This Has Got To Stop!

[kingfin66]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

Now that the baseball and the football games go head-to-head...I am surprised to discover that I'd MUCH rather watch playoff baseball than the NFL. Between the commercials and the constant flags...the NFL games are as "unwatchable" as it gets...IMO.

For sure, the NFL can be very unwatchable. Not only that, but the matchups we often see on the nationally televised games are very poor.

[kingfin66]

Originally Posted by DSB

There have been at least six or seven sons of MLB umpires to work the big leagues in recent years.

As far as umpiring being "scary good" compared to 25 years ago, that is your opinion, and it is not universally shared. The Mets' color announcer, Keith Hernandez, is a former major leaguer who was in the major leagues 40 years ago. Anyone familiar with his opinion of today's umpiring would tell you he would agree with me, not you. Maybe, just maybe, a guy who has been observing the craft more or less constantly for four decades would know what he's talking about. Maybe. Or maybe you're right and today's umpiring is far superior to what it was a few decades ago. Maybe. Let's just say it's a matter of opinion, not a matter of fact.

It also seems that the probationary period for new umps has been all over the map since the turn of the century. It was five years, then three, then four. Whatever, I could not find any stats as to how many umpires are sent the certified mail you talked about. Do you know?

Reaching the majors as an umpire, player, coach, manager, announcer, publicist, etc, etc, etc, is very hard to do. No shit.

Everybody knows that human beings will fail on occasion. Good umpires will blow calls, and good hitters will take a called strike three with the bases juiced. Nobody said otherwise, so kindly keep your "new flashes" to yourself. I sure as hell don't need to be lectured by you concerning such matters... or anything else.

Tell you tough guy, you spare me your lecture and I will spare you mine. You wrote something that is wrong and got called on it. You said there are "many" sons of former major league umpires currently in the majors. I gave you the correct answer. There have not been "at least 6-7 sons of former umpires." The only other one I am aware of is Jerry Crawford who is the son of Satch Davidson. Who else? By all means regale me with your knowledge, or better yet, ask Keith Hernandez.

[DSB]

Originally Posted by kingfin66

Tell you tough guy, you spare me your lecture and I will spare you mine. You wrote something that is wrong and got called on it. You said there are "many" sons of former major league umpires currently in the majors. I gave you the correct answer. There have not been "at least 6-7 sons of former umpires." The only other one I am aware of is Jerry Crawford who is the son of Satch Davidson. Who else? By all means regale me with your knowledge, or better yet, ask Keith Hernandez.

Father and son

Henry Crawford (1956-1975)
Gerald Crawford (1976-present)

Lou DiMuro (1963-1982)
Mike DiMuro (1999-present)

Thomas Gorman (1951-1976)
Brian Gorman (1993-present)

Edward Runge (1954-1970)
Paul Runge (1973-1997)

Paul Runge (1973-1997
Brian Runge (1999-present)

Harry H. Wendelstedt Sr. (1966-1998)
H. Hunter Wendelstedt Jr. (1999-present)

This list is apparently somewhat out of date but definitely within what most would consider recent years. Oh, and here's another little fact that may surprise you - Jerry Crawford's dad was Shag Crawford, not Satch Davidson.

Consider yourself regaled.

In your haste to prove how smart you are and how much you know about umpires, you ignored the fact that I said "seems," which a quick check reveals means: "to give the impression of existing; appear to be"

I never said, as an absolute fact, that many of today's umpires are sons of former big league umpires. So you called me out on something I didn't say.

I am saying that the list at the top of this post is factual. So I'm calling you out on saying "There have not been "at least 6-7 sons of former umpires." Is the list wrong?

Oh, and I'll take Keith Hernandez's opinion on the subject over yours any day.

You made a point of bringing up the probationary period for new MLB umpires in a previous post. I will ask again, do you have any verifiable stats that reveal how many umpires have been dismissed as a result of failure during the period? You said that the period is 5 years. Is that correct?

Regale us with your knowledge.

Tough guy.

[kingfin66]

You are indeed a courageous keyboard warrior.

Once again, your original post indicated current times, not all time. It appears that you are trying to make a point about nepotism in baseball. Oh, and be very insulting in the meantime. Had nepotism been your original premise, rather than quality of umpiring, you would be in good shape. As much as you are trying to be insulting, I actually appreciate seeing your list. I had forgotten that there were actually three generations of Runge's in MLB. It is too bad what happened to the youngest.

