The MLB Commissioner's Office Is Losing It

the ump turns to face bradley and moves or leans towards him.

not confront a player

because you’re wrong.

But I have no time to look right now

thus increasing the confrontation. He should have thrown him out and walked away.

that the ump initiated the contact.

Your brain deceives your eyes.

HBP = Horrid by player

But his exacerbation sure exasperated the heck out of me! :D

Bradley was not looking for a long argument. He got his point across and HE is the one who turned and walked away from the ump.

the strike zone is a set thing. Use the technology to grade umpires on balls and strikes. We can see in the replay that the ball Dempster threw was, in fact, not a HBP, but a foul ball because it hit Braun’s bat, and not his head.

Make the umpires accountable for their actions, just like the players are. If a player makes an error, a run may score. If an ump makes an error, they’re effecting part of the game in which they are not supposed to.

that fans in the stands have access to more information than Umpires on the field. I can pull out my phone and get a replay of a play, but an ump isn’t allowed to look up at the jumbotron to verify what they thought they saw.

I find that ridiculous. Give people the chance to get the call right.

you’ve suggested, and find that it ALL supports the concept that the call was bad, the ump leaned into Bradley, and the suspension was ridiculous.

Not sure I get what you are saying. Is gameday what the umpires use to monitor the strike zone? Is that what MLB uses as their checks and balances?

He was thrown out of the game. Any suspension at all is too much.

The ump is meant to be the levelheaded protector of the game. I don’t have the rules on me but someone posted em after the incident which blatnatly states an ump must keep his cool in those situations.

A judge can hold someone in contempt. They don’t get off the bench and take a step towards the defendant.

http://baseballumpires.com/index.cfm

1. Get the call right!

If you have to sell the call, then you probably didn’t get the call right. I don’t like hearing from association presidents “if all else fails, sell the call.” It is better to stop and discuss the situation with your partner, and even get the rule book out if necessary, and ultimately get the call right, then to decide something on the fly and have it come back to bite you in the end. Our job as umpires is to be the final authority during a baseball game, and that requires for you to get the call correct at all costs. Use your keys of understanding the rules, correct positioning and proper mechanics to put you in the best frame of mind and best position to make the call and to get it right.

2. Competitiveness

Accept the fact the every player is giving their maximum effort, you should too. Being lazy will let the game slip away from you. As an umpire you have to be willing to call the first pitch of the game the same way you call the last pitch of the game. If you don’t your going to be in trouble. Realize that every pitch means something to someone on that field, and it should be important to you also. That 0-2 pitch, in the bottom of the fifth inning, that is low and outside may mean you get to go home if you call it a strike, but it may be the only at bat this player gets all month long. If you call a strike because you want to go home, you have done yourself and those players a disservice, you should have found somebody else to do the game for you. That pitch is important to that player, and it should be important to you.

3. Every blue shirt doesn’t come with a license for respect

Just because you wear an umpire uniform doesn’t mean you deserve respect. You don’t deserve anything until you earn it. If you walk onto the field with the attitude that no matter what you call you are always right, then you do deserve something. You deserve to have that manager stapled to back riding you the entire game. Earn your respect with confidence, your knowledge of the rule, correct positioning, and proper mechanics.

4. Don’t be afraid to answer questions

Answer all reasonable questions with reasonable answers. If a manager has a reasonable question, then tell him why you made the call the way you did. Don’t allow a manager to use this chew on you, but use it as a tool to diffuse a situation and regain the confidence of players and managers. Remember, if you don’t give a reasonable answer your not going to get a reasonable response.

5. Don’t be the judge, jury and executioner

Your job is to umpire the game, not to pass judgment on individuals. Some players may not be the most outstanding of individuals, but don’t let that distract you from what your job is. Accept the players for what they are, baseball players, and do your job, umpire the game. Control the game as necessary, and never pass judgment on players.

6. Most importantly, leave the game on the field!

Once the last strike is called, leave the baseball game on the field. Use the situations that happened during the game to make you a better umpire by going back and reading your rule book or asking another umpire, but that is as far as it goes. Managers that ate you up during that game are just regular people outside the diamond, as are you. Don’t let a situation that occurred during the game relive itself somewhere else. Decide how the situation could have been handled better, learn from it, and let it go.

If you as an umpire can combine all these elements into your job, that is when you are a professional. We all have fell short at one time or another during a baseball game, but use those situations and these keys to continually improve as an umpire, and each time you walk onto the field think of yourself as a professional and your job as an umpire will become one that continually is filled with satisfaction.

we shouldn’t expect the umpires to do their job?

This invalidates any complaint you may ever have about the Cubs bullpen in the future.