Comments on: Does baseball need umpires?

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By: Bill

Bill — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 16:09:15 +0000

No. Your wrong. When you buy a ticket to a game you’re going there to see two teams compete and try to win. In doing so, the officiating needs to be perfect to ensure that no side gets an unfair advantage, and winning and losing is ONLY up to the players. If we could have robots replace these umps and they would get every call right I would sign up for it in a second. We don’t watch baseball for the umpiring, its to see the most talented players in the world compete against EACH OTHER. There should be no other factors, except weather is fine and affects both teams equally.

By: dkp

dkp — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 08:34:28 +0000

Not only the bad calls, but the ego’s of some of the umps so undeserved! They are changing the game more than anything.

By: bh0673

bh0673 — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 07:33:03 +0000

There have been calls against the Yankees and in playoff games that have gone against them. I may root for the Yankees but it is a fact you can’t assume the run would have scored. Now as far as would it have mattered again you can’t assume Texiera’s home rune either. Taking the human element out of the game is a tough call, adding instant replay for more things again I am not sure is the answer but again I do feel that bad strike and ball calls and an inconsistant strike zone have a bigger impact on the game then calls on balls in play that are wrong. Chuck Merriweather had more then a few bad strike three out calls then Cuzzi’s bad call. Again the outcome could have been different if the strike zone had been consistant but you can’t assume the outcome would have been different.

By: Get with the program

Get with the program — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:31:10 +0000

I am going to assume that you follow the Yankees because that is the same excuse that I have been hearing all week from Yankee fans about a run scoring or not. If I am wrong I apologize. What I can say is that you can’t exclude that one call in this argument because it sticks out as the most blatant example of a crappy call… extra innings in a tie game. He should get that call right and a run probably would have scored. whether it would have mattered is another argument altogether.
There is nothing wrong with being satisfied with the status quo and accept the fact that calls are missed. What I really wonder is that if that call had come in a world series deciding game if you and others would still have the “aw-shucks-oh-well” attitude about it. The way things are going thus far we may actually see just that in a couple weeks.

By: Get with the program

Get with the program — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:15:57 +0000

Of course we have a notion that baseball is better unchanged and left as it is with the “human element”. I’m sure it is a significantly easier to argue that if you are not a fan of one of the teams that were directly affected this post-season by bad calls. I would like to see a change. primarily because in the post-season it matters. 162 games are played to determine the best teams and those next games are for all the marbles. We expect professionalism and accuracy from umpires but when that human element fails we have no recourse or review. If we just say oh well “oops” shrug our shoulders and say “it happens” and “part of the game” someone is being cheated.

By: Corey Kendall

Corey Kendall — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:32:17 +0000

YES, baseball needs umpires. What kind of STUPID question is that anyway?? Baseball has had umpires since its inception. Sure, there were a lot of questionable calls during the Division Series, but has anyone here ever heard of the term “Human Error”? It happens in baseball…Don Denkinger, anyone?? I understand if they need instant replay for certain HR calls, but what next, you want instant replay for each & every close play during the games?? How many instant replays per game to people have in mind anyway?? Maybe 1 or 2 per game is fine by me, but we don’t need to have replays for EVERY call, do we now? Yes, they need to get the calls as accurate as possible, but mistakes happen during games, & it’s up to the teams involved to overcome those obstacles themselves. And besides, if we left it up to the fans to decide, well, let’s just say that there would be a lot of “homer” calls in favour of certain teams, now, correct?

By: bh0673

bh0673 — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:41:11 +0000

Forget Cuzzi’s bad call you can’t assume the run scores nor can you assume Girardi would have had it played the same way. Theoretically you could use questec or some other system to call balls and strikes and instant replay to determine all other plays. You could have one maybe two umpires maybe even have one up in a booth somewhere watching the game on TV. However that isn’t baseball and calls do get botched and the Yankees have had their fair share as well. There were a lot of bad strike zones in several of the series and they probably had a bigger impact on the game then one foul ball call. Yes you really don’t need umpires in the electronic age of HD and cameras watching every play but in the end the human element good or bad has been a part of the game and calls can go either way good or bad.

By: Jamie

Jamie — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:49:50 +0000

If the line umpires have trouble getting in position, why don’t they just stand up against the outfield wall looking directly down the line? They would have a dead-on view of the line, and they would rarely have to move at all.

By: Wait til next year

Wait til next year — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:11:40 +0000

I second what you just said but also want mention they should abolish the DH. It’s amazing how we can pay to watch someone making millions to step up to the plate four or five times a night and watch the game from the best seats the rest of his time there. Relief pitchers don’t have it that good.

