"Losing the Humanity of Umpiring" by Joe Posnanski

I would like to take this moment to bring to you an article of great passion, written by an author who I magnanimously admire, on a subject beyond realistic dispute, except, for the person in authority who got it wrong . . . 

Losing the Humanity of Umpiring

There’s a very famous strike zone story that has been connected with Stan Musial, Ted Williams, