Jocko Conlon once called a strike on a pitch 4” wide. The batter said, without turning his head or showing him up, “That wasn’t a strike.” Conlon replied “So’s the next one.” I don’t miss that shit. Though now I’m hearing that minor league catchers are deliberately boxing close pitches out of the zone early in games to bait batters into appeals that they will lose, so there’s that too.
Love this! Although, on the flip side, human error also screwed over Armando Galaraga and baseball history. No malice involved, but technology would’ve saved a perfect game.
Curious what you would've thought about umpiring in the 1880s - one ump on the field, and he had to call balls and strikes, watch to be sure baserunners touched all the bases, know which players on each team were in the pay of gamblers, and, sometimes, defend themselves against hostile fans.
Seems like it would've been fun to watch once, maybe twice, but after that the nonsense that umps had to tolerate would get old rather quickly. Especially when the bench players were allowed to stand wherever they wanted while hurling abuse at the other team.
Umpires are yet another aspect of the Baseball is Life metaphor. They're like judges in having that power and autonomy. The judge you get can affect how your case goes. The umpire you get can affect how your game goes. In both, sometimes the dragon wins.
Jocko Conlon once called a strike on a pitch 4” wide. The batter said, without turning his head or showing him up, “That wasn’t a strike.” Conlon replied “So’s the next one.” I don’t miss that shit. Though now I’m hearing that minor league catchers are deliberately boxing close pitches out of the zone early in games to bait batters into appeals that they will lose, so there’s that too.
Love this! Although, on the flip side, human error also screwed over Armando Galaraga and baseball history. No malice involved, but technology would’ve saved a perfect game.
Curious what you would've thought about umpiring in the 1880s - one ump on the field, and he had to call balls and strikes, watch to be sure baserunners touched all the bases, know which players on each team were in the pay of gamblers, and, sometimes, defend themselves against hostile fans.
Seems like it would've been fun to watch once, maybe twice, but after that the nonsense that umps had to tolerate would get old rather quickly. Especially when the bench players were allowed to stand wherever they wanted while hurling abuse at the other team.
Umpires are yet another aspect of the Baseball is Life metaphor. They're like judges in having that power and autonomy. The judge you get can affect how your case goes. The umpire you get can affect how your game goes. In both, sometimes the dragon wins.
Nice post!