Mike DiMuro: You should resign.

[ozzy6900]

Well, DiMuro had 2 problems:

• He was moving (as was previously stated) when he should have been set to see the catch
• He got straight lined by the guy in the green shirt who pointed at the guy with the ball.

There is no way DiMuro could have seen the ball fall out of the glove with that guy in the way.

All of that said, I love the way amateur umpires take pleasure in berating a professional umpire. Maybe it's because DiMuro made it and you didn't? Or maybe you think that you can do better? Be careful how you answer that because when you look in the mirror, you see an AMATEUR staring back at you..... because that is what you are! Try and remember that!

[umpjim]

Originally Posted by Mountaincoach

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,.....?

I thought we could point out "balls on the ground" without being asked. The calling ump could use this info to revise his call if the ball being on the ground made a difference. In this case a partner could have given the info without being asked. OR I've been wrong in thinking that this could be done.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by ozzy6900

Well, DiMuro had 2 problems:

• He was moving (as was previously stated) when he should have been set to see the catch
• He got straight lined by the guy in the green shirt who pointed at the guy with the ball.

There is no way DiMuro could have seen the ball fall out of the glove with that guy in the way.

All of that said, I love the way amateur umpires take pleasure in berating a professional umpire. Maybe it's because DiMuro made it and you didn't? Or maybe you think that you can do better? Be careful how you answer that because when you look in the mirror, you see an AMATEUR staring back at you..... because that is what you are! Try and remember that!

I feel for DiMuro -- he knew he couldn't stop moving because of the scenario where the guy falls in the stands. Why he didn't ask to see the ball is beyond me, but I take no pleasure in watch a MLB screw up. That's for the idiots at Deadspin to do, not someone who considers himself an umpire.

[Eastshire]

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.

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).

He certainly did try to sell the catch as he holds his glove as if it has the ball. The fair, sporting thing would have been to show the umpire the empty glove. He cheated.

Although we don't see this often in baseball, it's endemic in soccer. At least there we also complain about the divers as well as the referees who fall for the dive.

That Wise cheated in no way let's DiMuro off the hook for not having made the correct call.

[Mountaincoach]

Originally Posted by Eastshire

He certainly did try to sell the catch as he holds his glove as if it has the ball. The fair, sporting thing would have been to show the umpire the empty glove. He cheated.

I disagree. Wise got up and jogged toward the dugout AFTER the call was already made. If it's the rule or code or whatever that the field umpires don't correct such a terribly bad call, then there shouldn't be a double standard where other umpires call the player a cheater either. What's the difference between Wise keeping his mouth shut and the other umpires on the field keeping their mouths shut and not helping their fellow umpire? Is that the "sporting thing to do"?

Like I said before, I don't feel that anybody should attack DiMuro for a bad call. We're all human--we all make mistakes, whether we're MLB umpires or a 14 year old kid making minimum wage umpiring a T-ball game. I place blame completely on the other umpires (OR the rules of umpiring) for allowing that man to become a piece of history and the focus of ESPN highlight reels for the next 50 years.

[Eastshire]

Originally Posted by Mountaincoach

I disagree. Wise got up and jogged toward the dugout AFTER the call was already made. If it's the rule or code or whatever that the other umpires don't correct such a terribly bad call, then there shouldn't be a double standard where other umpires call the player a cheater either. What's the difference between Wise keeping his mouth shut and the other umpires on the field keeping their mouths shut and not helping their fellow umpire? Is that the "sporting thing to do"?

Like I said before, I don't feel that anybody should attack DiMuro for a bad call. We're all human--we all make mistakes, whether we're MLB umpires or a 14 year old kid making minimum wage umpiring a T-ball game. I place blame completely on the other umpires (OR the rules of umpiring) for allowing that man to become a piece of history and the focus of ESPN highlight reels for the next 50 years.

You need to watch it again. DiMuro signals out after Wise gets up with a closed glove. I agree that if another umpire knew that the ball hadn't been caught they should get it right. However, there's no way any of the other umpires knew it hadn't been caught. Yes, a fan held up a ball, but they had no way of knowing it was the ball and not a ball thrown into the stands earlier.

One of these days, baseball is going to get dragged out of the dark ages of each umpire is an island, but that doesn't mean we can't call out cheating when it happens (and besides, I'm not an umpire at all anymore, so whatever hypothetical standard you're proposing doesn't apply to me).

[Mountaincoach]

Originally Posted by Eastshire

You need to watch it again. DiMuro signals out after Wise gets up with a closed glove. I agree that if another umpire knew that the ball hadn't been caught they should get it right. However, there's no way any of the other umpires knew it hadn't been caught. Yes, a fan held up a ball, but they had no way of knowing it was the ball and not a ball thrown into the stands earlier.

One of these days, baseball is going to get dragged out of the dark ages of each umpire is an island, but that doesn't mean we can't call out cheating when it happens (and besides, I'm not an umpire at all anymore, so whatever hypothetical standard you're proposing doesn't apply to me).

I just went back and watched it again very carefully. Wise was simply trying to get out of that "hole" he had fallen in with his glove on his hand in a very natural sideways position when DiMuro signaled the out. He didn't make any kind of motion to "present" a closed glove to the umpire. I think we're splitting hairs here (and I do indeed enjoy a spirited debate), but I respectfully disagree that Wise did anything wrong or misleading as he climbed back across the wall and onto the field. In even Little League, fielders are taught to raise the glove and "present" the ball to the umpire after a catch like that. Wise did nothing of the sort. As far as your statement that the ball held high by the fan in the red shirt could have been just any ball, I'm sorry, that's just lawyer talk. Either way, the other umpires should have stepped in and looked in Wise's glove. BUT, this is a classic case of Monday morning quarterbacking here. It's easy for us to dissect the play frame by frame, but it's another thing to be in DiMuro and Wise's shoes as it was happening.

