Umpire Quotations

The public wouldn't like the perfect umpire in every game. It would kill off baseball's greatest alibi - 'We was robbed.'

As we all know, Cooperstown is the home of baseball. One of the many duties of the home plate umpire is to make sure that the runner touches home. Well, if you're a true baseball fan, you need to visit Cooperstown. This is home.

There was something special about watching a manager and umpire both convinced they were totally right, but knowing that one had to be wrong. As an ump, those moments made my job fun, and getting 'nose-to-nose' was part of my job description.

I was correct in every call I made, regardless of what managers, players or replay may have said. To me, that's the reason I'm in the Hall of Fame. If I didn't umpire with conviction, I wouldn't have made it for long.

You argue with the umpire because there is nothing else you can do about it.

I set out to be the best umpire of my time. But I don't know what it takes to be great.

I was a great base umpire, but I was the most mediocre plate umpire to ever come into the major leagues.

My first and only experience in baseball, the coach signed me up; he didn't tell me there's a thing called the curveball. I didn't know that. So the ball's coming at me and I start backing out, and then it broke inside. And the umpire says, 'Strike one!' And I'm saying, 'How is that a strike? It almost hit me!'

Personally, I thought it was probably uncalled for, but the umpire thought it was the right thing to do. We couldn't believe he got ejected.

One umpire was looking at the other, ... I don't think they had the greatest position. ... I guess he gets the advantage because he's a Gold Glover.

More and more Georgians are anxious about this kind of taking of property. I think more and more Georgians are going to demand that the government not be allowed to abuse their power, ... Simply put, government should be the umpire and not the player.

Of course, it's very frustrating to see the umpire making a clear mistake but he doesn't want to change his mind no matter what.

My curveball was actually a strike about 80 percent of the time. The umpire had a high zone and I think that helped me a little.

I got frustrated because I saw the replay and I read his lips. I went out and the umpire threw me out and I got mad. You can't just sit back. It was an offensive play and I was frustrated.

I don't know why he got ejected. We had 14 people in the dugout yelling at the umpire and I guess he just picked out the manager. There was no warning or anything. I think it helped us.

Me and Tejada were looking at the umpire the whole time, wondering what kind of call he was going to make. We were wondering if the ball was out or (Erstad) got it in his glove. One umpire called an out, so obviously Tejada went back to first base. Then the other umpire said the ball was out. But by the time he made the call, I had already passed Tejada.

She made a great catch. The umpire later told me he made a mistake on the call. We were ahead. It changed the momentum.

I can't remember his name, but he said that Cal was the best balls and strikes umpire in the game.

Getting thrown out of the game is no big deal for me. Just protecting your players. I thought the ball was low. You say your little piece and the umpire doesn't want to hear it and he throws you out of the game.

I don't think it should be too bad. I've seen back home in cricket, you have the third umpire for run-outs, stuff like that. It all happens pretty quickly.

Because of the history and Ambres got hit earlier, ... I guess Mike (home plate umpire Mike Everitt) felt like Zack sent a message.

I also act as Umpire in Chief for local state tournaments, hiring and overseeing the umpires, and settling any contested plays.

He just threw me a couple of pitches there that I didn't think were strikes, but the umpire didn't see it that way.

We have to accept the umpire's decision. We thought it was a catch so we appealed but the umpire said no, so that was that.

He did not ask for the third umpire to be consulted, but when he made that move and spoke to the officials I believe his involvement played a part in prompting the referral.

He loved it. He would umpire during the season and he would deliver fuel oil for my company during the winter.

My perspective on that was I don't think the call was made correctly. My perspective was if it's a catch, the ball would have stayed in his glove. It's pretty elementary for me. He (plate umpire Mike Winters) called me nuts. It's not the first time I've been called that.

I was changing my clothes. Then the referee came and started getting on me about changing my clothes, so that was fun. You know, asked him if he wanted to tie one shoe for me, and I could tie the other one, we could just save time. I guess that wasn't a good idea. But, no, I mean, I was just changing my clothes. I told the chair umpire I was going to.

I said I thought the umpire was quick on the trigger but I thought you snapped. I also told him I certainly don't want to take that emotion from him. I don't want him out there worried about what he's going to say or do. Hopefully, I'll get to him before it happens again. I never want to take his passion away from him because I think he needs it to pitch.

I think this the umpire who decide any one out or not out rather the umpires are in better position to answer.

I thought it was a close play. I'll leave it up to the umpire to call.

It actually speeds the match up, ... You do the challenge, you look at it, it takes 15 to 30 seconds and you're done with it. (Now) when you have a really big call that goes against you and you have an argument with the umpire and the linesman it takes a lot of time.

I talked to the umpire after the game and he said he thinks its nerves. We can't put our finger on it. Maybe it's just they don't know how to get ready yet. Basically it's coming from long days in school, and coming out and not really knowing what to expect.

I think the home-plate umpire made a bad call on the balk because the batter had asked for time. And I think that threw Kristen off because she had just given up back-to-back doubles and she didn't need anymore problems.

