The Big One That Got Away

Ok Baseball World, Armando Gallaraga of the Detroit Tigers is holding an online chat today. A great deal of controversy has arisen over his imperfect perfect game that occurred two weeks ago. (Login or read the transcript on the Detroit Tigers chat site)

When it happened everyone in the game was in uproar over Gallaraga’s would be perfect game that was snatched forever away from the record books by a botched call with two outs in the 9^th that would have been the final out in the would be 3^rd Perfect Game of the 2010 season.

It’s an incredible mistake that is being examined, picked, plucked, scrutinized and could possibly change the future of the game forever.

And the man who made the history making decision? …..an Umpire (who by the way was voted the best MLB umpire in a poll conducted by ESPN.)

Here are some of my thoughts on the situation. I’ve long thought about sharing my thoughts about my life’s experience as the wife of a professional umpire, because few think about the perspective of umpires and their importance in the game. This situation seemed like the perfect source of inspiration. Call me partial, but out of all sports, I think umpires should be the most respected out of all sports officials. They undergo such tremendous pressure, night after night with few breaks, extreme daily mental and physical stress, and the expectation of daily perfection.

A tremendous celebration occurs with each Perfect Game, Grand Slam, 10-game hit streak, Walk-off Homer, etc, etc. BUT- no one celebrates an umpire for a perfectly called game or each game where every whacker play is called with perfect accuracy….It’s a funny reality in the sport we love so much where fans love to hate the very men who dedicate their lives to maintain the integrity of the game by calling each play as they see it with absolute certainty. Fans don’t realize that umpires determine themselves to call each game, each play, as fairly and accurately as possible.

Players can go for weeks without a single hit or can make three fielding errors in a single game, or can blow what would be the biggest save of a playoff series….we as fans can so easily forgive and forget. But for an umpire grace is not so easily bestowed even though it should be as their intentions remain true to the game.

Does anyone really think that the final out of a would-be perfect game would have been called safe if the ump had not truly believed that the runner had beat the play? C’mon, people let’s be serious.  Imperfection happens. And it’s these oh so human moments that make our great game so special as they remind us that life will never be perfect, life has it’s glorious triumphs, it’s heartbreaking disappointments…baseball like life is wrought with reality – both sides of it.

Let’s not change that truth.

See the game story here.

Umps follow same road as players

Recently, MLB reporter Benjamin Hill wrote a great article, “Umps Follow Same Road as Players” on the path umps take to get to the Majors. Check out his full article on MiLB.com. If you’ve ever wondered how Big League umps become Big League umps, Hill’s article is a great place to start.

As the article explains, umpires are on a development track through the minor leagues that is similar to the trek players make. Few people realize the stress and pressure it takes to get through this system. The misconceptions on this life are amusing for those who know how it really works.

For instance, fans often think my husband works all of the games for our local minor league team. NO!!!! While at one point he did get to work a few local games that was because he was assigned to the same league. The fact of the matter is that most umps work in leagues far from home depending on how they are assigned, ranked, promoted, etc. Actually, this season my husband makes only one trip into our home state.

I’ve been pretty sick with a bad respiratory infection for a while now, so people often ask when my husband will get to come home to be with me. Again, NO!!!!! It just doesn’t work like that. There is much sacrifice that comes with the baseball life, especially in regard to family. While players are often far from home, they are at least based in one city for half their games. Umps travel from city to city throughout the season. For example, a Texas League ump will travel, by van with his 3-man crew, from Corpus Christi to Midland for 3-6 games then travel to Little Rock for another 4 games then onto Springfield for 4 then back down to Frisco for 6, etc, etc.

There are few off days in the minors and for umps those days are often spent travelling. Living out of a suitcase going from hotel to hotel for 6 months is strenuous. You can’t go see your family, family comes to you which is expensive, especially on a not so lucrative minor league salary.

But hey, it’s for the love of the game….we make it work. 

Hello Baseball World

 

 

Well….Hello, world!

So for a while now I’ve wanted to share my unique experiences as the newlywed wife of a professional umpire. With the recent officiating commotion in baseball and basketball, now seems like a good time to start this project. The other reason I’m starting this now is that I’ve been sick so I’ve had some time to reflect on life. That’s the basic premise for this blog.

About the pic: our longtime friend created this custom caketopper for our groom’s cake. Yep, that’s my hubby calling me Safe At Home!