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Originally Posted by Don Mueller
I'm not defending Joe or Tim's rule knowledge, but to say"... our knowledge of the game is on a much higher level due to our umpiring experience"is IMO way too conceited an attitude.
An umpires knowledge of the rules is undoubtedly much higher, but there are many facets of the game and the rules are just one of them.
So define what you mean by "baseball experts"
There are pitchers that can watch a batter take practice swings and see the hole in their swing. I can't, so relative to the intricacies of pitching he is on a higher level than me and most of the rest of us umpires. There are batters that can spot tell tale signs from the pitcher and know what pitch is coming, sometimes as subtle as leg kick to belt buckle curve ball, leg kick above belt fast ball. I can't, so relative to spotting the idiosyncrocies (sp) of a pitcher they are on a much higher level than I am and I dare say most of us.
There are so many nuances to this game that no one is an expert in all areas, but when you play the game at the level Joe Morgan did for so many years I have a hard time thinking that just because I know the rules better means I'm on a higher level.
I'll bet Joe Morgans overall baseball knowledge far exceeds the vast majority of all umpires. His ability to transfer that knowledge, whether announcing is the right forum to communicate that knowledge and whether you like his style is another matter.
Let's not be like the rats and make irrational statements and think more highly of ourselves than deserved.
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Thanks for bringing logical perspective to this argument.
As umpires we always cringe when players, coaches, fans, and broadcasters misunderstand or misapply a rule. But to call hall of fame and all star players "morons" when they make rule mistakes as broadcaters begs the question as what should we be called when we do the same thing?
After all it is our job to know the rulebook and the postion from which to make the best judgement on a play.
We have chosen to live a big glass house.
It serves no useful purpose for us to throw stones at those whose jobs require much more knowledge of the game than ours, unless of course, we are perfect in our profession.