Talk, talk, talk ...

Why can't umpires simply walk away?

Here is one guarantee you can have on the amateur baseball diamond: the more the umpire talks, the more he feels he has to justify and explain his call, the greater the chance he got the call wrong.

Umpires don't replay their successes. They don't discuss the 22 routine calls they had at first or second base in which their angle, distance and timing was perfect. They won't regale you with stories about the 14 fly balls they went out on that were caught. They may tell you, once, about the one call they had that was close. Guaranteed, if they kicked it, you'll hear about, over and over and over.

Batter stretches and outfield hit into a double with a nice, feet-first slide into second base. A big "safe" sign. Moments later, literally during the signal, the second baseman receives the ball, bumps the runner, hooking then pushing the runner's feet of the base. The umpire calls a more emphatic "OUT!" There is not one person sitting in the stands who does not have that call nailed as incorrect ... but there is one official on the field who is about to go into denial and get very vocal about it.

It starts with a lecture to the batter about base running, how-to-slide, and keeping your feet on the base at all times. It is followed up by words with the defensive coach about the nice work his fielder did in getting the runner while he was off the base. It continues with a demonstration to the offensive coach about what the umpire claims he saw.

Doesn't anyone have the balls to say to that umpire "You kicked it! Live with it?"

It is a regular email occurrence: An email arrives asking for help on a topic. A response is researched and returned to the sender. Hopefully this response presents a balance of the rules, materials and historic information available that is applicable to the game situation described. Shortly after another email comes in justifying why that umpire's call was correct despite the rules, literature, history and traditions. A called kicked electronically. Welcome to the computer-age of umpiring.

Some youth leagues carry this to an extreme. They do not have any, or just a booklet of, case material for their umpires to study. The leagues are constantly in the process of rewriting "their rules" .... simplifying and tinkering with the game for the level of official and manager working in their system. Answer that email and you are asked to justify over 150 years of baseball tradition using only the words that are in "their rule book" and nothing else. Good luck.

"No, just wiggling the bat is not enogh to constitute a bunt attempt." ... "That's not how we call it!" ... Good luck.

The more they say, the more assured you can be that they kicked the call and they know it!

It takes years of study and practice to make a good umpire. It takes excellent judgment to make a quality official. It can take only one second to make that same official look like he does not know what is going on.

Make a call and walk from it.

Don't turn that second into minutes, hours, days and a career.

... in my personal opinion only

The opinions expressed above are solely those of the author and do not reflect the policy, practice, teaching or instruction of any individual, organization, association or group.