Thanks for sharing. I hadn’t heard that one. In the days before replay review, the best Barlick could do is exactly what he did and owe Leo the next close call.
“...could do is exactly what he did and owe Leo the next close call.”
As for myself being an umpire for both baseball and softball at a number of different levels, I can understand that Barlick would owe Leo the best call he could make at the next one. He can only do the best to get position and within the scope of the rules and his judgement, give it his best. But as there is a show and getting the fans their dollars worth, Leo would be out there anyway. And possibly to get ejected for one reason or another in some cases having nothing to do with that call anyway. There has been occassions when managers have been ejected when taking the lineup card up from a previous call maybe a year before. A magic word was said, and the rest of the game the manager spent in the runway shouting out orders to his subordiates.
I can remember one time Bobby Valentine was tossed and went to the clubhouse, smeared some pine tar under his nose and returned to the dugout in the same uniform to continue managing. That cost him a two game suspension and a $5K fine (which the club paid). His team, the Mets, won the game in the 14th.
I often wished the public could get an idea of what actually happens on the field. Some of it is hilarious. And if the people could get by the language, they’d laugh but also they’d be disillusioned. It would bring the game closer to acting and away from pure sport. It would be far more show and a lot less competition.
wy69