I think their coach made a good decision. The umpire went and talked to him and he was in complete agreement. Their players were saying their hamstrings were hurting from running in the grass and he didn't want to lose anybody.

It hit my bat. I turned around and the umpire said it hit me. I'm not going to tell him I fouled it off.

It hit my glove and the ball came up. The umpire must have thought it hit the ground but it hit the tip of my glove and came up.

It didn't hit me. I turned, and he told me it hit me. When the umpire tells you to go to first base, you go to first base. I'm not going to tell him I fouled it off.

I thought that we made that play at first on Erstad's at-bat, but the umpire said we missed the bag.

When I hit the ball, I knew that I had hit it high enough to hit the wall. But there were shadows on the net behind the wall and I didn't see the ball land there. I didn't know I had hit a homer until I saw the umpire at first signaling home run with his hand. I couldn't believe it.

We've moved on as a team. This is a good umpiring crew ? even the umpire that's gone through all of this. He's done a great job. I just hope all this doesn't become nasty today.

We've moved on as a team. What's really sad about it, and I think everybody will agree, is that this umpiring crew is a great crew. We like this umpire crew. I've been listening to the radios and everything, and I haven't heard any really positive things about what's going on. ... He's done a great job. I just hope all this doesn't become nasty today.

I shouldn't have done it. He thought I was showing the umpire up.

You cannot be on the board of directors and also be doing investment banking work for the company. I don't care if he steps out of the room or not. You cannot be the umpire and the pitcher in the same game.

The State Umpire in Chief rewards umpires who want to work top games by assigning them to national tournaments, and I have been fortunate to work three nationals.

When you go against a guy like Greg Maddux or a Roger Clemens, I don't care if it's a regular season game, is a guy with that kind of command and if he starts getting an edge he pushes and pushes it so it's up to whoever the umpire is,

The wrong umpire made the initial call. It was my call and I had him leaving early.

The wrong umpire made the initial call. That's the plate umpire's call. I had it lined up. It's my call, and I had him leaving early and called him out.

You had to pitch in and out, ... Then, the zone didn't belong to the hitters; it belonged to the pitchers. Today, if you pitch too far inside, the umpire would stop you right there. I don't think it's fair. If you are trying to hurt somebody, that's different.

You had to pitch in and out. The zone didn't belong to the hitters; it belonged to the pitchers. Today, if you pitch too far inside, the umpire would stop you right there. I don't think it's fair.

Brian Knight hustled over to third base where he's supposed to be but he doesn't have the tag-up call. That's the plate umpire's call. I had it lined up. The wrong umpire made the initial call. The plate umpire, which is me, it's my call and I had him leaving early.

Facing batters who are swinging the bat gave me a chance to see whether I'm being deceptive with my pitches. The best thing was having an umpire behind the plate for the first time. It gave me a better read about what I'm doing instead of having coaches tell me my pitches look good.

No two umpires, or no two referees, have the same strike zone or call the same kind of a basketball game, ... And ballplayers and basketball players understand that, depending upon who the umpire is and who the referee is, the game can be called entirely differently.

Back in those days, you didn't have to go to an umpire school to be hired in pro ball. League presidents could hire whomever they wanted.

You're told by the umpire that you're allowed to pitch inside. What does that do? You're allowed to pitch inside until we feel like in our minds that you're throwing at someone intentionally. How do you know when that is?

That's just the way things are going for us. We could have gotten a run out of it, but we wouldn't have gotten out of the double play. He tried to curl out of the tag and the umpire made the right call.

That was a bad call. Even if he left the bag a little bit, it's a normal play here and he's a rookie umpire who called it different.

A local umpire might have known the local conditions better.

Probably the best I saw was a guy they said took pitches too much, that he should have tried to hit a ball even if it was a little outside: It was Ted Williams. They say he would tell the umpire whether it was a ball or strike.

Europe needs an umpire to ensure fair play between member states and to dismiss the cheats. The Commission is the only body that comes close to fitting that role.

There's going to be two video boards on the center court that will be visible by the players, the chair umpire and all the spectators. Once a challenge is made, then the review official that's with the technicians, once he determines that the correct impact has been identified, gives the order to release the video to the boards. Then everybody will see the result at the same time. The entire process will take less than 10 seconds.

There's no limit to how many times a player can ask a chair umpire to check out a mark but it doesn't mean the chair umpire is obliged to get out of the chair.

The part of the game that fans will soon miss: the argument between manager and umpire! There was something special about watching a manger and umpire both convinced they were totally right, but knowing that one had to be wrong. As an ump, those moments made my job fun, and getting 'nose-to-nose' was part of my job description.

After the game the plate umpire said Valle was around the plate with every pitch. He pitched well, especially for the climate.

I knew he was trying to hit me, ... I asked the umpire to do something about it, but he did nothing. Our coach came out and asked him to issue a warning, but he didn't. The umpire did absolutely nothing about it.

