Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Jim Porter
You have missed the point because it's not at all about avoiding conflict, although admittedly that is a desirable by-product. It's about not being bigger than the game. It's about whose reality of events matters most. The game belongs to the participants -- even the spectators -- but not the umpires. It isn't our game. Instead, we're placed in charge of THEIR game. It is their world and their reality of events that we should be calling.
We don't see everything, and we shouldn't always call the game as though we do. That's how umpires get the reputation of being arrogant egoists. Rulebook lawyers, microscoping, and minutiae have no place in a well-called baseball game. There is a pro school saying that goes like this -- "Don't let that crap ruin a perfectly good game of baseball."
I admit it's a fine line and a difficult concept. It takes many years to develop it properly. It is indeed an advanced umpiring technique. But it is real and it is valid and it can often be a career maker or breaker.
|
You should go ref soccer. If I had a nickle for ever time I have heard soccer refs talk about "letting the players dictate what kind of game it will be today", and then watched a player leave the field with a season ending injury from a hard foul from behind that didn't get ANY card! Yeah, the game is for everybody but the guy that got screwed!
First off, there are TWO TEAMS. So, who's reality are we talking about here? The reality of the player who has hustled to get to second and beat a poor tag by a fielder, who was cheated on his rightful base because you want the game to be for................who now?
I don't get it. Simply, we are there to call the game. You can put anything else into it that you want, but the fact it, your job is to call what you see, not make stuff up for the fans/coaches/people on the bench.
I had a game last week. Visiting team right handed pitcher (team has 1st base side dugout) is coming set. I am in C (runner on second only) His elbows stop but his hands keep moving. They never stop. NOT ONE PERSON on his bench, no anybody on the first base line fan area can see that his hands keep moving. To all of those people, he came set.
Of course I balk him. I balked him 4 freakin' times! Coach was ejected on the 4th balk because of the argument that ensued. His "big" comment of the day is "Let them play".
Let who play? The pitcher gaining the advantage that nobody but me and the baserunner can see doing it? Or should I call a fair game and balk him because he DID gain an advantage on that runner at second base?
I can tell you one thing. This kid finally stopped balking, and guess what? 3 runners successfully stole on him TO THIRD BASE!!!
I could come up with scenarios all day long of plays like this. Plays that appear to be one way but are really something else.
Now somebody is going to come along and say "But this is an exception to what we are talking about".
I didn't start to gain respect and move up until I started calling the game as I see it. Of course, about that same time, I started getting great positions, learned to hustle, learned to "look" attentive to the action, etc...
It was liberating to finally just start calling the game as it is. Far less arguments, and FAR more respect from players/coaches. Yes, still the occasional ejection like what was described above, but I was ejecting coaches before when I was making the wrong call. At least I can look a coach in the eye now and simply state what I saw. That usually makes the argument MUCH shorter! They are watching you. If you can't look them in the eye, and state with 100% what you saw, they will eat you alive.
So, maybe calling all this phantom stuff works for the guy that doesn't have the same respect and who isn't working hard to get good positions and get set to make the call where they can sell their "usual" call to everybody. Sounds like this is more of a hustle/mechanics/knowledge problem rather than a philosophy eh?