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Posted on 03/09/2012 10:53:49 AM PST by EveningStar
Retired Major League Baseball umpire Harry Wendelstedt died this morning at Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center. He was 73.Wendelstedt, a longtime Ormond Beach resident, umpired for 33 seasons in the majors, including five World Series, seven National League Championship Series and four All-Star Games... (1)
... On May 31, 1968, Wendelstedt made a famous call that preserved Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Don Drysdale's consecutive shutouts and scoreless innings streaks. Giants catcher Dick Dietz came to the plate in the top of the 9th inning with the bases loaded and no outs. On a 2-2 count, Drysdale hit Dietz on the elbow, apparently forcing in a run that would have ended the streaks. However, Wendelstedt ruled that Dietz made no attempt to avoid being struck by the pitch, and called him back. Drysdale retired Dietz on a short fly ball and got out of the inning without yielding a run, earning his fifth (of six) consecutive shutouts... (2)
..."He stood there like a post," Dietz's former Giant teammate Ron Hunt recalled Wednesday. "It was a high slider, and he didn't make an attempt."Hunt, who once held the career hit-by-pitch record, remembered that Wendelstedt made the call right away. But that didn't stop the Giants from complaining... (3)
Personal note: I've attended very few major league baseball games in my life, but I did attend this game. This was an unforgettable night for me. If I recall correctly, Giants manager Herman Franks was ejected from the game for arguing the call.
(1) The Daytona Beach News-Journal
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Good for him. Any other time, any other circumstance, you say take your base. You don’t break a record that way.
Have you ever umpired baseball?
The most important quality in an Umpire is character, and attempting to make calls right ... shows.
I believe the rule states that the batter must attempt yp avoid being hit by the ball.
to avoid
I, too, was at that game. The California primary election was a few days away, and a supporter of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy (D-NY), who was running for the Democratic presidential nomination stood at the entrance to Dodger Stadium passing out fliers and asking, "do you want to vote for Senator Kennedy"? I replied, "no, I don't!"
That was absolutely the most dramatic baseball game I have ever seen. The suspense was building inning by inning and climaxed when Dietz was hit by that pitch. And yes, the Jints' manager was, indeed, thrown out of the game, but that didn't shut him up. He continued to bellyache at a news conference the next day.
RIP.
It’s sad that a good man and a good umpire like Wendelstedt passes on...
...and Don Dekinger still walks the earth. Where is the fairness?
Rule 6.08 (b)(2) Says a batter is not entitled to first base if “The batter makes no attempt to avoid being touched by the ball” ... and, in that case, the umpire is to call the pitch as he sees it ... ball or strike.
Sorry to see him go. He was an excellent umpire.
Thanks for posting the actual rule. I was going to say that was the rule, but then I’m thinking back to my own time as a Softball Pitcher.
There was this one girl (yes I remember her name, but it’s not imp.) and she ALWAYS crowded the plate something awful... I mean bending at the waist so far that her HEAD was in the strike zone - she did this until the count built up and worked on the pitcher (most girls were way too intimidated to aim for her head). I remember my coach telling me - just pitch like you ALWAYS do, put it right in there and if she doesn’t move, she doesn’t get the base. As soon as she figured out I wasn’t falling for her deliberate intimidation tactics she NEVER crowded the plate facing me again... We ended up winning that game, but lost our second game that day (playoffs).
We ended up in 3rd for the season, but after watching that girls’ team consistently pull dirty tricks all season long we were more than satisfied that we beat them. (The fact that the girl’s Dad - and team’s coach - was a former MLB player made them think they were invincible and there’s no doubt in my mind that the tricks were compliments of her father.)
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