Fans Go to Games to Watch the Players

(BOD - Jessica Biel)

The impetus for today’s column was provided in Wednesday’s Chicago White Sox where both Mark Buehrle and Ozzie Guillen were ejected for arguing with umpire Joe West. This column topic has been at the back of my mind for some time now, but I needed such an incident to really get my blood going.

First of all, there never should have been an issue in the first place as Buehrle did not balk either time the infraction was called by Joe West. As a left-handed pitcher, I would have rightfully lost my shit if such a call went against me, thereby nullifying my advantage in facing a runner at first base.

What I’m concerned with is that it appeared Joe West went looking for a confrontation and he felt that tossing two players out of the game would make the highlights on Sportscentre. This is part of a larger, disturbing trend I’ve noticed among officials at all levels throughout the past five years.

In the old days, it was said that an umpire did his job correctly if people didn’t notice him in the first place. However, in today’s ‘look at me’ society, that attitude is no longer the norm. Everyone wants to be the centre of attention.

I know of one umpire in my league who wants everyone to know what a great umpire he is and that he’s the absolute authority on the field; correct calls be damned. I literally think he makes shit up just to hear himself speak.

I think Joe West suffers from the same disease. Balks are rarely called, primarily because they are so tough to decipher, unless it’s an egregious offence. I’ve seen a myriad of replays of Buehrle’s supposed ‘balks’ and I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. There was no reason for him to make the call in the first place.

Then to toss Buehrle out of the game for a slight toss of the glove? Outrageous and completely uncalled for.

It is not just umpires and referees who are trying to make themselves bigger than the game. Play by play guys and colour commentators do the exact same thing. They all think of themselves as the funniest person to hit the airwaves since Bob Hope and they all resort to lame shticks to get attention.

Here’s a novel idea: how about you just call the game and leave the immature and unfunny histrionics at home?

There’s no way in hell grizzled broadcasting men like Ernie Harwell and Vin Scully would ever resort to such behaviour. That’s why I love Buck Martinez. There are times during Jays broadcasts that he doesn’t speak for 30 seconds. He understands that baseball doesn’t need to be inundated with unnecessary words. It’s important to let the game speak for itself.

Buck knows people aren’t tuning in for him. And that’s why he’s a great broadcaster.