The Spirit of the Game

by Erick T. Barkhuis

1. A stormy wind is blowing in from center field, and the pitcher is having trouble keeping his balance on the mound. Suddenly, with a runner on third, his hat is blown off, while he is already in Set Position, ready to pitch. His very first move is taking his hands apart, and making a step forward towards the plate in an attempt to catch the hat. My first move: calling a balk and sending the runner home.

   The result: a five minutes "nice chat" with the defensive manager, and a couple of pieces in national newspapers about umpires who aren't interested in the players' wellbeing.

2. The game is cruising in the sixth inning with the home team leading 0-18. It seems like everyone wants to get the game over with, and go home. The next batter, a player of the visiting team who hasn't been able to figure out the difference between fastballs and breaking balls so far, decides to bunt the next pitch. After all, he hasn't had a chance of even coming close to the pitch while swinging away.

   The pitch is a wonderful curve ball, that's starts off belt high and breaks to a spot 15 inches outside of the plate. The batter, already in bunting stance, goes after the ball, and even manages to get his bat on it. However, he put his right foot way in front of the plate in order to be able to reach it, so I call him out for illegal batting.

   From the dugout, a couple of players and coaches start screaming: "How can you make a *&^%$#@ call like that?! Watch the score board! Just call balls and strikes and get it over with!". And again, after the game, I was accused of having no sense of the true spirit of the game.

3. Another balk situation. The score is tied in the fourteenth and the home team manages to get its pitcher on first base. The team has run out of substitute players, and this pitcher is important for them, so they don't bring a pinch runner.

   Of course, the pitcher/runner hardly moves off base, and it is obvious that he isn't going anywhere. All the team wants is that triple or home run, or a short rally.

   From my position at second base (we're working three man system), I clearly see a "no stop" balk infraction when the pitcher, after going through the stretch, pitches. Well, you can imagine what happened right after the balk call:

   "He wasn't going anywhere!"

   "Our pitcher didn't deceive that runner!"

   The only thing I could reply, was: "Well, then why didn't your pitcher come to a stop in the first place?". That didn't do much good to the game's atmosphere, either.

Often, at clinics, instructors tell young umpires to be firm, approach players and coaches in a businesslike manner, and keep control. But also, make sure you're not over-aggressive and don't misuse your authority. Have a good sense of the spirit of the game!

What is the "spirit of the game"? What does it mean? Are we, the umpires, forced to judge what the spirit of today's game is, and act accordingly? Should we ignore "small infractions" when the score is 21-1? Should we be more lenient at spring training exhibition games than during the final series of a league's regular season?

Let's see things from the other perspective: assume that the umpire doesn't call the balk in the first example or the batting infraction of the second example. And let's assume that the other manager requests "Time" and asks the umpire if that was perfectly legal. What is the umpire going to do?

Should he lie, and say that no infraction occurred? Well, he might get away with it, because, after all, it's a judgment call. The exciting part of the ensuing discussion will be whether or not the manager is going to see the final inning from the dugout or from the club house. However, if I lied about that, knowing that an infraction occurred and I saw it, I would have a tough time explaining the no-call to my wife...and myself, back home after the game.

Should the umpire say something like: "Oh yes...I saw it. And technically you're right. But hey...we're not going to be that picky, are we? Where's your sense for the spirit of the game?". The manager might now even successfully protest the game! And that's hardly what the spirit-aware umpire wanted in the first place, right?

This whole idea of going by the spirit of the game is a tough concept. Yes, umpires may act differently if the same situation occurs during a 9-10 year old's league contest and during a regular triple-A ball game. But are we really going to bend the rules based upon our perception of the game's spirit? We might get ourselves deeply in trouble, mainly because our perception of the spirit of the game will certainly be different from the perception of either team.

My advice: stick to keeping the game under control, and calling them as you see them. That way, you may not completely fulfill the expectations of teams who want the umpire not to be picky, but at least they know how far they can go...consistently. We, the umpires, have a pretty tough task at hand already, without having to weigh our judgments according to the "Spirit of the Game"

Your comments very most welcome.