By: Andy

Andy — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:52:48 +0000

The best argument for use of an extra instant replay official (sitting in the umpires locker room, reviewing plays as they happen and signaling the crew chief when a review is warranted) is that even if Mauer’s ball had landed in foul territory, it’s still a fair ball because Cabrera touched it (before it landed) while he was still in fair territory. Presumably, Cuzzi was focused on the line and missed that part of the play — an honest mistake and an easily correctable one.
Amid all the hue and cry to rid baseball of “cheaters” using PEDs, the simple truth is that cheating is not only tolerated, but practically glorified, in baseball. The “phantom” touch of second on the front end of a double play, the catcher “framing” an outside pitch to get the strike call, an outfielder trapping a ball and then acting as if he caught it are all commonplace. Even the umpires get in on the act when they literally double the size of the strike zone on 3-0 pitches.
MLB accepts these cheats and the cronies in the media ignore or even embrace them (just listening to ESPN’s Joe Morgan lionize such gamesmanship makes me sick). Meanwhile, everyone at home (and at the ballpark, thanks to Jumbotron) knows that a mistake / cheat has taken place. What a sorry example of sportsmanship for any little leaguer who might be watching. Is it any wonder that our society now tolerates outright lying from our political and business leaders, or that our Internet driven media seemingly has no standards for accuracy in reporting? America’s pastime, indeed.
Imagine the lesson in sportsmanship if Melky Cabrera had approached Cuzzi after the play and told him, “Hey, I know you were watching the ball to see where it hit, but it ticked my glove before it landed.” Of course, then we’d have to explain to our kids why the Yankee fans were burning one of their own players in effigy.

By: Doug Sinclair

Doug Sinclair — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:44:29 +0000

a hitter deserves a hit when he makes a hit. imagine if he only needed on more hit to move his average from .399 to .400. or if he needed that hit for his 200th hit. you telling me the batter needs to just deal with it? oops sorry and my bad. hitters work too hard in a season to not give them props when props are due

By: Rod Snook

Rod Snook — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:40:55 +0000

I say get the game back to it’s purist form. This includes no DH and raise the mound back up to it’s original height. I do think that instant replay should be expanded to ALL fair or foul calls, not just home runs.

By: Jim A

Jim A — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:33:48 +0000

When I umpired, I was taught there are basically only six calls – ball or strike, fair or foul, safe or out. (I know, it’s a bit more complicated than that on the field, but basically that’s it.) The extra umps down the line have only two responsibilities, that I can see: calling the line beyond the bases, and verifying close homers. MLB already has replay for close home run calls. I see the line as being no different. I say, lose the extra umps (“uncomfortable” in a “foreign” position? Really?), and let the usual 4 call the game like they do the other 162 games (or 163, for us bitter Tigers fans).

By: Rob

Rob — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:23:15 +0000

The human element. The game is played by humans, who will undoubtly make mistakes. Umpires are there to make calls not get credit; so bring on the cameras, robots, etc and let move on!

By: Jim A

Jim A — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:17:05 +0000

I think you are confusing the line with the strike zone..

By: thevirginmarcus

thevirginmarcus — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:16:58 +0000

I would like to see a computer calling balls and strikes and one human umpire in the broadcast booth with access to all network camera feeds to call everything else. I don’t buy that having bad calls as a part of baseball enhances the game. You can use whatever euphemism that you want (‘human element’, ‘tradition’, ‘integrity of the game’), what some of you are defending is the ‘blown call’.
Riding in horse-drawn carriages had it’s charms too, but eventually we all bought cars. It’s time to let technology into baseball.

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:11:53 +0000

I want to put together a youtube video of every blown call from this post season (there were a lot for many teams). From the NY game where the ump (10 feet away) gets confused to which side is fair territory, to the runner at third for the Angels being called out. I love having umps instead of a computer telling us what’s right or not, but on such a high level of play (post season) you need umps that aren’t going to drop their pants on the field and crap all over the game.

By: Dano

Dano — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:51:10 +0000

As a purist, I stil can’t stand the DH. The human element must exist in the game. The Angels received some hilarious calls to their benefit at home, and so did Boston. Phantom catches are made (Clint Barmas),and other catch’s are blown,(Matt Holiday/Billy Buckner).It’s what makes the game of baseball intriquing, you never know what’s going to happen. As “Tom Hanks” once put so elegantly, “Their’s No Crying in Baseball”.

