Again the media sets it straight!
 

Mr. Donnellon,

In response to your confusion,
"...frequently shake off, baseball already has enough unnecessary, interest-killing delays.
It shouldn't tolerate
umpires adding to them,...." - http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/sports/15378691.htm
...I offer that the cummulative delays of a methodical umpire's signals add no more time to the game than the resulting time loss of 4 foul balls.
Further, I would like to remind you that "it ain't nuthin' until the ump calls it."
Be well.
mick chambers
Houghton, Michigan

Mr. Donnellon,

It is quite apparent to this 21 year veteran of umpiring that you obviously know nothing about umpiring, and have never officiated a game in your life. The plate umpire is supposed to delay his calls on balls and strikes. It's called timing. Umpiring looks really easy from your vantage point, but from behind the catcher, I assure you it is very difficult. Leave the umpiring to the umpires, and you stick to writing about things you know nothing about.

I'd just love to see how you would work, if 40,000 umpires came to your desk and screamed and yelled at you, and nit-picked everything you do, criticized your writing style, and told you that you were wrong about everything you did.

Steve Meyers

San Diego, California

Whew:
 

Mr Donnellon:

Thank you for the asute and well written column.

The column proves that on a slow news day even a monkey with a key board can produce something that an editor will print.

Tim Christensen
Portland, OR

What an embarrassment to Philadelphia sports writers.

Um, Rich, Stephen A. Howling Smith is also a writer on Philly.com. This story doesn't even come close to some of the beauties that he's penned, when you're talking embarrassments. :)

I sent this dummy an email. I don't know why I did it, but I think that it has something to do with my age and my lack of tolerance for morons such as this.

*********************************

Mr. Donnellon;

Referring to your article posted about umpires on Monday August 28, 2006, it is quite obvious that you know nothing about baseball etiquette or umpiring.

Many of the players have forgotten the simple etiquette of waiting until the umpire makes the call. I've seen many a player start off to first base thinking the got ball four when I am just calling strike 2 or 3. Players that jump out thinking they have ball four are showing up the umpire (whether they realize it or not). Sure it seems like an eternity to the batter but in reality, it is only a second so just wait! You might get the call after all if you stay put!

That brings me to the job of umpiring. We are taught to see the pitch, see it again in your mind then call the pitch. You seem to want to call the pitch before the ball even gets to the catcher! Rushing the call produces only one thing - inconsistency. Players need consistency in order to work their "magic". If I call a spot a strike in the first inning, it had better be a strike in the ninth inning as well. Rushing the call causes timing errors and blown calls. Watch a local youth umpire do a game, then watch a trained High School or NCAA umpire - pitch, thud, pause, call - every time, every pitch!

Do some umpires delay more than others? Yes, there are times that a borderline pitch makes you guess for another moment. Remember what I said earlier about consistency, it's one of the most important things to the players. Sometimes after seeing over two hundred pitches, you loose focus. When that happens to a plate umpire, it can be a disaster to the game. Try to imagine a projectile coming straight for your you at anywhere from 90 to 100 MPH and you loose focus! That is where we are taught to slow down even more and "see" the pitch again in our heads.

Mr Donnellon, a plate umpire gets less than a second to make a decision on a pitch and he/she does it over two hundred times in a game. May I suggest that you try it sometime. Many sports writers have done this and found that they didn't have a clue and had even less of a clue when they took off the mask. What they did have was a little more respect for a part of the game that is taken for granted.

Thank You,
Mario (Last Name)
(City and State)

Those are my problems, also.
Dunno why, just did it.

When you watch old films of MLB, among the most prominent of the many striking differences from today's game is the way the umpires made calls. Even in the 1960s, the right arm appears to be up before the ball hits the catcher's mitt. Out calls are also just about immediate.

Undoubtedly this is why the average length of a World Series game was so much shorter in the old days:

1903: 1:48 (Longest game: 2:02)
1909: 1:56
1927: 2:11
1930: 1:49
1932: 2:11
1937: 2:08
1938: 1:59
1939: 1:46 (The first 2 games took a total of 3 hours even!)
1946: 2:34 (The umps were starting to slow down a little)
1960: 2:40
1985: 2:45
2003: 3:21
2004: 3:23
2005: 3:51 (One extra-inning game took 5:41)

"Undoubtedly?" You are certain that no other factor over all those years had/has anything to do with the lengthening of games from 1903 to now?


