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