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As They See 'Em: A Fan's Travels in the Land of Umpires
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, its own colorful vocabulary. (Know what a "whacker" is? A "pole bender"? "Rat cheese"? Think you could "strap it on" or "take the stick"?) He explains the arcane set of rules by which umps work and details the exasperating, tortuous path that allows only a select few to graduate from the minor leagues to the majors. He describes what it's like to work in a ballpark where not only the fans but the players, the managers and coaches, the announcers, the team owners, and even the league presidents, resent them -- and vice versa. And he asks, quite sensibly, why anyone would do a job that offers the chance to earn only blame and never credit.
Weber reveals how umps are tutored to work behind the plate, what they learn to watch for on the bases, and how proper positioning for every imaginable situation on the field is drilled into them. He describes how they're counseled to respond -- or not -- to managers who are screaming at them from inches away with purposeful inanity, and tells us exactly which "magic" words result in an automatic ejection. Writing with deep knowledge of and affection for baseball, he delves into such questions as: Why isn't every strike created equal? Is the ump part of the game or outside of it? Why doesn't a tie go to the runner? And what do umps and managers say to each other during an argument, really?
In addition to professional umpires, Weber spoke to current and former players including Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, Tom Glavine, Barry Zito, Paul Lo Duca, Kenny Lofton, Ron Darling, and Robin Yount, as well as former baseball commissioner Fay Vincent, Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox, Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland, and many others in the professional game. He attended the 2006 and 2007 World Series, interviewing the umpire crews who called those games and who spoke candidly about the pressure of being scrutinized by millions -- maybe billions! -- of fans around the world, all of them armed with television's slo-mo, hi-def instant replay. As fans know, in 2008, a rash of miscalled home run balls led baseball, for the first time, to use replay to help big league umps make their decisions.Weber discusses these events and the umpires' surprising reaction to them.
Packed with fascinating reportage that reveals the game as never before and answers the kinds of questions that fans, exasperated by the clichés of conventional sports commentary, pose to themselves around the television set, Bruce Weber's As They See 'Em is a towering grand slam.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
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1231 people want to read
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February 10, 2012
I was a FIFA and NCAA soccer referee for eight years, and when I watch a match now I spend more time watching the officials than the players, their positioning, their interactions with the players, their decisions, etc.
“The impetus for this book was a visit I made in January 2005 to the Jim Evans Academy of Professional Umpiring in Kissimmee, Florida, in order to write a story for the New York Times, where I work as a reporter. I thought it would be a lark, a chance to talk baseball rules and baseball trivia—I’m the kind of baseball fan who has never gotten over his boyhood obsession, who reads the sports page before the front page and pores over box scores as though they were hieroglyphic finds—not to mention a chance to wear short sleeves in midwinter. But what I found there in three days of observing—the whole course of instruction runs five weeks—was weird and intriguing, an amalgam of strict vocational...came away convinced that a land of umpires exists, that it has citizens, laws, and a culture, and that it is exotic enough—both in the context of baseball and the context of, well, the known world—to warrant further exploring. Indeed, the presumption of this book is that professional umpires are an unusually isolated and circumscribed group, sort of like the inhabitants of a remote country that few people have ever visited, and that I am the sociologist who was dispatched to send back word of what life is like there.
Weber is dead on in his description of the attitude of umpires toward the game. Officials really do not care who wins; they care about the game. All officials really want to get it right and anyone who has been an official realizes how little the fans know of the game, some of the arcane rules, and the often subtle differences between high school, college, and professional rules. (A simple example, in high school a player can touch the line with his foot during a thrown-in; in college not. Whether a throw-in is given to the other team if it doesn’t enter the field differs by age group even. And we won’t even begin to discuss the ramifications of the offside rule and how it’s applied.) As Weber notes regarding professional baseball umpires, “But I never saw any umpire do anything that made me question his on-the-field integrity. It bears acknowledging that in 130 years, only one major league umpire has ever been accused of professional dishonesty, and that was in 1882. “The integrity of the game is the umpires,” Doug Harvey said to me. “Nobody else. The entire integrity of the game is the umpires.”
Officials form their own unique clique. They are routinely despised by management, players, and fans so it’s natural they, much like cops, see the world differently.
I’ve always thought it would be great if everyone in fan-dom were required to referee/umpire several games. They would develop a greater sense of respect for what these underpaid folks do (the pay for a minor league umpire is $1,900 per month—for five months—and the pay scale doesn’t exactly shoot up from there. If you prove to be an exemplary minor league umpire and rise from level to level with regularity, you may reach Triple A in six or eight years, at which time, at maybe thirty, thirty-five, or even forty years old, you’ll be making about $20,000 annually.) The myriad mistakes players and coaches make during a game are rarely blamed for a loss. It’s always some perceived error by the ref that’s always at fault. The most vociferous and loudest critics of decisions would never switch positions. A job description for an umpire/referee might read: “If you like having every close decision you make criticized, if you like doing your job surrounded by thousands of people ready to blame you for mistakes other people make, every one of them believing they can do your job better than you can, and if you don’t mind the only response you get for a job done absolutely perfectly being silence, then maybe you would like being an umpire.”