Really?

No, I think you can chalk these up on FOX's side of the board. :)

FOX games and ANY games the Yankees or Red Sox play take FOREVER and are unwatchable.

Consider a few of that changes that changed MLB from pitcher dominated to hitter orientated:

1. Removal of the spit ball / doctored baseball
2. Reducing mound height from 15" to 10"
3. "Livelier" baseball
4. Expansion
5. Designated hitter
6. 80% of the games televised
7. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Yeah, it couldn't possibly have anything to do with the time spent between innings for TV timeouts (two minutes +), which was not a factor in the early days. Even the last 15 years, where they have lengthened the TV timeout to accomodate more advertising.

There is also the aspect of situational pitching, which was unheard of in the old days. In those thrilling days of yesteryear, the bullpen was a place relegated for has-beens, also-rans, and sore-arm sad-sacks. Today, there are mop-up men, long relievers, set-up men, and closers. In the old days, the pitcher was expected to pitch a complete game, or darn close to it. These days, 6 or 7 innings into the game, we're changing pitchers. The time spent warming up these pitchers contributes to longer games as well.

Mound conferences last longer. Players step in and out of the box more than they did back then. Nomar fidgets with his batting gloves and performs histrionics between every pitch.

There are many other possible reasons why games take so much longer. I would not say it is because the umpire has a 2 second delay on his strike call. This would only account for anywhere from 5 to 8 minutes extra per game, and that is negligible. I would say that "undoubtedly" it is not the umpire's calls which lengthen games.

Hmmm?

When drawing comparisons or using analogies, shouldn't the two subjects be related more closely than simply being part of the sports world?

I can't imagine this, however I've never seen an NBA player 'charge' at over 90 mph.:eek:

Does this guy know anything about baseball?

I thought there were standardized calls for these plays? If he's referring to the 'hammer' vs the 'point', I think each NFL referee, in their later years, personalizes their signals as well, but I still understand what they're calling... maybe I'm a genius? :D

Hey Tee, didn't you just post that calling pitches is an art form?:rolleyes:

And my personal favorite...

and
Is it possible that these two statements are the basis for a good causal argument? :confused:

Did Joe west pi$$ in this guy's corn flakes ? :confused:

"Undoubtedly?" You are certain that no other factor over all those years had/has anything to do with the lengthening of games from 1903 to now?

I'll stop trying to use irony in my posts.

I would not say it is because the umpire has a 2 second delay on his strike call. This would only account for anywhere from 5 to 8 minutes extra per game, and that is negligible.

And even an umpire's delay in making a call does not mean that the next pitch is delayed by the same—or any—amount of time.

Box scores from the old days reveal a lot about the changes in the psychology of the game. Yes, pitchers were expected to complete their games if possible. Looking at the old records, you can see that Johnson, Mathewson, Dean, Hubbell, et al. were often left in when their teams had decent leads. If Dizzy Dean had a 6-1 lead after 7 innings, the Cards' manager would let him finish even if he gave up 2 or 3 runs in the 8th and 9th. Today, after 7 he'd be finished, trouble or not.

The times of the old games indicate why my dad, in 1937, could leave school, get to the Polo Grounds for a 3 o'clock game, and get home for dinner.

My dad says that fans could leave by the field exits, and minor equipment like the rosin bag was just left on the field. Nobody touched it. He also says that on the subway ride home, he'd sometimes see players. Fans would say things like, "Nice double in the eighth, Mel," and the player would thank the fan. I wonder how many players ride the NYC subway today.

So, you're saying that it really isn't anything the umpires are doing that is leading to games lasting so long, right? As long as you see that, I'll try to see the irony in your post.

Women and Writers ...
 

I went to a clinic/camp last fall, and really had my eyes opened about timing on the stick. I listened and worked hard on my timing, and felt really good this season, earning a lot of compliments from mentors/supervisors and even the rats.

My wife likes to travel with me when I work games, when she can. One day early in the season, we were headed to dinner after showering and changing. I had worked the dish, and felt really good about the game. No complaints from players or coaches ... in fact, compliments from both rats. It was the first college game she had seen me work this season, so I asked her what she thought of my new mechanic.

