MLB Umpires are fat and out of shape

[UnderPressure]

Well, not all of them, of course. But is it time for MLB to require their umps to be in shape? I know umps don't move around the playing field like referees do in other sports, but do you think better mobility for umps can lead to better calls? Since MLB doesn't want to have 6 umpires in the regular season, they have to rely on the 1st and 3rd base umps to call a home run or a foul ball. But a lot of them aren't capable of running hard to get a closer look at the flyball. It's not just that. We've had some plays where the outfielder only traps the ball but umps call it an out. I also remember last year when an outfielder dove into the stands to try to catch the ball. He did not catch the ball, but he pretended he did and got the out because the ump assumed the ball was caught. The ump wasn't there fast enough to get a clear look. Of course, I'm not saying they have to run really fast, but a little more mobility helps, don't you think?

umpire.jpg

JAE74Qda.jpg
^Iknow this guy is wearing an armor, but I'm pretty sure he's still fat.

umps_72721.jpg

MLB_Umpires_2.jpg

And look at these guys. They look like they're in great shape for their age (no homo):

[SamtheBravesFan]

Maybe it's not truly necessary. You pretty much have to run all over the place in football, basketball, and soccer, and skate well in hockey to referee the sport.

Besides, the umpire who thought Wise caught the ball, Mike DiMuro, isn't in as horrible shape as the four or five umps are in your pictures. He would have had to sprint over there to get close enough to see that Wise never caught the ball. It wasn't something we could see on camera from our angle and it had to take a closeup from about 5 feet away to see that he did drop it.

If this is to be done, it's going to take a new set of umpires and new methods in umpire training in order to implement something like this. A good chunk of current umpires would be out of work. You know they'd sue if they were fired for being overweight.

[Honus Wagner Rules]

MLB is raking in billions. They can certainly afford adding two umpires for each game. Umpires make less than backup outfielders, no?

[dominik]

In soccer the referees have to do running tests every year. but of course they have to run all the time.

in baseball that is not so but still a little more shape would not be bad. although fat umpires and coaches belong to the game

[ol' aches and pains]

These umpires don't look any worse than C.C. Sabathia.

[GiambiJuice]

Any rule change that will get that fatass Joe West fired I'm all for!

[Cap78]

Any rule change that will get that fatass Joe West fired I'm all for!

somehow he was good enough to be on the world series crew though

[Captain Cold Nose]

Steps were taken when the umpire suffered a fatal heart attack in Cincinnati on opening day over a decade ago. How much they're keeping up with it I have no idea.

[GiambiJuice]

Steps were taken when the umpire suffered a fatal heart attack in Cincinnati on opening day over a decade ago. How much they're keeping up with it I have no idea.

I'll go out on a limb and say they're not keeping up with it at all.

joe-west.jpg

[OmartgSS]

Steps were taken when the umpire suffered a fatal heart attack in Cincinnati on opening day over a decade ago. How much they're keeping up with it I have no idea.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McSherry

Then there was Eric Gregg after that. If I remember right, the skinny ump on Gregg's 4 man crew tipped the scales at 295 with all the others being 300lb+

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Gregg

Eric Eugene Gregg (May 18, 1951 – June 5, 2006) was an American umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the National League from 1975 to 1999. He was known for being a pioneering black umpire, for his longtime weight problems, and for his controversial home plate umpiring in Game 5 of the 1997 National League Championship Series, when his generous strike zone helped the Florida Marlins' Liván Hernández strike out 15 Atlanta batters.[1] On October 14, 1989, he became the first black umpire to work a World Series game, calling Game 1 of the series between the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics. Through his National League career, Gregg wore uniform number 7.

Not many fans can forget Eric Gregg, that K zone of his for Livan was awful.

[filihok]

I'd much prefer the MLB hire umpires who make the best calls than those who look good in their uniform.

[ipitch]

I also remember last year when an outfielder dove into the stands to try to catch the ball. He did not catch the ball, but he pretended he did and got the out because the ump assumed the ball was caught. The ump wasn't there fast enough to get a clear look.

This one? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD6ZgRcAEuE

If so, the umpire appears to be in decent shape. It was really a terrible mental error by the umpire for not even looking in the fielder's glove to see if he had the ball.

[UnderPressure]

I was actually talking about a play in the foul territory in right field. I forgot the two teams involved. The fielder went for the foul ball into the stands. He did not catch the ball as it already landed. But it wasn't visible to the umpire and the ball was still not out of reach. So the fielder grabbed the ball from the ground and then he showed the umpire he had the ball in his glove. I'm not sure if it was the right fielder, first baseman, or the second baseman.

[Ben Grimm]

I'm figuring that when it comes to overall importance, MLB (and maybe baseball leagues in general) puts much more emphasis on their umpires' quality of vision over their girth. While other sports have a couple of close calls every game, practically every pitch called is toleranced at +/- 1" or so at the plate while coming at 90 MPH with movement - not to mention the handful of close plays at 1st and/or 2nd base every game.

One thing I've noticed (and maybe it's just because I watch more games than in the past), is that HP umps seem more willing to appeal strike/ball calls they may have missed to one of the other umps than in the past. I think that's a good thing as nobody's perfect all of the time.

[SamtheBravesFan]

I was actually talking about a play in the foul territory in right field. I forgot the two teams involved. The fielder went for the foul ball into the stands. He did not catch the ball as it already landed. But it wasn't visible to the umpire and the ball was still not out of reach. So the fielder grabbed the ball from the ground and then he showed the umpire he had the ball in his glove. I'm not sure if it was the right fielder, first baseman, or the second baseman.

Oh, THAT one. I vaguely remember that myself.