of the human element of the game. I just get angry when one tries to be the center of attention and "make up" his own idea about the rules/strike zone.

-Tyler

The way some (not all) umps conduct themselves, you'd assume that they thought the fans bought tickets to see THEM, not the players.

Dave Miedema

[DJaeger22]

Not sure if anyone watched the Nats vs. Pirates game the other night but it was Jordan Zimmermann going against James Macdonald. It was getting out of hand the number of borderline and just plain out of the strike zone calls that kept going to Pirates way and not the Nats.

It seemed when the Umpire finally tightened his strike zone, Macdonald was quickly losing control of the game and was taken out.

I wish they would do a performance review of some sort.

[PwKw13]

What about the bias where veterans get calls and rookies don't (which seems to be openly accepted). Doesn't that say something about the integrity of the game? A call shouldn't depend on the players involved.

[sox83cubs84]

What about the bias where veterans get calls and rookies don't (which seems to be openly accepted). Doesn't that say something about the integrity of the game? A call shouldn't depend on the players involved.

Agreed. It was commonly known that the strike zones were generally more generous for the Maddux/Glavine/Smoltz trio in their Atlanta days.

This is too much reminisicent of the NBA, the league that most often gets accusations (legitimate or not) of skullduggery among officials. Guys like Kobe, Lebron and D-Wade "get the calls". Rookies and complainers don't. Even several years into his career, Kirk Hinrich still was on the losing end of most calls because he was considered a complainer by the refs.

Dave Miedema

[coxfan]

I strongly recommend the new book "As They See 'Em" by Bruce Weber. ( scribner, New York, 2009). It's readily available in bookstore chains.

The author did a thorough study of umpiring by such means as going through umpire school himself, and interviewing MLB umpires, players, and managers. He deals at length with the strike zone, and to what extent players and coaches really want a strict rulebook zone. (The answer may surprise.) Also, the book deals with whether technology, such as that used on TV replays, is sufficiently accurate.

It also deals with how MLB has dealt with past umpire problems, such as the notorious former ump who bragged that he had "his" strike zone and that was all that mattered.

[godwulf]

I'm sure that hearing, or reading about, the umpires' "side" of things is the fair thing to do...I'm just afraid I would end up tearing the book into little pieces, breaking my fist on something, and possibly even having a small heart attack.

[OaklandAsFan]

I think most players don't really care about having a specific zone that is the strike zone, they just want consistency. If a guy is gonna call a pitch an inch off the plate on one side then do it all game. This helps the pitcher and the batter know what the deal is.

If you watch Kerry Woods 20K game on youtube he got multiple calls that game that were a good 2 inches off the plate on the left side (looking at the plate from the pitchers POV) but it was consistently the same call every time, can't get mad at that.

[PwKw13]

As a player (hitter or pitcher), I think I would prefer going into every game knowing what the strike zone is rather than having to figure it out.

[godwulf]

If umpires were supposed to be permitted to have their own strike zones, there would be something in the rules about that. No one else in the game is free to disregard the rules. A batter is not free to demand that a ball that landed "only an inch" foul be called a hit. A fielder cannot insist that a ball that he "almost" caught count as an out. For that matter, umpires, themselves, have - at least in theory - no discretion on boundary or baserunning calls, despite the travesty of the "phantom put out" on Second that still occurs with some frequency. Some umpiring crews so consistently screw over one team during the entire course of a game or series that I'm surprised no team has ever, to my knowledge, simply walked off the field and forfeited a game in protest. I'd love to see it happen, just once, to put MLB and the Bug who runs it on the spot.

[coxfan]

To clarify: The book "As We See 'Em" doesn't just present the umpires' side. It also reflects viewpoints from managers, coaches, and a variety of persons in baseball. The thrust of the book , in my view, is an objective look at various issues.

[flota89]

I don't care if an umpire is consistent if they are going to be consistently calling wrong pitches. Even is they call every pitch 2-4 inches outside a strike, they are still wrong every single time they do it. No need to create a zone. Just follow the one that is already there.

-Tyler

[flota89]

Supposed to read "Even if..."