Mike DiMuro: You should resign.

[kylejt]

I wonder if there's any video of that fielder coming into his dugout, and showing everyone the empty glove. That would be classic.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Stu Clary

In all honestly, not me. Watch the video again. The ball clearly bounces off the glove (at nearly the height of Wise's jump) as he jogs toward the play, perhaps 20-25 feet away. What else could he posibly be looking at?

Yes from the angle they show you, but that is not the angle the umpire likely sees. He is going into the stands and I would not be surprised if he was blocked or straightlined with fans. But you cannot rule on a catch even if he sees everything before he goes into the stands and not look for the ball. I get that these are great athletes and the umpire probably felt he has seen these spectacular catches before, but he still should prove it to you by showing you the ball.

Peace

[Rich]

Originally Posted by kylejt

I wonder if there's any video of that fielder coming into his dugout, and showing everyone the empty glove. That would be classic.

You seem to take great joy from a Major League Umpire making a mistake. Exactly why would you?

[Mountaincoach]

I thought the best part about the whole thing was how Wise just kept his mouth shut and jogged off the field. Here's his quote from the NY Daily News: “(DiMuro) said, ‘Out,’ right away,” Wise said. “So what was I supposed to do? Run back to left field?”

Read more: Yankees and Dewayne Wise benefit from blown call by umpire Mike DiMuro as fans hide ball in stands - NY Daily News

[Eastshire]

Originally Posted by Mountaincoach

I thought the best part about the whole thing was how Wise just kept his mouth shut and jogged off the field. Here's his quote from the NY Daily News: “(DiMuro) said, ‘Out,’ right away,” Wise said. “So what was I supposed to do? Run back to left field?”

Read more: Yankees and Dewayne Wise benefit from blown call by umpire Mike DiMuro as fans hide ball in stands - NY Daily News

I never understand why all of the focus goes onto the umpire. Yes, he missed Wise cheating, but Wise was the cheater.

[MD Longhorn]

I think he got caught up in the moment. Great play - quick call. WAY too quick.

[Stu Clary]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

Yes from the angle they show you, but that is not the angle the umpire likely sees.

I have to respectfully disagree. There's a great shot from umpires POV at the 28 second mark:

The Greatest Trick Dewayne Wise Ever Pulled Was Convincing The World He Caught This Ball [UPDATE]

[umpjim]

Originally Posted by Stu Clary

I have to respectfully disagree. There's a great shot from umpires POV at the 28 second mark:

The Greatest Trick Dewayne Wise Ever Pulled Was Convincing The World He Caught This Ball [UPDATE]

Should have been stopped to view the catch. Bouncing camera gives you a blur.

[Mountaincoach]

Originally Posted by Eastshire

I never understand why all of the focus goes onto the umpire. Yes, he missed Wise cheating, but Wise was the cheater.

When was the last time you saw any professional athlete walk up to an official and correct a bad call that helped them? Can you imagine the repercussions he would have faced from the whole city of New York and beyond if he had spoken up or argued the call against himself? The umpire is human. And, to be quite frank, I feel sorry for him because his error will live on highlight films for the next 50 plus years.

The part that sticks in my mind is this--Surely to goodness at least one of the other umpires on that field saw the guy in the red shirt standing there holding that ball high above his head?! And, if they did and kept their mouth shut, they should be held accountable because they hung their partner out to dry in my opinion. The poor guy who blew the call never saw the guy in the red shirt holding the ball proudly above his head.

[prosec34]

Originally Posted by Mountaincoach

When was the last time you saw any professional athlete walk up to an official and correct a bad call that helped them? Can you imagine the repercussions he would have faced from the whole city of New York and beyond if he had spoken up or argued the call against himself? The umpire is human. And, to be quite frank, I feel sorry for him because his error will live on highlight films for the next 50 plus years.

The part that sticks in my mind is this--Surely to goodness at least one of the other umpires on that field saw the guy in the red shirt standing there holding that ball high above his head?! And, if they did and kept their mouth shut, they should be held accountable because they hung their partner out to dry in my opinion. The poor guy who blew the call never saw the guy in the red shirt holding the ball proudly above his head.

Ummm, no. If he never goes to his partners for their opinion, the partners need to shut up. How would you like to work a game where your partner keeps calling time to correct you? If someone does that to me, it's a homicide waiting to happen. The golden rule of umpiring is to make your calls and keep your opinions on the other guys' calls to yourself unless properly asked.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

Yes from the angle they show you, but that is not the angle the umpire likely sees. He is going into the stands and I would not be surprised if he was blocked or straightlined with fans. But you cannot rule on a catch even if he sees everything before he goes into the stands and not look for the ball. I get that these are great athletes and the umpire probably felt he has seen these spectacular catches before, but he still should prove it to you by showing you the ball.

Peace

DiMuro released a statement admitting he should have made Wise show him the ball. I'm guessing he learned his lesson the hard way on this one.

[kylejt]

Originally Posted by GROUPthink

You seem to take great joy from a Major League Umpire making a mistake. Exactly why would you?

It's probably the God-like status that a lot of folks here view them with. I mean, guys memorize their numbers, and know what chest protectors they're wearing. They have autographed trading cards, and want to dress just like these guys.

Let's get this outta the way, though. I'm not in the same league with any of those guys. I'm just a local schlub, who teaches kids life lessons through the magic of umpiring. It's just that I use more flubs and miscues at the MLB level, than I have good examples. When we want good examples, I use MiLB guys, or local college fellows.

But on something like this, I'd holler at one my 14 year umpires for not knowing the basics of a call. "Jimmy, where was the ball?"

[johnnyg08]

It is in the umpire manual. If a player or manager says that they went back and looked at replay, they shall be ejected. He didn't make that up, the announcers didn't know what they were talking about...they were partially right, they likely didn't know it's a guideline specifically spelled out in the MLBUM or maybe it is PBUC, I can't remember.

[celebur]

Originally Posted by Eastshire

I never understand why all of the focus goes onto the umpire. Yes, he missed Wise cheating, but Wise was the cheater.

Unless there's something missing from the video, just how did Wise cheat? I didn't see him do anything to try to "sell" the supposed catch--he made a good run, got his glove on the ball, fell into the stands, and as he was being helped up, the umpire already ruled it a catch.

In a perfect world, Wise would have admitted the no-catch to the umpire, but keeping his mouth shut isn't really cheating. He didn't break any rules. He didn't even try to deceive the umpire. He simply kept his mouth shut when he knew the umpire made the wrong call. The blame here lies entirely on DiMuro, and he admitted his mistake (like he had any other option).

[Mountaincoach]

Originally Posted by celebur

Unless there's something missing from the video, just how did Wise cheat? I didn't see him do anything to try to "sell" the supposed catch--he made a good run, got his glove on the ball, fell into the stands, and as he was being helped up, the umpire already ruled it a catch.

Exactly. And this can be applied to the statement above about the "golden rule of umpiring". What's the difference between Wise and the other umpires who witnessed the play? Why should Wise be considered a "cheater" when the other umpires stood around and kept their mouths shut as well?

I'm sincerely asking this question--where does doing the right thing (like correcting one of your partners when they just humiliated themselves with a rare bad call) become less important than stepping on a co-worker's toes? I'm not talking about coming over and telling your fellow umpire that he missed a close tag at second, or a force-out at first, etc. I'm talking about telling your fellow umpire that he just ruled a catch for an out when a fan is standing 12 feet away holding the ball in his hand for all the world to see? Where is that "line" crossed? Little League, High School, College,.....?