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Joe Brinkman (and John McSherry -RIP) said that the DAY Joe West graduated from umpire school he could have worked in the Major Leagues.
Then what has happened to him in the mean time? Players and coaches rated him one of the worst umps in MLB last year, along with Bruce Froeming, who may be the senior member of the group now.
Some umps (certainly not all) reach a certain level, get fat and happy (Froeming qualifies on one of those, certainly not the other), and let the skills deteriorate. Umpiring is a JOB, and it takes constant training and diligence. The day you think you have it down is the day you are done.
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