As They See 'Em - A Look at Baseball's Umpires: Bruce Weber's Book Convincingly Argues Against "Killing the Ump"

Baseball fans are willing to forgive the players almost anything – Alex Rodriguez's popularity wasn't damaged by his steroid admission, there are persistent calls to reinstate Pete Rose despite his confessed betting, and Los Angeles fans adore Manny Ramirez despite his history of blowing off games and his recent conviction of drug use.

Yet these same fans have no sympathy for the umpires who keep the game more honest and fair than often the owners or commissioners are willing to do. Bruce Weber's new book, As They See 'Em - A Fan's Travels in the Land of Umpires attempts to answer the obvious question: Why would anyone want the job?

It is a measure of how good this book is that Weber can present the details and insights of a very demanding, often unrewarding job, yet still convey its attractions. And, most importantly, at the end of the book, the reader is convinced that instead of yelling "Kill the Ump", every baseball fan should be yelling "Hail the Ump."

The Need for a Baseball Sociologist

Weber started this book after he realized that the average baseball fan knows very little about the art of being a baseball umpire. Much of the reason is the incredibly tight, almost secretive community in which umpires function. To quote Weber, "Indeed, the presumption of this book is that professional umpires are an unusually isolated and circumscribed group, sort of like the inhabitants of a remote country that few people have ever visited, and that I am the sociologist who was dispatched to send back word of what life is like there."

And Weber is an excellent sociologist who is willing to do the field work. He starts by attending one of only two umpiring schools (Evans and Wendelstedt) that have the seal of approval from Major League Baseball. Surprisingly, the school term only lasts five weeks, which the reader realizes is an astonishingly short time after Weber introduces the level of complexity that umpires face every day in their job.

Multitude of Split-Second Decisions to Call a Baseball Play

One of the most interesting elements in this book is the detail of decisions that umpires must make before, during and after each play, often in split seconds. And it's a lot more than just calling strikes. Each base umpire must decide where to position himself to get the best view of maybe a dozen different possibilities that could happen when a ball is hit. He must learn how to throw his mask off to view an attempt at a fly ball. He must decide where to stand to avoid interfering with the play. And the umpire does all this often in physically challenging positions.

Keeping Control of the Game

Weber also explores the elements necessary to keep control of a game. A good baseball umpire needs to be not only a psychologist, but sometimes the adult who breaks up fights in the playground. He needs to know how to let intensely competitive players let off steam, yet keep an imaginary line in mind when strong action is required to take control of the game. And he must learn to hold his own when a call is made, regardless of the abuse the umpire might take from players, management, the fans, and, sadly, even the commissioner's office.

Almost Always On the Road to Nowhere

Weber follows the course that the vast majority of umpires who start out take, most of whom will eventually reach a dead end. There are less than 75 major league umpires, who can hold their jobs for a long time. And it's a long road to even get in line for a major league opening. Umpires start in the minor leagues, earning $1,900 a month for only five months while sleeping in dirt cheap motels after driving over several hundred miles for each game.

"It's My Game"

However, the book is far more than just an insider's look into the life of a minor -- and major -- league baseball umpire. Weber also explores in depth the politics, unions, and difficult relationship with Major League Baseball.

But ultimately, where Weber is especially successful is his insight into the psyche of the men (and a very few women) who choose the profession. He interviewed numerous umpires, all of whom add bits to the puzzle of what keeps them showing up at the baseball park. Ultimately, as one umpire says, "We know how the game should be played. We know the right way to play the game." And later on, "This is my game."

As They See 'Em - A Fan's Travels in the Land of Umpires by Bruce Weber, published by Scribner, New York, 2009, ISBN 0743295114, $26.00

(The reviewer did have one quibble; this book would have been improved by including an index.)

Aug 31, 2009 4:04 PM

Guest :

Bruce Weber's book has actually been out for some time, and Lindsay McSweeney does a fine job of capturing its essence and flavor in her review. But the persistent use of parentheses when mentioning women umpires has got to stop! Women are not parenthetical to the baseball landscape; we are as integral to it as any male umpire, and when writers and reviewers start treating us as if we are, the public perception of umpires will undergo an even greater rehabilitation than it does in Weber's excellent book.

We may be few and far between, but that's not for lack of effort or desire. There is still, even in this day and age, resistance to the idea of a woman as the ultimate authority on a baseball field, and I know whereof I speak as I've been dealing with it for almost thirty years, from the time I first went to Harry Wendlestedt's Umpire School in 1982 to the present day. If reviewers like Lindsay McSweeney would take us out of the parentheses and place us alongside our male counterparts where we have earned a spot through diligence and unflinching dedication to the craft of umpiring, it would go a long way towards changing the attitudes of those less knowledgeable than she or Bruce Weber about the inner workings of the professional baseball universe.

One day, the phrase "woman umpire" will become as redundant as "woman doctor" or "female astronaut," and putting us in parentheses will seem a quaint relic of twenty-first century literature. Until then, I will protest loudly whenever I see those dreadful punctuation marks! Otherwise, kudos to the reviewer for shining a light on Weber's engrossing examination of the art of umpiring.