The school, a requirement for anyone ever wishing to even think about becoming a professional umpire, a goal achieved by an even smaller percentage than professional players, lasts five weeks and there are only two that are sanctioned by the major leagues. Above all they teach the rules -- and baseball is filled with bizarre and arcane rules, many of which are explicated here -- and technique. That’s another thing fans never consider: position. We harped on that in soccer referee school. You had to be in position to have the best view and baseball is no different. How you move your feet, where to move your eyes, what to concentrate on. All those things have to become second nature. The school the author attended even focused on how to salute the flag for the national anthem because it helped act like a switch. OK, now the game has begun and the little petty annoyances that might have occurred before the game and might affect one’s attention are put aside.
There was a lesson in this for me, though, namely the difference between calling plays and umpiring. Just having to be in the right place at the right time was intimidating enough, and I was surprised at the energy, both physical and mental, that I had to spend just to keep up. Staying aware of your precise location on the field and knowing where everyone else is as well; keeping in mind the situation and the possibilities for action, both likely and not so likely, these things are energy-sapping. At one point, with a man on second, I was so intently focusing on the pitcher in his stretch and the possibility of a balk that I barely moved."
As FIFA/NCAA officials, we used to have a little mantra. The presence of referees permitted everyone to go home happy: the officials were happy because they got paid; the winning team was happy because they won; and the losing team was happy because they could blame the referees for their loss.
Referees and umpires suffer from inherent contradictions: "Major leagues umpires are driven and aggressive men, goal-oriented and highly competitive, which is why it’s so odd—poignant and odd—that they’ve chosen a profession in which literally they can’t win and figuratively they don’t, in which not only does disappointment always threaten but triumph is almost always bland. Listening to Everitt, I had to wonder when he’d begun to understand this, when any umpire does, and what does he then make of a professional life where at any time the agony of defeat is, in Ted Barrett’s words, just one play away, and where the closest you get to the thrill of victory is getting to the end—of an inning, of a game, even of a career—without ruin."
Probably not a book for everyone but highly recommended for those interested in the culture of officiating (that’s me) or baseball in general (most other people).
“The impetus for this book was a visit I made in January 2005 to the Jim Evans Academy of Professional Umpiring in Kissimmee, Florida, in order to write a story for the New York Times, where I work as a reporter. I thought it would be a lark, a chance to talk baseball rules and baseball trivia—I’m the kind of baseball fan who has never gotten over his boyhood obsession, who reads the sports page before the front page and pores over box scores as though they were hieroglyphic finds—not to mention a chance to wear short sleeves in midwinter. But what I found there in three days of observing—the whole course of instruction runs five weeks—was weird and intriguing, an amalgam of strict vocational...came away convinced that a land of umpires exists, that it has citizens, laws, and a culture, and that it is exotic enough—both in the context of baseball and the context of, well, the known world—to warrant further exploring. Indeed, the presumption of this book is that professional umpires are an unusually isolated and circumscribed group, sort of like the inhabitants of a remote country that few people have ever visited, and that I am the sociologist who was dispatched to send back word of what life is like there.
Weber is dead on in his description of the attitude of umpires toward the game. Officials really do not care who wins; they care about the game. All officials really want to get it right and anyone who has been an official realizes how little the fans know of the game, some of the arcane rules, and the often subtle differences between high school, college, and professional rules. (A simple example, in high school a player can touch the line with his foot during a thrown-in; in college not. Whether a throw-in is given to the other team if it doesn’t enter the field differs by age group even. And we won’t even begin to discuss the ramifications of the offside rule and how it’s applied.) As Weber notes regarding professional baseball umpires, “But I never saw any umpire do anything that made me question his on-the-field integrity. It bears acknowledging that in 130 years, only one major league umpire has ever been accused of professional dishonesty, and that was in 1882. “The integrity of the game is the umpires,” Doug Harvey said to me. “Nobody else. The entire integrity of the game is the umpires.”
Officials form their own unique clique. They are routinely despised by management, players, and fans so it’s natural they, much like cops, see the world differently.
