photobyalan
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MudInYerEye said:
Exactly what would you hope to achieve by getting him to admit he made a mistake? The game is over, the result will not change. Do you expect him to be fired or resign for one missed call that required super-slow-motion instant replay to prove that it was missed (he only had one chance to see it, and that at full speed). If he admits he was wrong and apologizes, what will that accomplish? Nothing. He knows that, and I expect his reluctance to make such an admission is more reflective of that fact than any arrogance, vanity, or stupidity on his part.
You need to understand how umpires think. Umpires are trained to stick with their judgement calls unless another umpire can provide compelling testimony to overturn a call. If an umpire changes a call because of an argument from a coach, or the fans, he has lost any credibility and opened himself up to being berated for every call from then on, right or wrong, and he would deserve it. An umpire has to stick to his guns, even if the call is bad, if only to show that he will not be bullied into changing calls. How do I know? I used to be an umpire. A good one, at least according to my peers and supervisors who voted me "outstanding umpire" two years in a row. Why don't I do it any more? Because I 'd had enough of the bullsh*t from coaches, threats from drunken fans, and having dirt thrown in my face by a baserunner after a good call that wasn't even close (yes, it really happened and you better believe the player was ejected and banned from the league for the rest of the year).
The ump may have made a mistake in judgement, but this whole mess could have been avoided if the catcher (who, by the way makes one heck of a lot more money to do his job than the entire umpiring crew put together is paid to do theirs) had made the effort to do his job properly. If you want to assign blame, or call someone arrogant and stupid, that's where you should be pointing.