I know that she does it and that's her way. I was not too much asking the umpire to speed things up because I know it's her way, but still, I think on the serve, you should go with the pace of the server.

I kind of knew I stole it. I looked at the nearest umpire and he had the out sign, so I thought I sold it pretty good.

I have now discussed the incident with the chair umpire concerned and we have agreed it will be in the best interests of both parties if he takes no further part in the event,

The ball was foul, and you could see the mark where it hit the ground on the other side of the base. The umpire called it foul and changed his mind.

Damnedest thing I ever saw in my life. I believe Joe Carter might have taken the centerpiece of the ball. The umpire didn't know what to do, so they gave him a single.

Every umpire hired into the major leagues came from the minors. It's like being paid to go to school for the diploma and training you need for the chance at a very well-paid job.

Their guys were swinging the bat, but the umpire had a strike zone I liked and things were working for me out there.

It's Bush League, but talking to the umpire I saw the whole thing unfolding in front of my eyes thinking we were going to get cheated.

I just told the first-base umpire that he made his call a little too quick. It was a close, bang-bang play, and we all saw that the call was not the right decision. I just told the guy to let the play develop a little bit longer before calling him out or safe.

I heard the umpire say, 'You better get going.

He swung. He definitely swung. I don't know why the umpire didn't see that.

He (the crew chief) has the obligation and right to make the correct call. If he feels a mistake has been made, he has the right to overturn it. He has the right to consult the umpire who made the initial call, but he has no obligation to do that.

I didn't even, like, look at it. It was close. I was just going to do what the umpire said,

I didn't even really see the pitch. I thought it was a ball because the umpire didn't say anything. It was a delayed call. So I was just going on the umpire.

I didn't think he caught it. I was looking at the umpire the whole time and he called him out. Thank you. He owns me right now.

He's the guy that deserves the credit. Hopefully, this thing will turn into me being like a good umpire -- you'll never even recognize me.

Generally, if there's any question, I would either tag the guy or throw the ball to first or turn around and look at the umpire and show him the ball and get a definitive out call, ... I see both sides of the issue. I think in Josh Paul's mind, there was no question, and the replay seems to show he caught the ball. I understand why he assumed the batter was out, but by the same token he did reach down toward the ground.

He said the first baseman caught the ball, I saw it completely different. I asked him to ask the other umpire and he said it was my call and I'm not going to ask the other umpire. I really need to watch what I say. I've been reprimanded before. That didn't have a whole heck of a lot of bearing on the ball game. It was pretty well out of reach, but let's just put it this way: I've got a control pitcher on the mound and he walks five guys in three innings. That's all I'll say. He hasn't walked five guys in five games.

It's hard to describe the sense of pride. You're there for his athletic skills, but you also realize your son is a quality human being. The head umpire told me he was respectful and very kind, even under pressure. To me, as a father, that was as good as winning the World Series.

I remember an umpire called one of our players out, and he clearly wasn't, so my dad chased the umpire around the field.

Any time an umpire gets into an argument and won't call a strike, it's no fun.

All these things can help a little bit, sure. It's going to make the umpire look like the bully. But there's nothing wrong with trying.

The hand is quicker than the eye, I guess. It's one of those where you just show the umpire and hope that you get the call.

The hitter can take off, but as a catcher when an umpire calls him out, rings him up with a fist, he is out.

The umpire didn't give me a pitch, the slider. Delgado hit a good pitch.

The umpire did the best he could, but some pitches were so far out. You can't call balls one and two feet over the batters head strikes.

The umpire (Gary Darling) got mad, ... He said, 'Shut up and pick up the bat.'

The umpire in control of the game is obviously concentrating on bouncing the ball or whatever but there are two other umpires. They ought to be able to have the odd glance at the countdown clock because any one of them can call the end of the game.

The umpire looked at me like I was crazy.

The umpire must have thought I said something to him when I didn't. But we got the win, and that's all that matters.

The umpire said he went to his mouth. It was a bad call. It was a mistaken call. It's unfortunate that the game, in my opinion, turned on that. You don't know what's going to happen, but it takes it out of the players hands. He did not go to his mouth. He was sweating profusely on his face. He wiped his eyebrow (and came) across his nose and caught it on his face. It was a bad call, plain and simple.

The umpire talked to me and said (the pitches) were very close, they were just a little off. After the second inning, I think I turned around and discovered a little something I was doing wrong. I think I was rushing and I was definitely leaving the ball up a little bit.

The umpire told us that was going to be the last inning and that they were going to call the game. So we knew we would win if we could hold on. They came through with some big hits at opportune times.

The umpire was a little uncomfortable with me, but I didn't pay much attention to him. I knew I had to go to the next hitter, and that's what I concentrated on.

The umpire was a little uncomfortable with me. I just didn't pay attention to it. The pitch was inside and I thought it was a good pitch. My only reaction was 'Wow!' and he came running at and said, 'Don't do that again.