anyone wish Ron Luciano was still around?

[kylejt]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

I still wish he were still around, as in living. I took the question to mean that, not that he could be an umpire at age 72.

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I watched Joe West in person in Baltimore last week, and I'd take a 72 year old Luciano over him, dead or alive. Joe can't move at all, and can't raise his hands over his shoulders any more. He was U1, and on a towering fly ball near the pole, he never left the dirt, and never made a call. None. And what's he going to do on a trouble ball to the gap? Phone a friend?

MLB is in the entertainment business, like it or not. The way they hire their umpires, and keep them around FAR past their prime is stupid. I'm not saying we need entertainers as arbitors, but they need a higher quality out there the match the players on the field. As it is, these guys stay on the field FAR too long. And having West as their boss won't change things.

Luciano got me into umpiring at age 11. His antics made the game fun to watch, and I emulated those calls when I was a kid. Gunning guys out at first, blowing the smoke off the barrels, and reholstering them was part of the fun. Right or not, I watched games when he umpired.