I’ve always thought it would be great if everyone in fan-dom were required to referee/umpire several games. They would develop a greater sense of respect for what these underpaid folks do (the pay for a minor league umpire is $1,900 per month—for five months—and the pay scale doesn’t exactly shoot up from there. If you prove to be an exemplary minor league umpire and rise from level to level with regularity, you may reach Triple A in six or eight years, at which time, at maybe thirty, thirty-five, or even forty years old, you’ll be making about $20,000 annually.) The myriad mistakes players and coaches make during a game are rarely blamed for a loss. It’s always some perceived error by the ref that’s always at fault. The most vociferous and loudest critics of decisions would never switch positions. A job description for an umpire/referee might read: “If you like having every close decision you make criticized, if you like doing your job surrounded by thousands of people ready to blame you for mistakes other people make, every one of them believing they can do your job better than you can, and if you don’t mind the only response you get for a job done absolutely perfectly being silence, then maybe you would like being an umpire.”
The school, a requirement for anyone ever wishing to even think about becoming a professional umpire, a goal achieved by an even smaller percentage than professional players, lasts five weeks and there are only two that are sanctioned by the major leagues. Above all they teach the rules -- and baseball is filled with bizarre and arcane rules, many of which are explicated here -- and technique. That’s another thing fans never consider: position. We harped on that in soccer referee school. You had to be in position to have the best view and baseball is no different. How you move your feet, where to move your eyes, what to concentrate on. All those things have to become second nature. The school the author attended even focused on how to salute the flag for the national anthem because it helped act like a switch. OK, now the game has begun and the little petty annoyances that might have occurred before the game and might affect one’s attention are put aside.
There was a lesson in this for me, though, namely the difference between calling plays and umpiring. Just having to be in the right place at the right time was intimidating enough, and I was surprised at the energy, both physical and mental, that I had to spend just to keep up. Staying aware of your precise location on the field and knowing where everyone else is as well; keeping in mind the situation and the possibilities for action, both likely and not so likely, these things are energy-sapping. At one point, with a man on second, I was so intently focusing on the pitcher in his stretch and the possibility of a balk that I barely moved."
As FIFA/NCAA officials, we used to have a little mantra. The presence of referees permitted everyone to go home happy: the officials were happy because they got paid; the winning team was happy because they won; and the losing team was happy because they could blame the referees for their loss.
Referees and umpires suffer from inherent contradictions: "Major leagues umpires are driven and aggressive men, goal-oriented and highly competitive, which is why it’s so odd—poignant and odd—that they’ve chosen a profession in which literally they can’t win and figuratively they don’t, in which not only does disappointment always threaten but triumph is almost always bland. Listening to Everitt, I had to wonder when he’d begun to understand this, when any umpire does, and what does he then make of a professional life where at any time the agony of defeat is, in Ted Barrett’s words, just one play away, and where the closest you get to the thrill of victory is getting to the end—of an inning, of a game, even of a career—without ruin."
Probably not a book for everyone but highly recommended for those interested in the culture of officiating (that’s me) or baseball in general (most other people).
July 19, 2009
Baseball fans love the minutiae of logic, the extrapolation of emotion, the magic of the moment and the nudge of nostalgia. And that's why if you love being wedged on a pew in the church of baseball, holy water in a plastic cup and communion with relish on top, you'll really enjoy this book.
Sports reporters can tend to be beautifully verbose and master of the simile, and I love all that. I've never read any of Bruce Weber's baseball writing for the New York Times, but in this book, he sits himself down next to me, the fellow fan, and he shares these chronicles of professional umpiring, from school minion to Major League commandeer. It's really an amazing account - as someone with Little League and recreational softball umpiring experience, I'm with the boys in blue. It's a tough job, and although someone has to do it (as well as enjoy pro athlete-level perks at the highest level), not everyone can. Here's where baseball can easily slip into the rhetoric, but it's true - I don't think sports judging can get any harder than with this game, with on-field coordination, snap decisions and a million rules enforced on every play. And to that, add pomp, aplomb and authority.
I learned a lot about professional umpiring and through that, the evolution of baseball and the corporate conglomerate it is today. It's a fantastic insight into living the game and the life of the game - most want to see it from the perspective of the players, coaches and even general managers but the honest truth is, no one sees it all better than the guy behind the face mask.
Sports reporters can tend to be beautifully verbose and master of the simile, and I love all that. I've never read any of Bruce Weber's baseball writing for the New York Times, but in this book, he sits himself down next to me, the fellow fan, and he shares these chronicles of professional umpiring, from school minion to Major League commandeer. It's really an amazing account - as someone with Little League and recreational softball umpiring experience, I'm with the boys in blue. It's a tough job, and although someone has to do it (as well as enjoy pro athlete-level perks at the highest level), not everyone can. Here's where baseball can easily slip into the rhetoric, but it's true - I don't think sports judging can get any harder than with this game, with on-field coordination, snap decisions and a million rules enforced on every play. And to that, add pomp, aplomb and authority.
