Most of the umpires, it's amazing: 98 percent of them will not hold a grudge. I always felt a couple of them did. I never wanted to argue with an umpire in my life.
If you watch a guy go out on court and have a meltdown, you're not going to think, 'Oh my God, now I'm screwed.' Or you're not going to think, 'The umpire's going to give him calls because he's just told him he's an idiot or the pits of the world.'
If an umpire misses a called third strike and the other side ends up scoring because of it, I'm not going to forget it. If there are runners on second and third and two out, and if the umpire has just given the hitter an extra strike and the next pitch goes into the hole and both runs score, I've got to say something to the guy.
The trouble with women umpires is that I couldn't argue with one. I'd put my arms around her and give her a little kiss.
Some guys, first pitch of the at-bat gets called a strike - maybe it's a ball off or below their knees, and it gets called a strike - and then the next two pitches, they swing at balls in the dirt, and all of a sudden, they're yelling at the umpire about that first pitch. You just swung at two balls in the dirt, buddy.
Cardinal rule for all hitters with two strikes on them: Never trust the umpire.
One of the things you do in a baseball game is scream at the umpire in the hope that the next call will go your way.
Commenting on criticism of the Supreme Court:
I think umpires have too much power, without any system of checks and balances and the more money a player makes, the more the umpire tries to show off that power to him. Unfortunately, since I signed my contract my strike zone has suddenly become a lot larger.
The public wouldn't like the perfect umpire in every game. It would kill off baseball's greatest alibi - 'We was robbed.'
Those amateur umpires are certainly flexing their fangs tonight.
Seems to me the rules are loaded against batsmen. If bowlers show dissent after a near miss they never seem to get punished.
Look, the umpires behind the plate? They're human. They're doing the best they can to try to call balls and strikes. I understand that there's a lot of calls that kinda are 50-50. They can go either way. And as a starting pitcher, you try to manage, 'Alright, if you didn't get that call, maybe you'll get it again here a few innings later.'