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Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve
Oh, and I didn't need Evans' book to tell me this, I learned my mechanics long before Jim ever dreamed of having an umpire school or writing any books.
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Really? Jim began his research for his book on the rules almost as soon as he began umpiring. He would spend his off days on the road at libraries researching and taking copious notes. Most people have no clue as to how the JEA was born, or how thorough it was researched and prepared.
Most people also don't have a clue as to Jim's imput into the formalization of pro-mechanics and his input into what eventually became PBUC's publication known as the "Red BooK".
Your recent attitdue towards Jim Evans confuses me. I've seen posts from you on various sites in which you sarcatiscally lyrefer to him as "Oz", or "Reverend Evans" among other terms.
Whatever you may think of the man personally, baseball, and the umpiring community specifically, are greatly in his debt.
Jim is regarded by active ML umpires and ML Baseball in general as the leading expert in baseball rules, their origins, traditions and modern interpretation and usage. Even the changes made this year, seven years after his retirement, were among the those proposed by Jim years ago.
I realize you "could have been a ML umpire", as you were once so fond of telling us, but I am amazed that one who has never met the man can voice the contempt I read in your posts.