By: siramazing

siramazing — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:48:35 +0000

When umpires get too close to a play they say it “explodes” on them and they don’t have a proper perspective as to the play in question-If he was already up the line, he probably got too close to the play or he was still moving when he had to make the call. They are taught to get their angle and then STOP and be motionless when they have to make the call, so that the head is completely still.
Bill

By: Church of the Perpetually Outraged

Church of the Perpetually Outraged — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:47:18 +0000

While I hate to put words in people’s mouths, I think he was referring to having to appeal to get the home plate ump to check with the first/third ump, rather than doing so on his own accord.

By: Bob

Bob — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:39:51 +0000

Rule 902c states: “Appeals on a half swing may be made only on the call of ball and when asked to appeal, the home plate umpire must refer to a base umpire for his judgment on the half swing. Should the base umpire call the pitch a strike, the strike call shall prevail.
Notice the wording of “MUST”

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:29:25 +0000

I agree with Joe D. A challenge with constraints as in football. If the challenge is incorrect, then the manager loss the option of another challenge or however many chances they may have during the game. This forces the replay issue without losing the human element. Wouldn’t you hate to have to lose the sight of a manager standing toe to toe with an ump and being thrown out! Now there is a baseball tradition!

By: Bob Dumon

Bob Dumon — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:28:30 +0000

Instant replay works in other sports, why not baseball? But… if the argument is to retain the “purity” of the game, then dump those stupid Designated Hitters. That change took an enormous amount of strategy out of the sport, and for what? So some old guys who can’t play in the field any longer can continue to play past their prime? Play BASEBALL! Geesh!

By: CTS

CTS — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:24:53 +0000

BLOWN CALLS BY UMPIRES?!! SAY IT AINT SO!! IT HAPPENS FROM TBALL TO THE MAJOR LEAGUES. THE REPLY, TO PEOPLE WHO COMPLAIN ABOUT BAD CALLS, IS ALWAYS THE SAME, “EVERYONE BLAMES THE UMPIRES, THE PLAYERS NEED TO ADJUST”. HUH? HOW CAN A PLAYER ADJUST TO A PITCH 6 INCHES OFF THE PLATE BEING CALLED A STRIKE?! ESPECIALLY IF THE SAME PITCH HAS BEEN CALLED A BALL FOR THE FIRST 5 INNINGS OF A GAME. TOM GLAVINE DOESN’T WANT TECHNO-UMPIRES, HE MADE HIS LIVING ON GRACIOUS UMPS. AS FOR THE BAD CALLS ON FAIR/FOUL. GIVE ME A BREAK. LET’S USE THE TENNIS TECHNOLOGY. IF WIMBLEDON CAN MOVE THEIR HISTORIC REARS TO USING IT, SO CAN THE IMMOVEABLE POSTERIOR OF MR. SELIG. WHY NOT USE TECHNOLOGY? BECAUSE WE CAN’T STAND A GAME BEING CALLED AS CLOSE TO PROPERLY AS POSSIBLE? IS IT TOO ANTI-HISTORICAL TO HAVE A GAME CALLED AS CLOSE TO CORRECT AS POSSIBLE? DO WE PREFER THE CONVERSATIONS THE NEXT DAY AFTER A BIG GAME IS BLOWN BY AN UMPIRE? “SEE THE GAME LAST NIGHT”? “YES”. “PRETTY SORRY CALL BY THE UMP”. “UMPS SUCK”. WOW, NOW THAT ADDS TO THE “HISTORY” OF THE GAME.

By: Joe D

Joe D — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:23:37 +0000

Let the manager challange like they do in Football

By: Bill

Bill — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:06:56 +0000

He is human, but that was pretty much his only job. Most other sports have come to grips with technology and mixed the two elements. Why couldn’t they use replay and say make it a ground rule double. There are other times when the ground rule doesn’t perfectly award the play, but it comes closer than this blown play. Baseball appears to be avoiding using technology. BTW I don’t understand why replay isn’t used for ‘did he swing’ or not. Currently the plate umpire is not required to check with another umpire, and when he does, I sort of think he asks the wrong one. As I see it, it’s the other line umpire who best sees the wrist or/and the plate.

By: rdm

rdm — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:05:16 +0000

Yeah, my thoughts exactly. It’s like these guys are trying to take themselves out a job. I mean, I’m all for the human element, but not if the human element is made up of boneheads who figure they can blow calls and just eject anyone who disagrees with them.

By: Tac Bonney

Tac Bonney — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:55:49 +0000

That was s stupid question. Does football need referees?