In all my years of play, I never saw an ump deliberately make an unfair decision. They really called them as they saw 'em.
In every match, there are difficult decisions; sometimes they go in your favour and sometimes against. You need to be able to accept them.
I always say that I think my job is behind home plate, call a good game, play some good defense, and also, I know I was not a power hitter.
Can you believe it. That white man hit it out of the park.
Now there's three things you can do in a baseball game: You can win or you can lose or it can rain.
The thing I like about baseball is that it's one-on-one. You stand up there alone, and if you make a mistake, it's your mistake. If you hit a home run, it's your home run.
A tall, thin old man waving a scorecard from the corner of his dugout. That's baseball.
It's a round ball and a round bat, and you got to hit it square.
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.
There was a line call that didn't look so great. I went ballistic. Called the umpire a jerk. Whacked a ball into the stands. Then smacked a soda can with my racket, and got soda all over the King of Sweden, who was sitting in the front row.
As far as the fouls go, we are not going to rely on anyone else to make the calls for us.
I remember once in high school the umpire called me out at third base when I was sure I was safe. I got so mad I took out my glass eye, handed it to him and said, 'Try this.' I got such a laugh you wouldn't believe.
I play baseball. I don't deal with trades, free agency, any of that stuff.
Take pride in your work at all times. Remember, respect for an umpire is created off the field as well as on.
When I was 14, I played in a summer league. One night the chief umpire asked me if I would like to try umpiring. There was a Little League tournament coming up and he needed more umpires than he had.
I didn't get over 1300 walks without knowing the strike zone.
Baseball is almost the only orderly thing in a very unorderly world. If you get three strikes, even the best lawyer in the world can't get you off.
When you're in between the white lines, the game face is on. I was only focused on the task at hand - out, safe, ball, strike - leaving little time to think about how special a player, moment or game happened to be.
When I walked out on the mound, I felt enclosed. You see, I'd been used to playing on pastures, where when somebody hit a ball you had to stop it from rolling. Well, this field had fences around it.
When I were a young man, I used to play baseball and steal bases just like Jackie Robinson. If the empire would rule me out, I would get mad and hit the empire.
I always hated to throw a guy out of a game but sometimes it was necessary to keep order.
The angle from which the line and ball are seen makes a tremendous difference in the call, and the player who is inclined to fret inwardly about decisions should realize this.
My role is to play out the full overs.
In baseball, you don't know nothing.
I do love the Ashes and some of my best memories are from Ashes cricket. I just wish we'd played a few more Test matches.