(BTW, I have never liked the Yankees. I'd love to call Wise a cheater, but that's just not right to say in this case.)

[MD Longhorn]

Originally Posted by ozzy6900

Well, DiMuro had 2 problems:

• He was moving (as was previously stated) when he should have been set to see the catch
• He got straight lined by the guy in the green shirt who pointed at the guy with the ball.

There is no way DiMuro could have seen the ball fall out of the glove with that guy in the way.

I think MOST of us who are not on TV would not be making a call until we saw ball. How many times do our clinics drill into our heads - "no ball, no call" or "don't guess an out".

All of that said, I love the way amateur umpires take pleasure in berating a professional umpire. Maybe it's because DiMuro made it and you didn't?

I do think there's an element of that in this. But it seems to me, from watching MLB and MiLB or NCAA ball, that the mistakes due to poor mechanics are more prevalent at MLB. I think it's possible if not probable that these guys don't attend clinics with the frequency that lower level umpires do - they are not driven to improve like guys at lower levels are - and they are less likely to adapt to new mechanics. Why? Cause they don't have to. Who's going to hold a clinic that these guys can learn from? No one. Also, when you're driven, and watched, and graded, you tend to focus on the mechanics, study up on new ones, etc. I don't say this to knock on these guys who have surpassed what 99.99% of us could ever hope for. But there HAS to be some sort of complacency setting in for those that are there and have lost "the eye of the tiger" for want of a better phrase. Otherwise, mechanic issues would NEVER pop up for these guys. And they do.

(All that said... I think it's VASTLY more common that a simple error in judgement comes from MiLB or NCAA ball vs MLB.)

[MD Longhorn]

Originally Posted by Eastshire

One of these days, baseball is going to get dragged out of the dark ages of each umpire is an island, but that doesn't mean we can't call out cheating when it happens (and besides, I'm not an umpire at all anymore, so whatever hypothetical standard you're proposing doesn't apply to me).

The dark ages that baseball will be dragged out of is called instant replay. It's coming - faster and faster as these kind of correctable errors happen.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by ozzy6900

All of that said, I love the way amateur umpires take pleasure in berating a professional umpire. Maybe it's because DiMuro made it and you didn't? Or maybe you think that you can do better? Be careful how you answer that because when you look in the mirror, you see an AMATEUR staring back at you..... because that is what you are! Try and remember that!

Maybe there are some that feel that way, but not me. I personally think that MLB has the worst staff of all of pro sports working games. They do things that I often do not understand and wonder if because they can never seem to be fired, they just take the easy way to do things us amateurs would get killed for doing. Look at all the very bad misses they have had. They are often not judgment misses, but procedural or mechanical mistakes that you can go to the local association and learn not to do.

To be fair, not all of us wanted to be pro umpires either. When I had the chance I did not see the value in pursuing such a thing. I am happy for those guys getting there, but do not like what they do when they get there. Or do not like the many that have no fear of reprisal do when they are there.

Peace

[REFANDUMP]

Accountability has always been my issue with major league umpires. Even the ones who are consistently rated the worst never lose their jobs. When calls are blatantly blown like some we've seen this season, many of us would no longer be working high school or college ball, much less MLB games. That's why I consistently say that umpires need to go when they make obvious errors that we would not be able to get away with at the amateur level. There are many umpires out there who could do at least as well or better.

[SanDiegoSteve]

Mike is a good umpire who made a bad call. He doesn't miss many calls, especially this magnitude. I've worked several games with him, as well as his brother Ray. His father Lou was a great MLB umpire until his untimely death. There are worse umpires in MLB than Mike DiMuro, and he certainly doesn't deserve what the OP is suggesting. Jealousy has reared its ugly head, I guess.

[johnnyg08]

Even worse if the OP is a Cleveland homer. No place in umpiring for homers.

[LeeBallanfant]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

Mike is a good umpire who made a bad call. He doesn't miss many calls, especially this magnitude. I've worked several games with him, as well as his brother Ray. His father Lou was a great MLB umpire until his untimely death. There are worse umpires in MLB than Mike DiMuro, and he certainly doesn't deserve what the OP is suggesting. Jealousy has reared its ugly head, I guess.

Shame on the ML and Bud Selig, Such a great umpire as Mike DiMuro has since he bacame a regular in 2000 worked a total of 2 post season
series.

What do they have against him?

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

Mike is a good umpire who made a bad call. He doesn't miss many calls, especially this magnitude. I've worked several games with him, as well as his brother Ray. His father Lou was a great MLB umpire until his untimely death. There are worse umpires in MLB than Mike DiMuro, and he certainly doesn't deserve what the OP is suggesting. Jealousy has reared its ugly head, I guess.

I am sure he is a wonderful guy and once again my position is not about him or anyone. But there are guys that have to grade out worse and there seems to be no fear of losing their job. Honestly that is all I am saying and when all these calls or situations come up, I would think that if some guys knew they might not be back if they are rated at the bottom and replaced the bottom with guys that can work, then the overall quality would change. And one of the problems is there are too many sons of former guys working in the Majors as well. You are telling me there are not other guys good enough than a son of a former umpire?

Peace