Some guys, first pitch of the at-bat gets called a strike - maybe it's a ball off or below their knees, and it gets called a strike - and then the next two pitches, they swing at balls in the dirt, and all of a sudden, they're yelling at the umpire about that first pitch. You just swung at two balls in the dirt, buddy.
Aaron Judge
When I was a teenager, I was an umpire for a competitive league for 8- to 9-year-olds. I was really bad at it because I didn't know all the rules, and all these kids were better athletes than me. I made a bad call, and this dad snapped on me. Then he dumped his trash from his cooler, and I had to kick him out of the stands.
Adam DeVine
There are umpires, and there are those who hold the title.
Al Barlick
Anyone who votes for McGowan is 100 percent right. He was a great umpire. He belongs in the Hall of Fame.
The only thing I'd say about Darrell Hair is that he is a very good umpire. He's very firm and he obviously sticks to his guns. I wouldn't have any qualms about him coming back into Test cricket.
Andrew Strauss
Stay in school kids or you'll end up being an umpire.
Andy Roddick
Do you have to be like a second-grade dropout to be an umpire? Did you go to school until you were 8 years old? I think you quit school before you were 10. Stay in school kids or you'll end up being an umpire.
Stay in college, kids. Otherwise, you may become an umpire.
I didn't mean to hit the umpire with the dirt, but I did mean to hit that bastard in the stands.
Babe Ruth
Yes, I was in that game where George Brett hit that home run. Billy saw there was too much pine tar on the bat and he went to the umpire, the next thing we knew they were fighting about it.
Bert Campaneris
An angry player can't argue with the back of an umpire who is walking away.
Bill Klem
The most cowardly thing in the world is blaming mistakes upon the umpires. Too many managers strut around on the field trying to manage the umpires instead of their teams.
The best umpired game is the game in which the fans cannot recall the umpires who worked it.
I told the umpires to walk back at least thirty-five feet from home plate. That reduced the arguements.
Your job is to umpire for the ball and not the player.
Now that women are jockeys, baseball umpires, atomic scientists, and business executives, maybe someday they can master parallel parking.
Bill Vaughan
The public wouldn't like the perfect umpire in every game. It would kill off baseball's greatest alibi - 'We was robbed.'
Billy Evans
Some fans have a mistaken opinion of the average umpire. He is human, all reports to the contrary. Every fellow who is successful is conscientious to almost a fault.
Most umpires are good about letting the argument go, but you can only go on for so long, or go so far. If you don't leave it alone after a minute or two, you're in trouble. They want to keep the game moving, so they've got to throw you out. I had trouble leaving it alone, I guess.
Bobby Cox
Boys, I'm one of those umpires that misses 'em every once in a while so if it's close, you'd better hit it.
Cal Hubbard
The trouble with women umpires is that I couldn't argue with one. I'd put my arms around her and give her a little kiss.
Many baseball fans look upon an umpire as a sort of necessary evil to the luxury of baseball, like the odor that follows an automobile.
Umpires are supposed to be non-confrontational - they're supposed to uphold the peace on the baseball field.
I'm never going to criticize any umpires or anything, because they're a big part of the game.
Chemistry is really about two people who like to act together, I think. It's like tennis in the most cliched way. It's like if you hit the ball, they hit the ball back, and they don't hit it into the stands, and they don't put the ball in their pocket and walk off - and they don't argue with the umpire, you know?
In the head of the moment after losing a game, I lost the control of my emotions and hit the ball with an intention of hitting out of the court. Unfortunately and absolutely unintentionally I hit Mr. Arnaud Gabas, the chair umpire.
You can't know what it's like to be a major league umpire unless you were a major league umpire.
I just loved officiating, and I hope what I did helped make it better. That's what I tell young umpires: you can have fun. I never spent a day where going out on a baseball field didn't make me feel better.
I must admit, I was born to officiate; I was made to officiate. I miss it. I knew why I was doing it. God made me to umpire.
When asked what he was fighting for, General Washington, in writing to General Thomas, said the object was 'neither glory nor extent of territory, but a defense of all that is dear and valuable in life.' He must have been an umpire. That's what umpiring is about.
I've heard it said that umpires are necessary evil. Well, we are necessary, but we are not evil. We are hard-working and dedicated people whose primary interest is to make sure the game is played fairly. We are the integrity of the game.
I always told my young umpires, 'Don't get mad. Whatever you do, don't show it. But no matter how long it takes, get even.'
The part of the game that fans will soon miss: the argument between manager and umpire! There was something special about watching a manger and umpire both convinced they were totally right, but knowing that one had to be wrong. As an ump, those moments made my job fun, and getting 'nose-to-nose' was part of my job description.
I say to you, you want a thrill, volunteer to be an umpire. I'd like you to go just work the bases some day. Just go do that. You're going to love it. Try the slow-pitch stuff. You'll love it. Ask my son - he tried it! He said, 'I've never seen so many idiots in all my life.'
I just umpire. That's what I've done. That's all I can do. I'm one of the fortunate ones on God's earth. I found what God meant for me to do. People ask if I like working home plate best. I just want to be between the white lines. That's where I belong, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
I was correct in every call I made, regardless of what managers, players or replay may have said. To me, that's the reason I'm in the Hall of Fame. If I didn't umpire with conviction, I wouldn't have made it for long.
There was something special about watching a manager and umpire both convinced they were totally right, but knowing that one had to be wrong. As an ump, those moments made my job fun, and getting 'nose-to-nose' was part of my job description.
I'd love to stay in baseball, but I won't beg. I'd love to work with young umpires. I think I could teach them, help them develop. I can spot flaws, help them get over the hump. You're striving for perfection every game, yet you never achieve it. If baseball wants me, I'm available.
I want you to know that I am one of the more fortunate people in life. There aren't too many of us that somebody selects and says, 'You know, that guy ought to be an umpire.' That's what happened to me.
Umpires are necessary evils. That's just the nature of the beast. For years, people have looked on umpiring as a job they could get any postman to do.
As we all know, Cooperstown is the home of baseball. One of the many duties of the home plate umpire is to make sure that the runner touches home. Well, if you're a true baseball fan, you need to visit Cooperstown. This is home.
If you're a photographer, they give you a camera. If you're a writer, they give you a typewriter. If you're an umpire, they give you an unseen object and they call it a strike zone, and nobody seems to agree with you no matter what you call.
If you don't need umpires out there, and you can put robots out there, then why do we need ballplayers?
I set out to be the best umpire of my time. But I don't know what it takes to be great.
I was a great base umpire, but I was the most mediocre plate umpire to ever come into the major leagues.
The integrity of the game is the umpires. Nobody else. The entire integrity of the game is the umpires.
The one thing that all umpires have is pride, and if you don't have pride, you lose that edge.
Error is part of the game. I never, ever second-guessed myself on a call and don't believe good umpires ever should.
The job of arguing with the umpire belongs to the manager, because it won't hurt the team if he gets thrown out of the game.
If an umpire misses a called third strike and the other side ends up scoring because of it, I'm not going to forget it. If there are runners on second and third and two out, and if the umpire has just given the hitter an extra strike and the next pitch goes into the hole and both runs score, I've got to say something to the guy.
