As They See 'Em

A Fan's Travels in the Land of Umpires

By: Bruce Weber

Narrated by: Charley Steiner

Millions of American baseball fans know, with absolute certainty, that umpires are simply overpaid galoots who are doing an easy job badly. Millions of American baseball fans are wrong. As They See 'Em is an insider's look at the largely unknown world of professional umpires, the small group of men (and the very occasional woman) who make sure America's favorite pastime is conducted in a manner that is clean, crisp, and true.

Bruce Weber, a New York Times reporter, not only interviewed dozens of professional umpires but entered their world, trained to become an umpire, and then spent a season working games from Little League to big league spring training. As They See 'Em is Weber's entertaining account of this experience as well as a lively exploration of what amounts to an eccentric secret society, with its own customs, its own rituals, and its own colorful vocabulary.

©2009 Bruce Weber (P)2009 Phoenix Books

Judging Umpires

With close to forty years of umpiring experience on the junior level I wanted to know more about what it took to be a professional at the highest level. Not sure I could have made the commitment. Anyone who loves the game will enjoy seeing it from behind the mask.

BASEBALL UMPIRES

Bruce Weber creates a Plimpton’ like book about baseball umpires in "As They See ‘Em". True to Plimpton’s modus vivendi, Weber (nearing 50 years of age) goes to umpire school to conduct research on what baseball fans might call a dismal science.

In the end, one wonders why anyone would want to become a baseball umpire. If you reach the “bigs”, your income averages $200,000 a year. Not bad for a season’s work, but plan on ten years of wages that will not support a family. If you make it, you are among the elite of the elite but Weber tells two stories that show how rabid fans are capable of threatening your life and your family. Add disrespect shown by baseball managers, writers, commentators, and the general public, and it makes more sense to go to jail for ten years and be vilified as a convict than try to become an umpire.

Weber completes his book like Plimpton did when he entered the boxing ring with Joe Louis. He umpires a pre-season game. Weber explains the fear and thrill of calling a professional baseball player’s game. Umpires are gods of the game. The power of an umpire to control a game is revealed. Power is tempered by fear; i.e. mistakes made by not really seeing a play but having to make a decision. Weber explains how the strike zone is a myth and comes down to an umpire’s judgment more than a definitive description.

If one is an occasional, or fanatic baseball fan, "As They See ‘Em" is an eye-opening entertainment; well written, and nicely narrated. It is a must read for anyone seriously considering a career as a baseball umpire.

A Home Run!

Bruce Weber has written an entertaining, informative, and insightful book in "As They See 'Em." It is written well, filled with anecdotes, and wonderfully read by Charley Steiner.

This book provides a real education for the bleecher bums out there as well as those with little interest in baseball. For those with other interest, there are wonderful lessons on leadership, perception, geometry, history, negotiation, preparation, computer simulation and learning, contract negotiations, and about everything else necessary to the care and feeding of umps - volunteer and professional, little league, college, AA, AAA, and professional.

The game will never be the same for me and I'll watch it with different eyes. If in doubt, take this one out - for a listen.

Fantastic!

Both veteran umpires and casual baseball fans alike will find much of interest in this book. It's well written, thoroughly researched, and the narration is perfect (it's always better when they get people involved in the subject to read – Charley Steiner is a veteran baseball broadcaster – rather than one of all those bland, dry "professional narrators"!). If you like baseball, even if you don't consider yourself a fan of the umpires, you will enjoy this book.

My Biased Review:

I actually bought and read the hardcover in 2009, shortly after it was published. I was working as an umpire for the NCAA at the time and found this title to be right up my alley. I've long been a baseball fan, and admirer of the game and since my ambitions in baseball were far greater than my abilities as a player, calling balls and strikes allowed me the opportunity to be part of the game at a higher level than I could've achieved as a player. One of my biggest regrets as an umpire was never plunking down the tuition to attend the 5-week professional Umpire course outlined in the book. I almost did a few times but was making somewhat decent money ate the time and so never did so. This book gave me the insight into what I missed out on.

In 2009 I made a trip to Tucson for Umpire camp where I had the privilege of meeting former professional Umpire, and school owner, Jim Evans. Weber tells it like it is and depicts Evans exactly as what I experienced in the time I spent in AZ. Nothing is left out. I also had the opportunity to meet and work with many of those who were featured in the book, many of whom I worked college games with in 2010-2011. It was a great experience and this book is helps prolong that feeling.

The author is able to keep the reader turning pages with the countless anecdotes of those fortunate few who did make the decision to attend, and give (even the novice) a glimpse of what it's like to train as a professional umpire, and what it's like on the road, in the Minors, and Majors, and how the life of a vilified professional is endured. Keep that in mind the next time you're at the ballpark and think you could do a better job. It's easier said than done for certain.

And, you get Charlie Steiner as a narrator which adds not only to the story, but to the feeling that this is a sports book, and you're being read to by one of the sports best color commentators, and baseball analysts.

the 2017 Baseball season is right around the corner. Get yourself prepared for the season by learning how umpires are made. And then think to yourself whether or not you'd size up?