|
In November 2003 I had the pleasure of attending Matt Hollowell's North East Umpire Clinic where Mike Reilly was the guest instructor. During the opening meeting when Matt introduced Mike, Matt made a comment that Mike moved his head more than any other MLB umpire and that none of the participants should follow Mike's example. Mike laughed at Matt's comment and whole heartedly agreed with him.
As for Mike being old fashioned or the "wave of the future," during my time in the cage with Mike, he taught me the Gerry Davis stance. Even though he didn't call it that, he was aware of one of the newer plate stances and taught it very well (though he didn't teach this stance to everyone - I like to think that what I was doing before this was so horrible that he thought my only hope was to make a radical change).
Mike was scheduled to appear at the NEUC in 2002, but he was stuck working the 2002 World Series - including game 5 where he worked the plate with his "bobble-head" style.
The NEUC was the best clinic I ever attended. The professional umpires working at the clinic were friendly, approachable, and knowledgeable. Too bad the clinic stopped after Matt left the game. Matt and the others opened several doors in the umpire world for me - and I will always be grateful.
Walter
|