Mike DiMuro: You should resign.

[Stu Clary]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

I can see how he might have missed the actual catch...

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?

[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.

[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?

[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?"

[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

[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.

[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.

[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,.....?

[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.

[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!

[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.

[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.)