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Nobody (well, hardly anyone) actually wants to harm the umpires for screwing something up. Nevertheless, being a fan of something is an inherently irrational activity rife with emotion, and as such fans tend to vent that emotion at the umpire (or player) when that umpire (or player) fails at their job and the games turns on that failure.

Now, reading that article, it actually seems to make a pretty good case for why umpires are obsolete. The quote from Fay Vincent about them being treated like so much necessary equipment and not human beings really cinches it: their job has nothing to do with being human! Sure, we want to see players put up statistics and ultimately care about the wins and losses, but we also care about how the players do it and what kind of people they are; the same thing cannot be said of umpires.

If umpire-bots had existed when baseball was invented, I’m sure they would have been used instead of human beings, because why would you pick a person to fill a purely objective function that neither demands nor is enhanced by personality? The only reason QuesTec, etc are such a big deal is because how entrenched the human umpires have become.

“That’s really what [being an umpire] is about — is being in charge,” he said. “If there’s anything that characterizes the major league umpire, it’s that special kind of chutzpah.”

This is so wrong that I don’t even know where to begin. Maybe they do need strong personalities to enforce the rules on a bunch of roided-up asshole ballplayers (stereotype fully in effect), but that’s just an argument for getting human officiating out of baseball. Fans come to see the ballplayers, and fans pay the bills, so if the umpires can’t coexist with the fans and/or ballplayers, they’re up a creek. Umpires are just a means to an end, existing to facilitate the playing of the game.

TLDR: Boo-fucking-hoo.

I am in no way suggesting that they deserve to be threatened, nor have I have ever shouted a threat at an umpire. I have booed them when I think they get a call wrong. I have criticized them when I think that they got a call wrong in part because they didn’t expend the effort necessary to get themselves in a position to make the right call. I reserve the right to do that, though I’m not so foolish to believe that it has any chance of getting them to change their call. I’m more than aware, in part, I think, because I’m a casual, that everyone out on the diamond is human and prone to mental and physical lapses as well as triumphs. That’s a major reason why I watch the game.

I seriously doubt that there are many instances in which an umpire’s ability to perform was impacted by wildly inappropriate threats made from the stands or the dugout. I don’t believe that booing or criticizing umpires is treating them as less than human. They’ve chosen an occupation where they perform their duties in front of huge audiences, and they’re well rewarded for that work. And they knew when they made that choice to work in a fish-bowl they knew they were subject to loud and intense criticism when they get it wrong. That’s the deal. Anyone, prosecutors, politicians, athletes, actors or any other professional who chooses to work in the full view of the public better have a thick skin, and they should know better than to accept the benefits of their chosen profession while whining about the negatives.

They were already created and seemed crazy enough to attract attention. I’m glad someone noticed :)