I learned a lot about professional umpiring and through that, the evolution of baseball and the corporate conglomerate it is today. It's a fantastic insight into living the game and the life of the game - most want to see it from the perspective of the players, coaches and even general managers but the honest truth is, no one sees it all better than the guy behind the face mask.
Read
August 13, 2025Bruce Weber’s As They See ‘Em: A Fan’s Travels in the Land of Umpires might just be the most enlightening, entertaining baseball book I’ve read. Weber’s lively book considers umpiring from every possible angle to give readers a better understanding of one of baseball’s most misunderstood and underappreciated dimensions.
What did I learn from As They See ‘Em? Well, I didn’t know that the black stripe on home plate is not part of the strike zone. I was surprised to learn that most umpires want instant replay, because accuracy is their ultimate goal—even if baseball’s higher-ups grumble about the time it takes. And those fiery on-field arguments? They might drag a game out longer than replay ever would. I was also surprised to learn that major league umpires have very little turnover, so most umpires spend at least ten years in the minor leagues before having a chance at the big leagues. Also, major-league umpires are paid very well.
Although As They See ‘Em pre-dates the pitch clock, the big changes only underscore the book’s themes, including the importance of integrity to the umpires, the tension between umpires and baseball’s front offices, and the psychological make-up necessary to be a successful umpire.
Reading this book made me a better, more observant baseball fan.
What did I learn from As They See ‘Em? Well, I didn’t know that the black stripe on home plate is not part of the strike zone. I was surprised to learn that most umpires want instant replay, because accuracy is their ultimate goal—even if baseball’s higher-ups grumble about the time it takes. And those fiery on-field arguments? They might drag a game out longer than replay ever would. I was also surprised to learn that major league umpires have very little turnover, so most umpires spend at least ten years in the minor leagues before having a chance at the big leagues. Also, major-league umpires are paid very well.
Although As They See ‘Em pre-dates the pitch clock, the big changes only underscore the book’s themes, including the importance of integrity to the umpires, the tension between umpires and baseball’s front offices, and the psychological make-up necessary to be a successful umpire.
Reading this book made me a better, more observant baseball fan.
July 1, 2022
Yes! Nearly all the answers about umpires I could have asked, plus stories of great baseball moments. Weber's grander conclusions about umpires - their role and importance in the game, their view of the world, and why we should appreciate them while still reserving the right to complain - are well-integrated into a narrative of umpire training, history, career tracks, and personal connections.
As it was written in 2008 with a long afterward arguing against the use of instant replay, some of it is quite dated. I'm curious about what, if anything, has changed in umpire training and selection since publication.
As it was written in 2008 with a long afterward arguing against the use of instant replay, some of it is quite dated. I'm curious about what, if anything, has changed in umpire training and selection since publication.
May 9, 2020
Generally, I loved reading this, but I did think it dragged a bit when it got stuck in ask the politics of how umpiring is (mis)managed by MLB. Not that the observations are not valid or insightful, but the telling just didn't carry the way the ump school learnings did through the beginning or the stories in the final third later would. Solid read for baseball fans.
September 5, 2025
Kinda dry
August 24, 2009
As They Seem 'Em provides some level of insight into an aspect of sport that is often overlooked -- the development, life, history and challenges of umpires in professional baseball. While the book is often interesting, at times it is tediously over-wordy and slow moving. It could probably stand to be edited and slimmed to some extent.
Weber ranges from his own experiences in umpire school, to the wretched lives of umpires working through the lowest levels of minor league baseball, to the complexity of the work these men (and much more infrequently) women undertake. The last chapter The Braille Watch is one of my favorite, a collection of anecdotes from umpires recalling critical moments in which they did (or, sadly, did not) rise to the occasion and make a great call which they confidently stood and continue to stand behind.
Weber at times seems too eager to make the lives of umpires a metaphor for aspects of America that may or may not be fleeting -- moral absolutism, respect for authority, shunning the spotlight and individualism in favor of faceless teamwork, endless hard work in the face of marginal rewards, etc. Some of this clicked for me, but often it read like a considerable stretch. I think Weber obtained a large amount of interesting data (including from his own experiences), old writings on umpires, as well as somewhat enlightening interviews from current and former umps (he notes on several occasions their common reticence), and thereafter struggled to put it together in a cohesive whole, thus resulting in a overstretched thesis that threatened to sentimentalize the collection of information.
Baseball fans will enjoy it, but it's not exactly a page turner.
Weber ranges from his own experiences in umpire school, to the wretched lives of umpires working through the lowest levels of minor league baseball, to the complexity of the work these men (and much more infrequently) women undertake. The last chapter The Braille Watch is one of my favorite, a collection of anecdotes from umpires recalling critical moments in which they did (or, sadly, did not) rise to the occasion and make a great call which they confidently stood and continue to stand behind.
