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Thursday, April 10, 2014

"Umpires": America's Sport Baseball



I love baseball! I was born with baseball blood pulsing through my veins. My father played the game, long before I was born, He was a catcher, He became quite friendly with many umpires during his semi pro career. He was wonderful to watch baseball games with! He knew everything. I know so many wonderful stories about different players.  My dad would often say "get some glasses ump" when a bad call was made. I find myself doing that to this very day! I don't know any famous umpires but I know they do have a tough job, making all those calls at the plate!  You know that you can never please everyone and umpires make lots of people unhappy with their calls! The umpire has a very important job, they officiate the game from the beginning to  end. The ump has to enforce all the rules of the game.  They have  to make judgement calls and handles disciplinary actions. They may be addressed as blue due to the uniform their wear. Players and managers seldom use the term.  They prefer to address the umpire by their name. Games were often officiated by a sole umpire but at the turn of the 20th century , officiating has been commonly divided  among several umpires, called an umpire crew.
I hope you have enjoyed this little tidbit about umpires. Tell me if you watch baseball and do you have a favorite team, a favorite player? My father was a life long Yankees fan and although he would have loved seeing Colorado get a major league team of their own (the Colorado Rockies) I know his heart was always true to the New York Yankees. I know I have mentioned this before but he once caught at home plate while the "Babe" was up to bat. He had an autographed ball and gave it to my oldest brother who gave it to his only son. That ball, as far as I know, resides in the state of Pennsylvania today.

Before I sign off tonight, I will leave with you with some baseball quotes by famous Yankee players. Ah, Joltin Joe DiMaggio. Someday I will tell you a story about Joe, a friend of mine and a SF cable car!
The most handsome Yankee player...Derek Jeter! Sigh, I will be sad when he retires after this season. He sure loved playing the game.
Probably the greatest Yankee to ever play the game, the Sultan of Swing, the Great Bambino, the King of Crash, The colossus of clout! George Herman Ruth, more commonly known as "the Babe".

Stop by Ms. Jenny and visit all the unusual and unique "U" posts today.

10 comments:

Sweet Tea said...

In our younger days my husband worked as an Umpire and a Ref at the high school level. It was a bit of extra cash for we newly-weds. Oh the stories he can tell, which include going to his car after a game one night and finding all four tires slashed!

Denise said...

My precious momma never liked sports, but, after she had her stroke, that changed. She became a huge fan of the Atlanta Braves, watched every game, yelling at the television. lol When she passed away in 2006, I put her little wooden bat, that she got at a Braves game, her little tomahawk, and Braves pillow in the casket. I know that would have made her smile.

Karen @ Beatrice Euphemie said...

Sweet memories of your Dear Dad! Yes, umpires have difficult jobs, much like prosecutors in a trial! My Dad was a Red Sox fan, even after moving to Washington State. His son in law's (5 daughters, no sons) would take him to the Mariner's games in Seattle when they played the Red Sox and sit on the opposing side for that one game. My favorite player was Ken Griffey Jr. when he played for the Mariners. xo Karen

Anonymous said...

I am not a huge baseball fan, but I enjoyed watching my son play. I actually took my turn as base ump when they were short on volunteers. Glad I don't have to do it at a professional level.

Intense Guy said...

When I was a little boy, I used to listen to the Philadelphia Phillies games on the radio in bed at night. They had an announcer team with silky voices, Harry Kalas and Rich Ashburn - they both have gone to the field of dreams now.

Since ball players became so grossly overpaid, I stopped watching or paying any attention.

Parsley said...

Popping in to catch up reading and to say HELLO.

fredamans said...

I've always like The Yankees too, but also cheer for the Blue Jays. Have to living up here, people might get mad. LOL

Lola said...

Always used to watch intently when I lived in the USA!

Edna B said...

I love baseball and cheer for the Red Sox! I've lived here all my life so I'm a die hard Red Sox fan. My hubby loved baseball too, and played on several softball leagues. He pitched to the young fellas right up till he was 70 years old. Now one of my grandsons and a great grandson play baseball. It's the best sport!

As for country music, I grew up with it and just love it. My girl friend and I went to Nashville many years back, and spent a week at Fan Fair. We got to sit and chat with George Strait as well as many other stars and had our photos taken with a lot of them. It was a heavenly week for us.

Our weather is finally feeling quite Springy and soon I can put all my new plants and bulbs into the garden. I love flowers. Well, it's nap time for me. I have to work tonight. You have a wonderful day, hugs, Edna B.

Mevely317 said...

Your dad sure sounds like the father of my best-friend in high school: having no sons of his own, "Liz" became her dad's pal and could spit out BB statistics and names better than most boys we knew. (Me, on the other hand never much cared for the game.)

It's sometimes scary seeing all the 'heck' that umps and football refs get from disgruntled fans -- I've even heard of them having to get police escorts to and from the games!!!!