The Umpire Was Blind!: Controversial Calls by MLB's Men in Blue

by Jonathan Weeks

Overview

In the words of former American League umpire Nestor Chylak, umpires are expected to "be perfect on the first day of the season and then get better every day." Forced to deal with sullen managers and explosive players, they often take the blame for the failures of both. But let's face it--umpires are only human.

For well over a century, the fortunes of Major League teams--and the fabric of baseball history itself--have been dramatically affected by the flawed decisions of officials. While the use of video replay in recent decades has reduced the number of bitter disputes, many situations remain exempt from review and are subject to swirling controversy. In the heat of the moment mistakes are often made, sometimes with monumental consequences. This book details some of these more controversial calls and the men who made them.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476680323
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	06/15/2020
Pages:	214
Sales rank:	1,066,767
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.43(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Jonathan Weeks has authored several sports biographies and two novels. He lives in Malone, New York.

Table of Contents

Preface 1

Introduction. The Devil We Know: A Very Brief History of Umpiring 3

Part 1 The Umpire Giveth, the Umpire Taketh Away: Streaks and Records Helped or Hindered by Umpires 9

Johnny Vander Meer's Consecutive No-Hitters 9

Joe DiMaggio's 56-Game Hitting Streak 13

Don Larsen's Perfect World Series Game 17

Bob Shaw's Balk-a-Thon 20

Don Drysdale's Consecutive Scoreless Innings Streak 23

Orel Hershiser's Consecutive Scoreless Innings Streak 27

The 1998 Home Run Chase (Featuring Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa) 30

Kerry Wood's 20-Strikeout Performance 34

Armando Galarraga's Near-Perfect Game 37

Max Scherzer's Near-Perfect Game 40

Part 2 The Road to October: Critical Calls During the Regular Season 43

Bob Ferguson's Campaign Against Gambling 43

Tim Hurst and the Beer Glass Incident 45

Soggy Games in Pittsburgh: Round 1 47

Soggy Games in Pittsburgh: Round 2 50

Fred Merkle's Infamous Blunder 52

Stuffy McInnis's Gift Homer 59

Germany Schaefer Steals First Base 61

Bill Brennan Imposes His Iron Will 64

The Indecision of Charles Johnston 67

Red Jones's Fourteen Ejections 70

Two Balls in Play at Wrigley Field 72

Don Money's Nullified Grand Slam 74

The Pine Tar Game 77

Wild Card Tiebreaker Game 81

Bill Hohn's Fist Bump 84

19-Inning Marathon Ended by Jerry Meals's Blown Call 86

Part 3 The Victors and the Spoils: Playoff Controversies 89

The Jeffrey Maier Game 89

Livan Hernandez's 15-Strikeout Performance 92

The 1998 ALCS Disaster 95

1999 ALCS: The Phantom Tag and Other Issues 98

Pierzynski and the Uncaught Third Strike 101

Midges Invade Jacob's Field 104

2009 Playoffs: The Fall Guys 106

2010 Playoffs: Bad Calls in Multiple Rounds 111

2012 NL Wild Card Game: Improperly Invoked Infield Fly Rule 114

2015 ALCS Game 6: A Wet, Wild Finish in Kansas City 117

2016 NLCS Game 4: Angel Hernandez's Blown Call at Home Plate 120

2017 NLDS Game 5: Nationals Lose on Account of Jerry Layne's Mistakes 123

Part 4 Legends of the Fall: Infamous World Series Debates 127

1885 World's Championship Series: Umpire David Sullivan's Hot Mess 127

1911 World Series Game 5: The Run That Shouldn't Have Counted 130

1925 World Series Game 3: Sam Rice's Mystery Catch 135

1935 World Series Game 3: Moriarty Defies Landis with 3 Ejections 138

1948 World Series Game 1: Bill Stewart's Blown Pickoff Call on Phil Masi 142

1955 World Series Game 1: Jackie Robinson Steals Home 145

1969 World Series Game 5: The Old Shoe Polish Trick 149

1970 World Series Game 1: Ken Burkhart's Miraculous Behind-the-Back Call 152

1975 World Series Game 3: Armbrister Interferes with Fisk 155

1978 World Series Game 4: Reggie Jackson Interferes with Infield Throw 158

1985 World Series Game 6: Don Denkinger's Blown Call at First Base 161

1998 World Series Game 1: Rich Garcia Gives Tino Martinez an Extra Pitch to Work With 164

2006 World Series Game 2: Kenny Rogers and the "Smudgegate" Affair 166

2011 World Series Games 3 and 7: Ron Kulpa and Jerry Layne Make a Mess of Things 170

2013 World Series Game 3: Cardinals Score Game-Winner on Obstruction Call at Third Base 172

2017 World Series Game 5: Bill Miller's Oddly Shaped Strike Zone 175

Notes 179

Bibliography 187

Index 197