Weber at times seems too eager to make the lives of umpires a metaphor for aspects of America that may or may not be fleeting -- moral absolutism, respect for authority, shunning the spotlight and individualism in favor of faceless teamwork, endless hard work in the face of marginal rewards, etc. Some of this clicked for me, but often it read like a considerable stretch. I think Weber obtained a large amount of interesting data (including from his own experiences), old writings on umpires, as well as somewhat enlightening interviews from current and former umps (he notes on several occasions their common reticence), and thereafter struggled to put it together in a cohesive whole, thus resulting in a overstretched thesis that threatened to sentimentalize the collection of information.
Baseball fans will enjoy it, but it's not exactly a page turner.
July 27, 2009
As They See 'Em is not JUST for baseball fanatics. This interesting and well-written account will appeal to anyone with a basic knowledge of baseball. Bruce Weber weaves his experiences at baseball umpire school, umpiring non-professional games and, even, umpiring a few innings of a major league intra-squad spring training game with lots of interviews. He interviewed major league and minor league umps, players, managers, and officials. The stories are peppered with humor and tension. He includes the recent history the umpire unions and labor disputes, giving us a feel for recent changes in the umpire's job. He explains and illustrates the skills that umpires need and the career path that they have to take to get to the majors. From minor league umpires, in their first season, facing a broken-down car on the way to Spokane to umpires coping with dressing room chaos at the World Series. I really enjoyed his tales of the two women umpires who have come closest to the major leagues and how they didn't make it, somehow. It appears that the powers that run professional baseball aren't willing to go there, yet.
Through his interviews, Weber gives us an inkling of what it is like to umpire the World Series or be the plate ump for a perfect game.
I have been to three major league games in the past three years (bringing my lifetime total MLB games to four) and I find that I enjoy the ambiance of a baseball stadium on a pleasant summer evening, but I do need help from my companions understanding some of the things that happen on the field. But I am unable to watch baseball on TV--it does not hold my interest. But thanks to this fascinating book, I know that the next game that I watch, I will be watching the umpires almost as much as the players.
Through his interviews, Weber gives us an inkling of what it is like to umpire the World Series or be the plate ump for a perfect game.
I have been to three major league games in the past three years (bringing my lifetime total MLB games to four) and I find that I enjoy the ambiance of a baseball stadium on a pleasant summer evening, but I do need help from my companions understanding some of the things that happen on the field. But I am unable to watch baseball on TV--it does not hold my interest. But thanks to this fascinating book, I know that the next game that I watch, I will be watching the umpires almost as much as the players.
July 5, 2013
As a casual baseball fan, I am pretty sure there have been umpires at most of the games I have attended. Beyond that I had no knowledge of them. This book will fill you in! The tension in which the game is held is remarkable, and the umpire is central. Everyone wants a fair game---that said there is a lot of ambiguity and someone needs to control it. There are many different and cross purpose interests on the field and off that are managed visibly and not so visibly. The tv land spectacle, the sports personalities, the sportscasters, if you can read this and not feel stressed out, and realize there likely more than 1 way to call plays and almost all disenfranchise someone, then maybe umpire school is for you!!
All that being so, the book itself was a tad confusing as it had a tendency to skip around a fair amount. I do commend the author for writing an in depth book that still allowed a casual fan to relate.
All that being so, the book itself was a tad confusing as it had a tendency to skip around a fair amount. I do commend the author for writing an in depth book that still allowed a casual fan to relate.
October 8, 2015
Those four stars only apply when this book is being read by those of us who would want to read a book about baseball umpires, of course. For us, it's engaging and revealing. Weber keeps the attention on working pro umpires and wisely minimizes his fish-out-of-water, a-writer-tries-umpiring stuff, because as a character Weber is at best uninteresting and at worst kind of irritating.
April 3, 2016
Liked it okay. His organization of material is difficult--text contains lots and lots of names of both players and umpires, more than I could keep straight. But the topic is very interesting, and I'm pretty sure I'll never look at an ump the same way again.
April 28, 2013
If you are a die-hard baseball fan, read this book! I've been watching baseball for fifty years and I learned things about umpires and umpiring that I would have never believed.
April 8, 2021
I love baseball and I love a good baseball story. This book is full of them.
Weber goes behind the scenes and shows his readers what it is like to be a MLB umpire. He goes to one of the umpire schools, goes to the minor leagues where most umpires never leave, and he also goes to the majors where a few select umpires get to spend their career.
He fills all of this with stories from umpires at all levels. You will see what it is like to umpire in the minor leagues with your partner, driving 600 miles to the next game, eating at crappy restaurants, and not seeing much of your family with low pay to boot.