That is indeed on my regarding Shag. Not sure why I typed Satch...

I don't have the stats regarding how many, if any, umpires are released during their MLB probationary period. If forced to guess, and that is what it would be, I would say that it is probably zero. Umpires normally get released well before making it to the Majors, or during the time that they are classified as vacation umpires. Vacation umpires are those who are called up periodically to fill in for vacation or injuries, but do not yet have an MLB contract.

I do have a lot of knowledge about umpires. Whether you choose to believe that or not is your choice. I am going to try to drop names to try to prove my knowledge. I really don't know what your issue is with me. We can keep going and escalating if you wish, or you/we can opt to keep it civil.

[Robert Fischer]

what about that call last night?

'bang-bang' play at home plate, and they went back and gave the Dodgers a run after a replay challenge citing the rule for blocking the plate...

[DSB]

Apparently reading comprehension isn't your strong suit.

My original post began by me stating my opinion that video replays should be used for two things: home runs and foul balls.

I then said that I believe all other calls should be left to the umpire's discretion.

Does that sound like "umpire bashing" to you? Some posters in this thread would do away with umpires altogether. I actually came down on the side of umpires on that question. That was the main thrust of my post.

Then, I opined that my belief is that umpiring in the major leagues has slipped over the decades. You have your reasons for believing otherwise. No big deal. You're entitled to your opinion, too.

As far as being a "keyboard warrior," I did have to look up the facts to check them against my memory. There were no father / son umpires in the major leagues for the first nearly 100 years of its existence. There have been six in recent years. Why now? Could it be because umpiring at the major league level has become a lucrative career? To avoid you twisting my words, let's just say that "several" MLB umpires have been there for more than 20 years with "several" closing in on that milestone. When Joe West entered the league, I was a young buck with plenty of hair and a young, beautiful girlfriend. Point is, turnover is rare. Doesn't sound like a job people are looking to get out of.

So I raise(d) the question: Can the road to a MLB umpire job be made a little easier for those with connections? After all, a lot of subjective decisions seem to go into choosing who will be accepted, certified, placed, and promoted.

Then again, maybe there's an "umpire gene" that didn't surface in the first century of baseball's existence.

Nepotism was not the main subject of my first post on this subject. For some reason you chose to make it that, and attack me over it. So here we are.

Are you suggesting that a prospective umpire's connections can't improve his chances of landing a lucrative big league position?

Maybe they can, maybe they can't.

Just askin' the question...

[kingfin66]

I don't think that I attacked you at all and I apologize if you took it that way. It was not my intention. Believe it or not, I was actually trying to be helpful. I was going to come at you hard in this reply, but have decided against it as it will not make this thread, section, or site a better place. I will instead move on. Before I do, I will tell you this; there is a clear advantage held by the relatives (not just sons) of Major League umpires. There are many AAA crew chiefs and other veterans who leave the game after many years' service very bitter men. The only son of an MLB umpire who I am aware of not having made it is the late Lou DiMuro's son, Ray DiMuro. He is Mike's older brother.

I will now take my lack of reading comprehension somewhere else. If you have any questions about umpires, how things work behind the scenes, or anything else, please free to shoot me a message.

[kingfin66]

Originally Posted by Robert Fischer

what about that call last night?

'bang-bang' play at home plate, and they went back and gave the Dodgers a run after a replay challenge citing the rule for blocking the plate...

I think that most people, especially those in the game, really hate the "Buster Posey Rule." Yet it exists. It is hard to fault Joe Maddon for his reaction. The stakes are high.

[BaffertsWig]

Originally Posted by kingfin66

I think that most people, especially those in the game, really hate the "Buster Posey Rule." Yet it exists. It is hard to fault Joe Maddon for his reaction. The stakes are high.

What's funny is he was yelling at the umps, who initially called the runner out. The officials in New York were the ones that overturned it

[MutuelClerk]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

Now that the baseball and the football games go head-to-head...I am surprised to discover that I'd MUCH rather watch playoff baseball than the NFL. Between the commercials and the constant flags...the NFL games are as "unwatchable" as it gets...IMO.

Red Zone. Only way to watch unless you need a nap.