Building a Better Umpire

[David Emerling]

The following article recently appeared in the New York Times.
Building a Better Umpire by Fay Vincent

It's a tough road to the Major Leagues as an umpire. In fact, I've heard it said that, statistically, an aspiring player has a much better chance of seeing the likes of Wrigley Field than an any aspiring umpire.

My personal opinion is that today's umpiring is probably no better or worse than umpiring of year's past. In fact, I'd say it is probably better. The only difference is that today's video technology makes every little mistake obvious. Every play can now be hyper-analyzed in slow motion from multiple angles. That's something Bill Klem never had to deal with.

David Emerling
Memphis, TN

[MrUmpire]

Nothing new here. The minor league umpires have been making the same points for years.

It's time for MLB to recognize they have a vested interest in umpire training and open their wallet.

[DG]

Football uses the video and basketball uses to some degree. It is inevitable for a wider spread use in baseball, and the vast majority of fans will agree it is necessary.

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by DG

Football uses the video and basketball uses to some degree. It is inevitable for a wider spread use in baseball, and the vast majority of fans will agree it is necessary.

Football and basketball lend themselves to replay much better than does baseball. And the majority of fans can't quote the infield fly rule verbatim, so who cares what they think, anyway? As Tony Gwynn once said about the fans' and their knowledge of the game of baseball, "F*ck the fans."