It's also important to avoid the appearance of impropriety.

I have heard the same thing about the Wolf brothers. I think it was discussed on the MLB "ask the umpire" site.

I wouldn't want to face the 'wrath of Mom' when little/big brother complained about my zone LOL.

They're from this neighborhood, and I've known them both for years and watched them both come up to the bigs. So I know a little about them. Jim would not give Randy one inch.

And irrespective of rotation, Jim does not work games behind the plate when Randy pitches. So your guess is wrong, and it's really not anything you need to guess about, because it's common knowledge that he doesn't.

people either get it or they don't
 

Haller, Wolf, whatever....

The good officials call them as they are.

They'd ring their own mother up on strikes.

The bad ones couldn't umpire a bake sale.

Simple as that.

If you get it, that's great.

If you don't, so be it.

Hock9

And the 2nd base umpire, Bill Kunkel, a former MLB pitcher, worked in a Spring Training game with his son Jeff who played shortstop for Texas in 1984.

Only in the sport of baseball could something so trivial and non-important actually be so interesting and remembered all these years.

Isn't baseball great? :) An article from Sunday's Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/03/sp...0trivia&st=cse

Yes, and Haller and Neudecker would end up being supervisors and evaluators for a lot of the old AL MLBU up there right now, and of course Neudecker was the last to wear the balloon.

You've been around long enough to realize that Tyler's challenge to SDS's statement has little to do with that actual substance of the statement and more to do with the fact the SDS said it.

Umped my son's game.
 

A few years ago at my son's game the umpire was a no-show. The parents on the my son's team and the opposing coach all knew I umpired and asked me to step up to the plate. I had my gear in my truck so I obliged. Game went well except when my son tried to score standing up on a play at the plate. I banged him out and he looked at me with huge eyes, "Dad!!".

The following year his team had another umpire no-show at a field about 4 blocks from our house. I didn't want to see them have to play without an umpire so when they asked me again I went home got my gear and called the game. Good close game and a smiling opposing coach shook my hand after the game.

Then, last year, both coaches requested me for a make-up of one of my son's games on a Saturday at the end of the season. My only mistake in that game was when my son lined a shot between F7/F8 for a home run I started to jump up and cheer but caught myself before it looked like anything.

My dad umpired one of my games from behind the mound when the umpire didn't show. He punched me out on strikes once, and when he called strike 3 on this little kid on my team named Joey, Joey took umbrage, started crying and yelled at my dad (complete with finger signals), "F*** you, you're a jiddy ump!" That game was the end of my dad's umpiring days!

Remember it like it was yesterday.

That's hilarious, SDS!!

Sigh. And we were so close to having a reasonable exchange between the two of you.