You also will get a look at the problems umpires face in the majors and the big changes which resulted in massive resignations in 1999. Lots of changes followed and not every umpire was allowed back.
I am originally from Iowa and a lot of MLB umpires make Iowa there home. This always amazed me. I have even had Mike Everitt to my house for a Bible study. I had always thought it would be great to be a MLB umpire but this book will show you it really is a tough journey and tough job once you get it.
Weber goes behind the scenes and shows his readers what it is like to be a MLB umpire. He goes to one of the umpire schools, goes to the minor leagues where most umpires never leave, and he also goes to the majors where a few select umpires get to spend their career.
He fills all of this with stories from umpires at all levels. You will see what it is like to umpire in the minor leagues with your partner, driving 600 miles to the next game, eating at crappy restaurants, and not seeing much of your family with low pay to boot.
You also will get a look at the problems umpires face in the majors and the big changes which resulted in massive resignations in 1999. Lots of changes followed and not every umpire was allowed back.
I am originally from Iowa and a lot of MLB umpires make Iowa there home. This always amazed me. I have even had Mike Everitt to my house for a Bible study. I had always thought it would be great to be a MLB umpire but this book will show you it really is a tough journey and tough job once you get it.
July 6, 2021
A great book about an underreported part of baseball - the umpires. I've umpired for over a dozen years and always love to hear stories about MLB umps, and Weber, going to umpire school, having access to major and minor league umps, and doing his own games, shone great insight into the profession. It's not a technical book - no knowledge of umpiring is needed to understand it - but it gives enough depth and insight that anyone with a familiarity with the profession will also find it compelling. Interwoven with narratives of games umpired and road trip debacles is the history of professional umpiring and the often fractious relationships between umpires and the MLB. This provided great insight into the off the field aspect of umpiring, which is even less well-known than the on-field part. While over a decade old, umpiring doesn't really go stale, and this is a must read for any umpire or baseball fan.
May 4, 2025
Bruce Weber’s As They See 'Em is more than just a book about baseball—it’s a tribute to the umpires who make the game what it is. His thorough research and personal insights provide a rich tapestry of experiences that any baseball fan, umpire, or player will appreciate. As someone who has lived this journey, I found myself nodding in agreement with Weber’s observations and reflecting on my own career.
The book reminds us that while the players may get the glory, the umpires are the unsung heroes of the game. They are the ones who ensure the game is played fairly, consistently, and with integrity. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to stand behind the plate, calling balls and strikes or making the tough calls, Weber’s book offers a rare glimpse into that world—and as an umpire, it’s a world that feels all too familiar.
August 30, 2020
Reading this 2010 book was a long slog. To begin with, I didn’t pay enough attention enough to a book I requested as a gift. I thought it was a book by an MLB umpire. But its subtitle clearly says “A fan’s travel in the land of umpires.” Nevertheless, it felt overly long and uninteresting in many places, especially in the author’s training as an umpire. There were interesting stories here and there on controversial plays and, surprisingly, on umpire contract negotiations. And the update, where the author discusses his feelings on replays, now seems woefully out of date since the sport has taken them up.
November 26, 2017
This is a great book for any baseball fan. It reveals a completely unknown (to anyone outside of umpires) aspect of the game. Unknown, unsuspected, and probably literally unimaginable. Mr. Weber took his journalistic responsibilities seriously, going as far as getting training at one of the two professional umpiring schools and then working as an umpire at various levels. He even managed to talk his way into umpiring behind the plate for three innings at a spring training intra-squad game. Let me just say that I would NEVER make it as an umpire.
May 1, 2019
I liked As They See 'Em but found it a little disjointed. Weber covers a lot of ground, from umpiring history to attending umpire school to the lives of officials as they chase their dream of making the majors to famous, controversial incidents. Much of it is really interesting--he writes vividly of his own experiences as an amateur umpire--but it seemed like more of a collection of essays than a coherent whole.
July 24, 2022
Read this once before when it was first released and picked it up again recently for a reread.
The path of aspirant umpires through their vocational school and through the minors is the real heart of the book.
The second half of the book detailing happenstances of major league umpires active at the time of publication has a bit less relevance as the years pass.
The path of aspirant umpires through their vocational school and through the minors is the real heart of the book.
The second half of the book detailing happenstances of major league umpires active at the time of publication has a bit less relevance as the years pass.
March 21, 2023
A fascinating look at inside-baseball umpiring. Lots of stories and insights - I'll be paying a lot more attention to the umpires the next time I'm at a ball game. I agree with the conclusion that baseball should keep umpires, mistakes and all, and not rely on automated calls. After all, everybody else on the field is allowed to make mistakes - it's part of the humanity of baseball.
