Review of
You’re Out and You’re Ugly Too:
Confessions of an Umpire With attitude, by Derwood Merrill ISBN
0312969007
Five out of five stars
Loved the book, hate the title
The umpires of professional baseball have a unique
perspective on the game. They have to make instantaneous decisions and believe
in the old saying, “You have to be perfect your first day and improve over
time.” Baseball also has the tradition where the players, coaches and managers
can argue with the umpires. In many ways it is part of the theater of the
sport. Nothing riles up the home crowd more than when the manager of their team
and an umpire go face-to-face in what is commonly called a rhubarb.
Longtime baseball
umpire Derwood Merrill has written a book detailing his experiences on the
field. One is struck with how poorly paid umpires are in the minor leagues and
how dangerous it can sometimes be, especially in Latin America. Gunfire and
police escorts are common there.
The insight into
the thought processes of umpires is very revealing, they understand that they
will miss a call on occasion. It reminds you of the saying about cornerbacks in
the NFL. When they get beat for a touchdown, they have to have a short memory,
because there is always another big play coming up. Dwelling on a failure is a
recipe for more failure.
This is an
enjoyable book for any fan of baseball. One of the best points made is that
there has never been even one incident where an umpire’s integrity has been seriously
questioned. When the gamblers that paid off the Chicago Black Sox were asked
why they didn’t try to bribe the umpires, they responded by saying, “The price
was too high.” When asked for specifics, the response was, “They were on a very
high floor and if we had gone to them, they would have thrown us out the
window.”
Merrill has
many stories to tell, and he has made the sports world richer for his telling
them. However, the title is awful, personal insults like that get people kicked
out of ballgames.
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