The Arrogance of Umpires

MLB umpire Joe West found himself in the midst of another controversy on Wednesday - a balking call controversy with White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen (no surprise) and pitcher Mark Buehrle. The last time West was in a controversy it involved attempting to speed up games, first with the Yankees and Red Sox and later with the Rays and White Sox. While West isn't a typical MLB umpire, he's a good example of their arrogance.

Baseball games are essentially in the hands of umpires - and they know it. They know they can influence games whichever way they want by blowing a call (or two or three) and later claim it was "human error." It's quite obvious (and becomes more so all the time - the 2009 postseason was a terrible one for umpires) that it doesn't really matter to them whether they get calls right or not.

There's no easy way to fix this problem. Taking games completely out of the hands of umpires is out of the question. That would mean drastic changes to the game of baseball itself with electronic strike zones and instant replays for everything from doubles to stolen bases. Joe West has caused far too many controversies this year alone and should be fired, but that seems too harsh a punishment for most umpires. They simply need to be taught to respect the game and the teams. This could be done through fines and suspensions - or perhaps bonuses for not getting calls wrong. The point is that umpires will continue to blow calls until it is in their best interest to get them right.

Then again, maybe Congress should intervene. That would fix everything.

Hydra
6-4-3 double play... Ballgame over! Yankees win! Theeeeeee Yankees win!