Included in my packing is a fun new book, THE BASEBALL HALL OF SHAME by Bruce Nash & Allan Zullo. This is a baseball book for non-baseball people because it’s essentially a humor book.
The book goes into all the stupid boneheaded incidents that occur on and off the field. So it’s a collection of goofballs and blunders – all of it extremely funny because (a) it’s all real, and (b) it didn’t happen to you.
Thank God there’s not a chapter for announcers, otherwise I’d be in it for seventeen pages.
But it’s a fun read that doesn’t take itself seriously. You’ll meet some real characters along the way and be treated to ineptitude the likes of which you’ve never seen outside of politics. So really, isn’t that what fine literature is all about?
THE BASEBALL HALL OF SHAME – perfect for Mothers’ Day or rain delays.
One of the chapters is about bad umpiring calls. How about this one from just last Wednesday?
20 comments :
There sure was a bad call in last night's Mariners game on the Brendan Ryan stolen base. The tag didn't get within two feet of the runner. It was very reminiscent of the terrible call you posted.
Will there be a meet-and-greet in Boston? If so, I'm there.
Have you read Ball Four? Opinion?
I owned the Hall of Shame books back in the '80s. Great to see it back in print! Did they update and add to the entries?
I'm always disagreeing with first base umpires. Especially on a double play.
That looks close to me. I'd say more, but I have a game to call so I don't have time.
A blind man could've made that call... Oh, wait, he did.
Thanks for the tip-off that you'll be on the radio, Ken. I'll be listening.
I'm not a fan of replay. The games are long enough, and there will still be bad calls. I don't think the cost/benefit is there.
Mike, replay only currently makes the game longer because the umps convene down the tunnel to watch. If a hawk-eye style system like tennis uses were implmented it'd make the game FASTER than the current model in which the manager comes out and yells at the ump for 90 seconds after a bad call like that.
Ken, that's a great book, but it's certainly not new. Mine has been sitting next to my toilet for more than 20 years!
It's an updated version. Brand new. All the idiocy is fresh as today's hand-picked corn!
Is there an entry for Jim Joyce?
I kinda doubt it...
The cover art looks like it was done by Jack Davis, a long-time contributor to Mad Magazine.
I have long thought that there would end up being fewer arguments on a baseball diamond if MLB changed the rules a little. Namely, let's suppose the second baseman makes a bad throw. The umpire should be allowed to stop the game, run up to him, and scream at him and wave his arms and make believe he's throwing the ball, and the umpire should be permitted to call the second baseman everything HE would call the umpire for blowing a call ... and the other umpires would be required to hold the second baseman down because, in that circumstance, he would try to kill the umpire. Think about it.
That cover really makes me think of "Animal House"
Ken, looking forward to having you visiting in Cleveland again this year.
Please feel to NOT bring a monsoon with you this time.
FREE.
Please feel free to not bring etc., etc.
gah.
I heartily recommend Bruce Weber's "As They See 'Em", a book about the nitty-gritty of umpiring. It will greatly enhance your appreciation of what it takes to do the job. That said, replay is long overdue in major league baseball. Maybe it would get rid of "phantom tags."
In an instance as blatant as this, the other umps should confer and correct the call.
While I felt badly for Armando Galarraga, I don't want replay to be part of the game at all. There's way too much automation in it already, with everything being micromeasured more than an automobile crash test. It ought to be a leisurely, fun summer game with humans competing with (and judging) humans. I'd rather have increased umpire coverage instead of having every close play being reviewed in super slo-mo.
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