WBC/Chad Fairchild

[Sal Giaco]

BIG Props to HP umpire of the Venzuela/Dom. Rep. game Chad Fairchild for an awesome game behind the plate. I've never seen so many nut cutter pitches in one game and he nailed almost all of them.

There was one moment that defined how umpires are changing from the old "red ***" days. The Dominican catcher, who was holding pitches throughout the game, actually threw a 2-2 pitch off the corner "around the horn" as Fairchild called it for BALL 3! As expected, he gave the catcher a piece of his mind as the pitcher had to get the ball back from his infielder but Fairchild did it professionally and never took his mask off.

The next pitch (3-2) was on the on the "black" and I bet 99% of umpires would of balled it, but Fairchild pulled the trigger for a called third strike. Although the catcher stuck the 2-2 pitch up Fairchild's a$$, he did NOT "get even" or "send a message" by balling the next borderline pitch.

I think he showed tremoudous patience and restraint considering what a rat that catcher was. I'm not sure I could of kept my cool but for those of you who saw it, I think we can all learn from this particular situation. As much as it pained me to see what was going on, I think MLB and NCAA baseball want to see us handle this situation exactly the way he did, rather than the way we used to take care of things back in the day. Any thoughts??

[JugglingReferee]

I'm a basketball and football official. Just as I'm sure exists amongst umpires, we have a philosophy that each game is a new game. Does the same not exist in baseball, including all the way down to each pitch? Why would an umpire ball a strike, as part of "getting back" at a catcher?

(Yes, I did see the play in question, and heard the announcers talk about the sitch as well.)

[mattmets]

Thanks for making that post readable btman. I really appreciate deciphering every other word.

Chad is a very good umpire. I saw him early last year and he seemed inconsistent, but I saw him later on and he seemed to have improved quite a bit. I think he is definitely one of the better umpires working games as a fill-in, as he is generally consistent and is very patient when people get on his a$s.

[canablue05]

I agree that Chad did a great job handling that situation. I thought the commentators remarks that he's a "professional" after the called third strike on said play were accurate. Although the catcher in question could have been more professional himself, and said what he had to say without showing the entire ballpark that he thought Chad was wrong.

I thought that many of the pitches that the catcher was holding were borderline, and could have gone either way, especially in the 9th; where it seemed that nerves almost got the better of Chad, as he was no longer giving black, like he did on the K after the confrontation. Just a sign of youth and 'big game' experience. Overall, I thought he did a great job, in what was most likely the biggest game of his career.