Baseball Umpires Encyclopedia

[Carl Childress]

My new book is available now at Amazon.com Click here to order.

Relevant information:

This is a reference book for umpires at all levels and for those who might want to become an umpire. It has 281 entries, 243 letter-size pages, 151,00 words plus illustrations.

If it's about baseball umpiring, you'll find in Baseball Umpires Encyclopedia. Rules, umpire rotations, game control: It's all here.

Here's a sample entry:

Phantom Double Play — It's the most famous "bad" call of all time. The shortstop gloves the ball and, as Milo Hamilton says, "Flip it! Fire it! Double play!" The fact that the second baseman "forgot" to tag the base while he had the ball has been irrelevant for about a hundred years. See phantom force, the next entry.

I first heard about this play in 1949 when I began listening to the Liberty Broadcasting System. Gordon McClendon, who called himself the "Old Scotchman" and pretended to be in his early 80s, re-created major league baseball games. He was always introduced like this: "Coming to you live from Yankee Stadium, by wire report...." We 12-year-old kids didn't know "wire report" meant Western Union telegrams. The "Old Scotchman" was 29 when I began listening to him broadcast from KLIF in Dallas.

Allow me to re-create one of Gordon's typical calls: "Doby's on first, nobody out. Lou Boudreau digs in. Lopat stretches, delivers. It's a sharp grounder to Rizzuto's left, but it's no match for him. He gobbles it up and flips to Stirnweiss for the out at second. On to Henrich at first: Out! Boudreau's not as fast as he used to be. Listen, folks, Snuffy Stirnweiss wasn't within two feet of second when he took Rizzuto's throw. But Red Jones thumbed him out anyway. Folks, that's called the phantom double play. Wait'll you get to a big league park. You'll see what I mean. Stepping in now is the right fielder, Bob Kennedy. He's hitting just ...." As I recall, Gordon rarely omitted his reference to the "imaginary" out at second.

In spite of its storied past, though, we don't see the phantom double play very often in the big leagues anymore. Every game is televised. No umpire wants to see ten replays showing him calling an out when F4 wasn't within "two feet of second." But they don't have ten TV cameras bearing down on your every move at your local park. Do your bit for safety and tradition. If the runner was going to be out, he was out.

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Price: $17.99
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Guarantee: Buy the book. If you don't think it's worth the money, email me: [email protected]. I'll refund your price via PayPal.

And you can keep the book!

[mbyron]

Carl, that link seems to point to your facebook profile, not the Amazon product page.

[MikeStrybel]

I will buy the book because I am a baseball junkie who values Carl's method. I was once given a BDR as a gift and it is dogeared and highlighted. Carl always does a great job of consolidating information and his stories make the read entertaining. I look forward to getting his newest work.

Recognizing that this will detract from his intent to sell books, I wish he had used a different example. The phantom tag has been discussed ad nausuem here, on other sites and countless clinics. I will remain in the camp who ignore the expected call. Many umpire traditions have faded and rightly so. The runner is not out unless the defense completes the action that makes him so. You would no sooner call a guy out because "he was going to be out" when the fielder drops the ball, right? He was only going to be out if the fielder did his job. Call what happens, not what should have happened.

Just because cameras aren't watching doesn't mean I should neglect my responsibility. Ingtegrity is how you behave when no one is watching!

Happy holidays.

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I just bought my copy. Here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/Baseball-Umpir...3356311&sr=8-1

[Rich Ives]

Life has changed CC. You may not be on ESPN but parents with video cams are there. Aunts and uncles with video phones are there. The local sports reporter for Action News has someone there to send them highlights. Blow it and you'll be confronted during or after the game, might see yourself on the local news, and will show up on youtube. If you've been following the forums you'll have seen some of them.

But hey - whatever floats your boat . . . . .

[ozzy6900]

Originally Posted by Rich Ives

Life has changed CC. You may not be on ESPN but parents with video cams are there. Aunts and uncles with video phones are there. The local sports reporter for Action News has someone there to send them highlights. Blow it and you'll be confronted during or after the game, might see yourself on the local news, and will show up on youtube. If you've been following the forums you'll have seen some of them.

But hey - whatever floats your boat . . . . .

We should not be officiating to satisfy Autie Rae or Uncle Lou's video camera. We should be officiating the game and only the game. If F4 or F6 slides his foot past 2nd base while in full control of the ball, I am calling the out and I don't care about the cameras. I call it the same for both sides, game for game - tough s**t if the cameras don't like it!

[MD Longhorn]

Originally Posted by ozzy6900

We should not be officiating to satisfy Autie Rae or Uncle Lou's video camera. We should be officiating the game and only the game. If F4 or F6 slides his foot past 2nd base while in full control of the ball, I am calling the out and I don't care about the cameras. I call it the same for both sides, game for game - tough s**t if the cameras don't like it!

Yes, but you won't call it if you see the foot 2 feet off the bag ... like they used to.

[jicecone]

Originally Posted by ozzy6900

we should not be officiating to satisfy autie rae or uncle lou's video camera. We should be officiating the game and only the game. If f4 or f6 slides his foot past 2nd base while in full control of the ball, i am calling the out and i don't care about the cameras. I call it the same for both sides, game for game - tough s**t if the cameras don't like it!

++++ oz

[MikeStrybel]

Originally Posted by ozzy6900

We should not be officiating to satisfy Autie Rae or Uncle Lou's video camera. We should be officiating the game and only the game. If F4 or F6 slides his foot past 2nd base while in full control of the ball, I am calling the out and I don't care about the cameras. I call it the same for both sides, game for game - tough s**t if the cameras don't like it!

First of all Ozzy, Happy Holidays. I would wish you a Merry Christmas but my 11 year old just came home from school today with a note admonishing her for writing those words on her art class project. We certainly live in a changed world! That seems like as good a segue as any.

I know what you are saying and respect it. I don't officiate for the cameras or an 'attaboy' from a fan/player/coach. As you stated, I officiate the game and only the game. I call what I see, not what should have happened. I used to make the expected call and didn't care who thought differently. Like the note from school, times have changed for many of us.

I wish you well through the next official, non-sectarian celebratory period we used to call Christmastime.

[Carl Childress]

Originally Posted by mbyron

Carl, that link seems to point to your facebook profile, not the Amazon product page.

Thanks, mb