August 8, 2024
A fun look at the world of umpiring, this book provides a great mix of anecdotes, insider accounts, and explanations of umpiring choreography and technique. This book truly opens your eyes to the most unseen people on the baseball diamond, adding depth to our understanding of a baseball game. The audio book performance is enjoyable.
March 23, 2012
As impossible dreams go, the odds for minor league umpires are significantly longer than those overcome by the 1967 Red Sox. With virtually no turnover at the major league level, even the most competent aspiring arbiters are generally dismissed after 8-10 grueling years climbing the ladder.
Their journey begins at umpire school, where Bruce Weber got to know many dreamers, as well as the more experienced umps on hand to train them. Weber, on assignment for the New York Times, visited the Jim Evans Academy of Professional Umpiring in Kissimmee, Florida, four years ago. After writing several pieces for the paper, he became fascinated with the umpiring community and decided it warranted more than he could cover in the Times. Thus, “As They See ‘Em” was born.
Weber returned to the Evans Academy, this time as a student in the school’s five-week program. His 120 classmates included an ex-marine recruiter, a painting contractor, a cattle rancher—men from a wide variety of backgrounds, many looking to start over on a career that paid next to nothing. Six days a week they spent mornings in the class room, followed by an afternoon on the diamond as instructors tested the students with simulated plays to help them master positioning, timing, and knowledge of the rulebook.
The cream of the crop from the Evans Academy, as well as a school run by former umpire Harry Wendelstedt, advanced to an audition for the Professional Baseball Umpiring Corporation. PBUC oversees the progress of minor league umpires, grading them as they climb from rookie ball to Triple-A, where evaluations are taken over by Major League Baseball. Most umpires don’t have many kind things to say about PBUC or the minor league presidents who rule their worlds. Weber recounts a handful of stories from umps who felt pressured to return early to work following injuries or family situations. Current big league umpire Bill Miller received a major league reaming by International League president Randy Mobley after he was robbed at gunpoint in his hotel in 1995. An emotional wreck in the aftermath of that stressful ordeal, he went AWOL, incurring Mobley’s wrath.
Mobley is one of at least a dozen folks who aren’t painted in a flattering light by Weber. It’s a good thing he said all he has to say on the subject, because many of the people he interviewed aren’t likely in a hurry to talk with him again. Many of them were reluctant to talk with him the first time around. Weber found major league umpires especially reserved, though he spent enough time traveling with them that he collected plenty of interesting tales.
One of the more fascinating chapters—of Weber’s book as well as recent umpiring history—deals with the umpires’ union and its suicidal decision to resign en masse in 1999. With the basic agreement governing the umpires’ relationship with Major League Baseball set to expire after the season—and doubting the legality of a strike—union leader Richie Phillips concocted the resignation scheme at a meeting during the all-star break. When the union splintered, the strategy backfired, with baseball accepting the tendered resignations. Many of the men who quit were never welcomed back. Ten years later there are still hard feelings on all sides.
One of the saddest stories of that episode belongs to Jeff Nelson, who recalled feeling bullied by Phillips and some of the veteran umpires. Nelson had just reached the majors after 10 years in the minor leagues. After sacrificing so long to make it, he was suddenly out.
Nelson’s sacrifice was one most of us wouldn’t–or couldn’t–choose to make. For as little as $1,800 a month, aspiring umpires travel the minor league circuit, often in a vehicle they themselves must provide, driving several hundred miles in a day to be cursed and vilified by players, managers, and fans alike. The abuse wouldn’t be worth it for twice the money. Of course, if they overcome the odds and reach the brotherhood in the big leagues, that all changes.
Major league umpires make on average more than $200,000 a season. They travel first class and stay in nice hotels. Their lives are completely different than they were on the way up. But along with the rewards comes tremendous pressure, especially in the harsh glare of the postseason. Weber talked with several umpires who unwillingly became the center of attention for a call made in October. Some, like Larry Barnett, who ruled there was no interference on Ed Armbrister’s bunt in the 1975 World Series, received death threats. And his call was correct.
Imagine how Don Denkinger felt. He blew a key call in Game Six of the 1985 World Series that helped shift momentum to the Kansas City Royals. No St. Louis Cardinals fan is likely to ever forgive him. Denkinger knows now it was the wrong call, and he explained to Weber how the play unfolded, and just how it was that he called Jorge Orta safe at first. Time has helped heal some of that hurt, but you know he wishes he could have a do-over on that call.
Weber’s immersion into the world of umpires resulted in an insider story that most insiders couldn’t share without fear of being blacklisted. “As They See ‘Em” is an entertaining and informative book that will affect the way you look at the judges on the field.
