TRAINING ROOM
8
THE MENTUS GAME
It’s Always the Umpire’s Fault
RON MENTUS,
RLM ATHLETICS
by
He’s safe!
No, he’s out!
Well, which is it?
As often as not, any number
of coaches, players or fans
will stubbornly conclude that
whatever decision the umpire
has made, it’s the wrong one.
“In many ways, the umpires
are paid scapegoats,” says
Rich Marazzi, who for more
than 20 years was an official
at the high school, college
and independent professional
levels. “The greatest compliment that an umpire gets is
silence.”
Feeling that an understanding of baseball’s rules would
enhance the athletic experience, Marazzi founded
RULEBALL, which is the art
of winning games through the
knowledge and application of
the game’s official rules. A native of Ansonia, Connecticut,
Marazzi’s vast knowledge of
baseball’s rules has led him
to become a consultant to
several major league clubs. It
is not unusual for him to get a
phone call in mid-season from some big league manager to review
a play that involved a controversial decision resulting in a rules application by an umpire.
Marazzi was asked by Baseball The Magazine to offer his opinions on a variety of subjects that involve the game and the way it is
played and officiated.
BBTM: What should fans know about umpires?
RM: Most fans have never umpired. They don’t realize there’s judgment involved and there are rules interpretations. You’ve got to be
a psychologist and you’ve got to control the game. Most fans have
never felt what it’s like being on the field. There’s so much that
goes into it, where you have to make so many decisions. You’re
always expected to be perfect. There’s no room for failure; that’s
why it’s a tough job.
Page 86 • www.batwars.com • www.baseballthemag.com
BBTM: Are umpires intimidated by crowd behavior?
RM: I think some are—they’re human. People forget that. Some umpires hate to be yelled at and can’t handle it. Other umpires will get
combative if they’re yelled at. They take it differently; you can’t paint
everybody with the same brush. No human likes to be screamed at
or yelled at and called names.
Some umpires will probably quit because of the fans’ howling and
all that stuff. Some umpires possibly could make a call by the fact
that they were intimidated by a previous call that went the other
way. The umpire is not supposed to have makeup calls, but I think
sometimes it can happen.
BBTM: What are some of the umpires’ difficulties in the game itself?
RM: Some games you could work from a rocking chair, they’re very
easy. The pitches are around the plate, the plays are being made
and everything is going well. Then you’ll have another game where
everything seems to go wrong. There are crazy plays and unusual,
strange things happening.
Sometimes when you’re behind the plate, your strike zone may not
be that sharp on a given day. So probably the answer to that would
be consistency. Sometimes the game itself determines whether or
not people think the umpire did a good job. If everything goes well
and no one says a word, that’s your greatest compliment: silence.
BBTM: Is the game being taken too seriously?
RM: I think we’re too result-oriented and people get caught up in the
moment. We’re in a society where it’s all about being number one.
Numbers two and three aren’t good enough anymore. They don’t
accept the fact that everybody can’t be number one.
(Fans) are not fair when it comes to umpires. A plate umpire may
make 300 decisions on pitches during the course of a game. The
guy could make 295 great calls and maybe he misses three or four
pitches. If it goes against their team, they go bonkers.
Marazzi feels there’s often an unhealthy element with the way fans,
players and coaches view the game and officials’ decisions. Each
side has something at stake; when the outcome isn’t favorable to
their own interests, the carping and groaning can reach fever-pitch
levels.
Here are his suggestions to parents, players and coaches.
To Parents/Players:
“Some parents live vicariously through their children; they’re biased
because they want their teams to win. However there’s a difference
between being biased and being unfair when it deals with officials,
who are supposed to be neutral. That’s the way you’re supposed to
look at it, but some parents don’t get it.
“I would suggest to parents that they teach their children that they
should worry about the game—improve as a ballplayer---and don’t
let the officials get into their heads. Whatever happens as far as
calls go, they have no control over that. They can only control what
they do themselves, and do it to the best of their ability.
“No one is bigger than the game. I would tell parents to have their
student-athletes divorce themselves from the (officiating) and to
learn self-discipline and self-control. That way they get the officials
out of the equation. Once the athlete realizes that his parents or
coach is going to blame the officials for his or her failure, that’s very
unhealthy at any level of the sport.
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Continued from page 86
It’s Always the Umpire’s Fault
“Basically, the players should worry about their own business and
let the umpires deal with what they have to deal with. Once they start
using the umpires as a crutch, using them as the reasons they lost,
now you’re not attacking the core problem of why you lost. They’re not
breaking the game down for all the mistakes they made themselves.”
To Coaches:
“Coaches need to learn the rule book as much as they can. The
coaches who know the baseball rule book very well, know the interpretations and understand what umpires go through become more
successful because they can put all the components together.
“They realize the umpire’s involvement in the game and they can
look at the umpire from a different perspective because they’re knowledgeable about the rules. People forget that coaches have different
levels of rules knowledge. The ones who have the most knowledge
know how to utilize the rules to win games.
“(Some coaches) don’t know the rules because no one has ever
taught them. It’s very important to know what you don’t know. Coaches should know what the rules are so they don’t go out (to challenge
a call) and start talking foolishly. If they go out and act as a gentleman
that knows the rules, they’ll have a better chance of getting a call
reversed. And they’ll become a better coach for it.”
Over the years, this space has been a strong advocate of sportsmanship and character. Too often, those qualities are lacking and blatantly
ignored. Fingers of blame are easily pointed, but all of us need to be
more instrumental in halting the decline in appropriate behavior—by
all concerned—on baseball diamonds around the country.
In his experience, Marazzi has noted much of the above sentiments.
Now he shares his thoughts on the issue of sportsmanship with some
pragmatic views.
BBTM: Is there a need for better sportsmanship in the game?
RM: Absolutely! Sportsmanship is just being decent; that’s all it is.
People should be decent with each other. Life is difficult enough.
Sports are recreation and everybody needs to respect everybody
else.
Once the game starts, we tend to lose that. People’s personalities
change; some become (like) Jekylls and Hydes. Some are the
nicest people off the field as players or coaches. On the field, in
the (heat) of battle, they do a transformation.
Umpires need to respect coaches and players, and vice versa.
If everybody—including parents-- has mutual respect, then you
have a better chance for a consistent level of sportsmanship. But
everybody has to buy into it.
For 25 years, Marazzi has been a writer for Baseball Digest,
with a column based on the rules of baseball. He conducts a
weekly program on ESPN Radio (1300 AM) in New Haven. For
16 years he umpired Old Timers’ Day games at Yankee Stadium.
In his “spare” time during the baseball season, he hosts a weekly
two-hour session with a group called Silver Sluggers, which takes
place at the Derby Public Library.
For a better understanding of baseball rules and applications,
check out Marazzi’s Web site: www.ruleball.com.
It’s time to Play Ball!
Ron Mentus was awarded Collegiate Baseball’s Sportsmanship Award in 2002. He is available to conduct seminars/
clinics and accept speaking engagements on the topics of
sportsmanship and character.
Contact him at: 203-740-7986
or rlmathletics@aolcom.
RLM Athletics is located in
Brookfield, CT.
Baseball The Magazine
Issue 1 • 2013
Page 87