Her: "Well ... It's really slow."
Me: "Slow? What do you mean?"
Her: "It seemed like it took you forEVER to call a strike."
Me: "Nah, hon ... it just seems like forever."
Her: "Really. I've never seen that before. It made you look like you were hesitant, not sure of your call."
Me: "Well, kinda hesitating. I look at the pitch, retrace it quickly, quietly say "yes" to the catcher and hitter, and bang it."
Her: "It just looks stupid, you calling a strike when the ball is going back to the pitcher. Didn't anyone else complain?"
Me: "No, in fact the catchers liked it that I said 'yes' before banging it."
Her: "Well, it looks stupid, but you must have had good game. I didn't hear anyone in the stands say anything about your zone."

Okay, maybe that wasn't word-for-word, and more of a compilation of conversations we had this past season ... but you get the idea.

Did it make me aware that the perception was that our mechanic is slow? Yes.
Did I change my timing because of her perception? No.
Did I get batters running off or head-whipping? No.

I'm pretty sure it was actually my wife writing that article under a pseudonym.

The thought that, by using proper timing on ball/strike calls, we are trying to draw attention to ourselves or that we are adding to the time of the game is ridiculous.

I think John Rocker took care of that option.

So, you're saying that it really isn't anything the umpires are doing that is leading to games lasting so long, right?

Right. I doubt that anything the umpires are doing is lengthening the games. An extra 2 minutes of TV ads after every half inning adds 36 minutes to a 9-inning game. Use of specialized relievers also adds a lot of time. The first 5 World Series saw a total of 15 relief pitchers over the 29 games, and in 27 of those games, at least one pitcher went the distance. Both went the distance in 17.

In the 2005 World Series, there were 15 relief pitchers in the third game alone (31 total in the 4 games).

Her: "Well ... It's really slow."
Me: "Slow? What do you mean?"
Her: "It seemed like it took you forEVER to call a strike."
Me: "Nah, hon ... it just seems like forever."
Her: "Really. I've never seen that before. It made you look like you were hesitant, not sure of your call."
Me: "Well, kinda hesitating. I look at the pitch, retrace it quickly, quietly say "yes" to the catcher and hitter, and bang it."
Her: "It just looks stupid, you calling a strike when the ball is going back to the pitcher. Didn't anyone else complain?"
Me: "No, in fact the catchers liked it that I said 'yes' before banging it."
Her: "Well, it looks stupid, but you must have had good game. I didn't hear anyone in the stands say anything about your zone."



I agree that calling balls/strikes too soon is wrong, But if you're doing your strike mechanics when the ball is on its way back to the mound- seems wayy too slow, and your wife has a point!

Timing is proper use of the eyes...not hesitation.

It's both.


Tim.

Well,
 

"It's both."

And I respectfully disagree.

As Evans teaches it if you track the ball correctly and then make the decision and then make the call it is a smooth process that DOES NOT INCLUDE any "hesitation."

False "hesitation" such as being dicussed in this thread is not anything to do with the timing of a correct call.

Regards,

Thank you, Tee...saved me many keystrokes.

Good Definition!
 

Tee,

This is as good an explanation of timing as I've ever heard... I'll be sure to use this next time a new umpire asks me what timing is. Well done!

It is the description used at the Academy. Tee has explained it well. Timing has nothing to do with pausing, hesitating, replaying, counting one-mississippi, whispering to the batter or catcher or straightening your cup.

Thanks a lot Garth, now I have to drop that cup straightening from my strike call. Just great.:(

In fact, even the idea of 'timing' might be out of place. Evans's emphasis on "proper use of the eyes" is surely the right way to go, and if that's your focus, you don't need to worry about 'timing' at all. Using your eyes properly will guarantee that you do not call pitches too fast; the Philadelphia media will get on your case if you call them too slowly.:D

I Completely Agree !
 

We should all use the EXACT same;

• Timing
• Mechanics
• Indications
• Verbalizations
• Tone of voice
• Strike Zone
• Rules
• Mouthwash
• Cup w/Holder
• And most importantly...Everyone should wear a USH (Umpire Style Helmet) !