The baseball umpire is nearly as big a part of the baseball landscape as the players. While nobody buys a ticket to see the umpire call strikes or rule that a ball was fair or foul, the umpire must do his job fairly, honestly and consistently for the game of baseball to have integrity. The umpire is not supposed to be confrontational with players and managers, but he must maintain his authority in order to make decisions effectively.
Function
The baseball umpire is involved in every play that takes place on the field. In Major League Baseball games, four umpires are on the field. One is stationed behind home plate and makes ball and strike calls on every pitch that ends up in the catcher's mitt. He also makes calls on plays at the plate. The other umpires are stationed in the vicinity of first, second and third bases. They must make safe and out calls as well as a fair and foul calls on every ball hit in their directions.
Significance
A baseball game will often be uneventful as far as the umpire is concerned. The calls at the bases are obvious and the balls and strikes called behind the plate might not precipitate any argument. However, some games have a slew of close calls. The umpire must decide quickly what happened. His call will make one team happy and one team angry. Players and coaches from the team that has been negatively affected by the decision might dispute the decision. However, the umpire's decision is final.
History
Umpires have been a part of the game since the National League was organized in 1876. Umpires have been widely recognized by the sport for their long service and hard work. Bill Klem, Jocko Conlan, Bill Kunkel, Al Barlick, Billy Evans and Cal Hubbard are among the umpires in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. Klem, who umpired in the National League for 36 years, was asked upon his retirement if he had made any calls that he regretted. "Why would I regret any call," Klem responded. "I never made a mistake." While Klem's words could be mistaken for arrogance, they represent the care and decisiveness an umpire must have every time he takes the field.
Instant Replay
Instant replay has been introduced to baseball and is used to determine whether some balls are home runs or not. Because many baseball fields have yellow home run lines painted on their fences, it can be difficult to tell whether a ball is in play or a home run. On close calls, players are instructed to play out the ball as if it hit the wall. After the play is over, umpires consult a TV replay and make a decision on the home run call. This change in the rules has gone over well with players, managers, fans and umpires.
Expert Insight
Umpires must stay on top of the action from the first pitch. Despite Klem's claim of infallibility, umpires make mistakes. While mistakes usually cannot be undone, the only recourse for the umpire is to try to continue to make decisions as fairly and honestly as possible. An umpire should never try to have a "make-up" call if he feels he has made a mistake.
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