Their journey begins at umpire school, where Bruce Weber got to know many dreamers, as well as the more experienced umps on hand to train them. Weber, on assignment for the New York Times, visited the Jim Evans Academy of Professional Umpiring in Kissimmee, Florida, four years ago. After writing several pieces for the paper, he became fascinated with the umpiring community and decided it warranted more than he could cover in the Times. Thus, “As They See ‘Em” was born.
Weber returned to the Evans Academy, this time as a student in the school’s five-week program. His 120 classmates included an ex-marine recruiter, a painting contractor, a cattle rancher—men from a wide variety of backgrounds, many looking to start over on a career that paid next to nothing. Six days a week they spent mornings in the class room, followed by an afternoon on the diamond as instructors tested the students with simulated plays to help them master positioning, timing, and knowledge of the rulebook.
The cream of the crop from the Evans Academy, as well as a school run by former umpire Harry Wendelstedt, advanced to an audition for the Professional Baseball Umpiring Corporation. PBUC oversees the progress of minor league umpires, grading them as they climb from rookie ball to Triple-A, where evaluations are taken over by Major League Baseball. Most umpires don’t have many kind things to say about PBUC or the minor league presidents who rule their worlds. Weber recounts a handful of stories from umps who felt pressured to return early to work following injuries or family situations. Current big league umpire Bill Miller received a major league reaming by International League president Randy Mobley after he was robbed at gunpoint in his hotel in 1995. An emotional wreck in the aftermath of that stressful ordeal, he went AWOL, incurring Mobley’s wrath.
Mobley is one of at least a dozen folks who aren’t painted in a flattering light by Weber. It’s a good thing he said all he has to say on the subject, because many of the people he interviewed aren’t likely in a hurry to talk with him again. Many of them were reluctant to talk with him the first time around. Weber found major league umpires especially reserved, though he spent enough time traveling with them that he collected plenty of interesting tales.
One of the more fascinating chapters—of Weber’s book as well as recent umpiring history—deals with the umpires’ union and its suicidal decision to resign en masse in 1999. With the basic agreement governing the umpires’ relationship with Major League Baseball set to expire after the season—and doubting the legality of a strike—union leader Richie Phillips concocted the resignation scheme at a meeting during the all-star break. When the union splintered, the strategy backfired, with baseball accepting the tendered resignations. Many of the men who quit were never welcomed back. Ten years later there are still hard feelings on all sides.
One of the saddest stories of that episode belongs to Jeff Nelson, who recalled feeling bullied by Phillips and some of the veteran umpires. Nelson had just reached the majors after 10 years in the minor leagues. After sacrificing so long to make it, he was suddenly out.
Nelson’s sacrifice was one most of us wouldn’t–or couldn’t–choose to make. For as little as $1,800 a month, aspiring umpires travel the minor league circuit, often in a vehicle they themselves must provide, driving several hundred miles in a day to be cursed and vilified by players, managers, and fans alike. The abuse wouldn’t be worth it for twice the money. Of course, if they overcome the odds and reach the brotherhood in the big leagues, that all changes.
Major league umpires make on average more than $200,000 a season. They travel first class and stay in nice hotels. Their lives are completely different than they were on the way up. But along with the rewards comes tremendous pressure, especially in the harsh glare of the postseason. Weber talked with several umpires who unwillingly became the center of attention for a call made in October. Some, like Larry Barnett, who ruled there was no interference on Ed Armbrister’s bunt in the 1975 World Series, received death threats. And his call was correct.
Imagine how Don Denkinger felt. He blew a key call in Game Six of the 1985 World Series that helped shift momentum to the Kansas City Royals. No St. Louis Cardinals fan is likely to ever forgive him. Denkinger knows now it was the wrong call, and he explained to Weber how the play unfolded, and just how it was that he called Jorge Orta safe at first. Time has helped heal some of that hurt, but you know he wishes he could have a do-over on that call.
Weber’s immersion into the world of umpires resulted in an insider story that most insiders couldn’t share without fear of being blacklisted. “As They See ‘Em” is an entertaining and informative book that will affect the way you look at the judges on the field.
March 13, 2020
The author went to umpire school, umpired in various games, and talked with numerous umpires and other MLB officials. It is a quick and easy read, and is enlightening. Very interesting. I highly recommend it.
November 29, 2018
good inside baseball.
April 24, 2019
3.5 stars
July 1, 2019
A good view into the baseball world of umpires.
July 29, 2020
Great insight into the world of umpires. Those starved for baseball would love it.
October 1, 2022
Great insight in the world of umpires. I could relate to many stories from games I’ve watch and read about.
October 31, 2022
Great insight into the world of a MLB Umpire and the road they take to get to the majors. The book is a bit dated and rambles on at times, but all-in-all a good read.
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