Ken Burns Baseball

[mbyron]

Originally Posted by TwoBits

Anyway, its a part of the documentary series that I doubt few people outside of the umpiring world would recognize. Does anyone know when the current school of thought that backing up a bit in order to see more of the play began?

It dates from the creation of the schools in the late 70's/early 80's, and the creation of standardized and studied mechanics. The current mechanics have evolved over that time with a somewhat more scientific approach than trial & error to the task of getting efficient coverage.

Evans talks about how he became a pro umpire: basically, another umpire asked him to do it. If my recollection is correct, he learned on the job, and never worked much in the minors. Things have changed.