Forgive me for sticking my nose into this "discussion"
especially my being a player here in an officials
forum. As a player, I NEVER complain about judgment
calls, ONLY rules. I may show some displeasure about
a close call but will never say anything. I realized a
long time ago that with calls, as with most anything
else in life, 2 people can see the same thing and
see it 2 different ways, even when it SEEMS obvious.
In the NFL where they have super slow motion replay
people still can see it differently. Umpires don't have
the luxury of replay and have to make quick decisions
sometimes in the "blink of an eye." Sometimes they're
not the right call, but most of the time they are.
Every one is human so I don't have a problem with calls.
I DO, however, have a problem with umpires who don't
KNOW the rules. Our league pays about $40 a game per ump (ASA certified). The way I see it is that the ONLY
thing we should EXPECT for that $40 is that the ump
knows the rules (especially the basic ones.) After that,
perhaps that they make an effort to at least be in
position to make the right call. I don't EXPECT EVERY judgement call to be right,(though in a perfect world, we're paying for that too.) Now I am fully aware that most PLAYERS are usually quite lacking in the knowledge of
the rules, but they aren't being paid to know them.
Anyway, though I don't have the same level of bitterness
that "RJ" appears to have, I do understand his point
about "arrogance." I just had a case in a game where
a player tagged up on a juggled fly ball. The play wasn't
appealed and had no effect on the game but one of
my teamates asked the HP ump about it between innings;
wanting to know if the runner leaves on the catch
or when it 1st touches the glove. The HP ump (I give
him credit here) wasn't sure so he asked the field
ump who incorrectly stated "on the catch." I then
told him I thought he might be mistaken. He then
CHALLENGED me to a bet by asking "how much do I have in my
wallet." (I know he wasn't interested in the money.)
So, out came my trusty rulebook and I SHOWED him.
Of course since my ASA rulebook was dated 1997
(as if the tag up rule has changed since it's inception
let alone the last 5 years) he still wouldn't acknowledge
his error. And this man was at least 60 years old
so he should have seen this situation countless
times on the field. At least the HP ump recognized
my 1997 book and thanked me later for pointing it
out to him.
__________________
JW NJ
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