DC Tom Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 I don't know about the pitcher, I can't really tell from his reaction whether he knew what was going on. Maybe the catcher is completely to blame, called the fastball and dropped at the last second. But the catcher's actions scream that it was done purposely to me, because you can see him flashe his glove up for a split second before he drops to his knees. If they truly got crossed up as they claim - he called curveball and the pitcher threw a fastball - the catcher's reaction should be totally different. You would see him stab his glove at the ball as it goes by, not drop to his knees for a ball that is over his head. Then again, considering all the witnesses was talking about how the pitcher and his SS brother were pissing and moaning all game about the ump's strike zone, it isn't a stretch to think that he would be in on it. No, it certainly isn't a stretch at all. The pitcher looked pretty clearly surprised to me...but it could be the pitcher was looking to throw over the ump's shoulder and was surprised that his aim was so off, or was surprised that a curve ball got away from him so badly. Hell, I can think of a lot of possible different ways that could have happened with or without intent, given all that we have is a video clip. If it were COMPLETELY accidental, though...that would be one hell of a !@#$-up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmwolf21 Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 Maybe the ump smelled bad and the strike zone was the final "strike" (no pun intended) for the catcher, so he decided to do it on his own. I don't know. I just look at the catcher's actions and reactions and they just don't add up to their story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 That's what it says in my previous post: I guess Christensen was released in 2004 and I think is out of baseball. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmwolf21 Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 No worries. /LSI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 I've seen Refs in Basket Ball get hit in the face with a ball on bad pass. I've seen Linesmen in Hockey get hit with some pretty hard clearing shots. I've seen Refs in Football get run over by linebackers. This video doesn't surprise me. That is what I was trying to say. This is one of my favorite passages from Baseball (Ward and Burns): Late nineteenth-century baseball was a rough game, and no one had it rougher than the umpire. Just one official worked most games, usually stationed well back from plate and expected to oversee everything that happened anywhere on the field. A.G. Spaulding saw nothing wrong with attacking him; it was, he said, the fans' democratic right as Americans to oppose tyranny in any form. Fans routinely cursed and threw things at officials, and sometimes rushed onto the field to pummel them. At Washington, they loosed vicious dogs on one. At Baltimore, barbed wire had to be strung to protect another. At least two minor league officials were killed in the line of duty. Another, Bob Emslie, is said to have been so unnerved by the stree of his profession that all his hair fell out. (He continued to officiate wearing a wig.) Players attacked umpires, too, with curses, fists, bats, and spikes. The best held their ground. Several made it known that they carried revolvers and would use them if they had to. When a fan hurled a beer stein at Tim Hurst, Hurst hurled it back, was arrested and made to pay a twenty-dollar fine. "In Providence, they have no use for [billy] McLean," wrote the Boston Herald in 1884. "He acts like a crank an [in] our opinion he is not right in the upper story. His eyesight is poor and he cannot read without spectacles. He does not take his psotion properly to fairly judge balls and strikes." Boston fans, too, evidently loathed McLean, who returned the favor. When an anonymous Boston fan wrote him an especially abusive letter, he was quick to respond in the newspaper. Sir, you are a coward. If you are not, write and inform me where you can be found, for in that case I shall certainly find you when I get to Boston again. ~Wm. McLean Gentleman, and not a monkey Bob Fergusan was perhaps the toughest of the breed: "Umpiring always came as easy to me as sleeping on a feather bed," he replied. Never change a decision, never stop to talk to a man. Make'em play ball and keep their mouths shut, and people will be on your side and you'll be called the king of umpires." When one player called him a liar, Ferguson broke his arm with a bat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jack Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 Maybe the catchers contact lens fell out and he was looking for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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