The Umpire Is Out: Calling the Game and Living My True Self by Dale Scott & Rob Neyer

Author:Dale Scott & Rob Neyer [Scott, Dale & Neyer, Rob]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: SPO003030 SPORTS & RECREATION / Baseball / History, BIO016000 BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Sports, SOC012000 SOCIAL SCIENCE / LGBTQ+ Studies / Gay Studies
Publisher: Nebraska

Remember, this was twenty-four hours after he’d complained about the “rookie umpire” at first base who wouldn’t reverse the plate umpire’s checked-swing call and should have spent the whole series working one of the outfield spots.

For the offense of questioning my integrity all because of geography, Steinbrenner was later fined $50,000 by American League president Gene Budig. Granted, according to Bill Madden (one of Steinbrenner’s many biographers), his lawyer got the fine rescinded because Budig didn’t have the authority to discipline Steinbrenner. One of Steinbrenner’s lawyers told Madden that his fees were more than $50,000, “but with him it was all about the winning.”

Of course, I didn’t know that any of this was going on. I had my hands full with this unbelievable game that went from 1–0 to 1–1 to 2–1 to 3–2 to 4–3 and finally tied, 4–4, in the seventh inning. Neither team scored in the eighth or ninth. As an umpire, you don’t care who wins. You just hope somebody does in nine, but that didn’t happen.

You have fifty-seven thousand people in the stands who were living and breathing on every pitch, even more so as the game went into extra innings. Umpires love the finality of walk-offs for obvious reasons . . . you literally walk off! It’s over. In extras, if the visiting team scores, there’s still the possibility the game’s not going to end anytime soon, since the home team can still tie it.

And that’s exactly what happened in the twelfth. Seattle’s first two hitters were retired. I’m thinking about another scoreless half inning. But hold on. Ken Griffey Jr. was coming up.

Before the series, he’d reportedly said to his teammates, “You can get on my back and ride me through the playoffs.” In the first game, he’d homered twice off David Cone.

Now Junior did it again, driving a 3-1 fastball from John Wetteland over the 385 sign in right-center field and giving the Mariners a one-run lead. Then Edgar Martinez got a hit, and Buck Showalter brought in some kid named Mariano Rivera, a name that would have meant nothing to me at the time. Rivera did get the third out, but I’m thinking, Well, at least something happened. Maybe it’ll be enough to end this marathon.

It wasn’t. In the bottom of the twelfth, with one out and a runner at first, Tim Belcher came in to pitch for the Mariners. Belcher could be tough. When he thought you missed a pitch, he would let you know with his body language at least, maybe a comment. He walked the first hitter he faced, Bernie Williams, putting runners at first and second. He then got Paul O’Neill to fly out, and the Mariners were just one out away from tying the best-of-five series at one apiece. But clutch-hitting Ruben Sierra doubled to left, scoring pinch runner Jorge Posada with the tying run while Williams was waved around third to score the winner.

Left fielder Alex Diaz hit the cutoff man, shortstop Luis Sojo, who threw a perfect strike to Seattle catcher Chris Widger.

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