Umpires on the Offensive

In professional sports, it's not uncommon for emotions to run high, especially in pressure situations. Sometimes when this happens and the outcome doesn't go a player's way, on occasion they'll voice their frustrations at those officiating the game. Baseball is no different, but in more recent years a new trend appears to be rising. The umpires are the ones on the "attack".

An umpire is supposed to be an unbiased official who calls the game down the middle. As fans know, this doesn't always seem to the case, but for the most part umpires do try their best when calling balls and strikes, out or safe, foul or fair. When a player or coach disagrees with the umpire and voices their opinion, it's not usually a personal attack on the umpire, but rather something that is more heat of the moment. With this in mind, as long as the player or coach doesn't go on a cussing tirade on the umpire or put on a physical show that for some fans can almost be comedic, an umpire will usually and is supposed to give a little leeway to those who disagree with him.

In the last couple of years though, some of Major League Baseball's umpires have been the aggressor, making the call, then attacking the player the that the call was against. As an official, an umpire needs to be more of a rock and less emotional on the field. Yes, they're human, but at the same time they need to keep their composure more than anyone else on that field. It's hard enough being a player, especially at the pro level, but to have not only your opponent trying to beat you, but also the umpire trying to pick a fight with you, is enough to make a player snap.

In the Atlanta Braves game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 7, pitcher Alex Wood was clearly not getting the same calls as the opposing pitcher, Gerrit Cole. Though not happy, Wood kept his composure for the most part. He never said a word to the home plate umpire Mark Carlson and with his body language, never showed Carlson up either. Wood bit his tongue while the inning continued. After the third out, while walking to the dugout, Carlson followed Wood to the dugout and starts arguing with the Braves pitcher. Wood kept his cool, never yelling, never cussing, and he even smiled for a second as the conversation from his end appeared to be more casual. If you watch the video closer, it appears that Wood mouths the words "Please stop this" to Carlson, referring to Carlson's aggressiveness. That's when Carlson tossed the Braves pitcher out of the game.

"As I was walking away, I guess he decided that it was going to be good to throw me out of the game, which I didn't think was appropriate," Wood said in the postgame interview. "I didn't try and show him up, didn't say anything to him during the inning, didn't even know I got tossed until I got up into the clubhouse."

"I thought they were just talking," said Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez.

Other similar ejections have occurred this season as well. Bryce Harper felt the wrath of umpire Marvin Hudson and no one on the Washington Nationals even to this day knows why. After calling a (bad) strike on Harper, in a game against the New York Yankees on May 21, Harper stepped out of the box and gradually shook his head. He kept his mouth shut and his head shake wasn't exaggerated by any means. Out of the blue, Hudson tossed Harper.

Hudson was later quoted as saying, "...one thing led to another and I had to run him. I had to eject him."

He offered no exact explanation of why though. Nationals manager Matt Williams was yelling at Hudson from the dugout, but if anything, Hudson should have ejected Williams, not Harper.

When the instant replay rule was instituted, part of the rule that was passed along with it was that managers and players can't argue with the call after the replay call has been made, otherwise there would be an instant ejection. Some people wondered if this would lead to a possible build up of aggression by the players or managers when they disagree with a call, but can't get their two cents in. The irony of it is that it appears that the umpires are the ones with the pent up aggression. Especially on balls and strikes which is the only thing left that players and managers could theoretically argue still.

Two of the top five umpires for most career ejections in Major League Baseball are currently active and are widely known for their quick tempers. "Cowboy Joe" West in a 2011 players poll was voted by 41 percent of players as the worst umpire in the MLB. He is known for his quick temper and ranks fifth on the all-time ejections list by MLB umpires.

Fourth on the all-time list is current MLB umpire Bob Davidson. During an Astros and Phillies game in May of 2012, Davidson bumped into the Phillies' catcher on a strike three passed ball, allowing the Astros hitter to reach first base safely. Davidson then yelled into the Phillies dugout "You think I wanted to block his ass?" before tossing the Phillies manager Charlie Manuel. Several days later, the MLB suspended Davidson for "repeated violations of the Office of the Commissioner's standards for situation handling". It wasn't the first time Davidson had been suspended for his actions on the field.

It's already hard enough to be a player or a manager in baseball. It doesn't help when you not only feel the umpire is purposely miscalling the game, but then the umpire goes on the offensive if you don't look happy about their calls. While players can frequently be suspended or fined for not agreeing with an umpire or for their actions that lead to an ejection, it's rare when an umpire is fined or suspended for their actions. If the MLB took more time to review the actions of their umpires on the field and hold them accountable, it should hopefully improve the problem. If an umpire doesn't improve his on-field actions and aggression on the field, they should be let go since there is no shortage of people trying to make it as an MLB umpire.