In the wake of the NBA basketball officiating scandal involving Tim Donaghy, the MBL has requested that MLB umpires submit to background checks as part of their employment agreement. Not suprisingly, Lamell McMorris, a spokesman for the World Umpires Assiation, the labor union for MLB umpires doesn’t like the idea. While MLB should be concerned that a scandal similar to the one the NBA is now dealing with could infect baseball, they should worry less about umpires fixing game and more about the overall quality of umpiring. In last night’s nationally televised Mets-Cubs game I witness two troubling trends. First, Mets starter Tom Glavine, who was going for his 300th career win, seemed to be getting a very charitable strike zone from the Home Plate Umpire. More than a handful of mid-eighties breaking balls were called for strike when ESPN’s K-Zone showed they weren’t even close. But even worse was when the same home plate umpire was hit in the mask with a foul tip and showed signs of dizziness and blurred vision. After the mic’d up crew decided replace him, they changed their minds back after the umpire essentially pleaded to remain behind the plate despite obvious sign that his performnace could be compromised. Since baseball game are hard to fix, even for a homeplate umpire, I’d rather see the efforts of the league go toward inplementing a useful checks and balances process that repeated evaluates umpire judgement and performance. Then they would have to worry about umps rigging games because it wouldn’t be possible.
Baseball needs to address poor officiating in the league, not background checks, mob ties and game fixing.
Very good written post. It will be supportive to anybody who usess it, as well as yours truly
. Keep up the good work – can’r wait to read more posts.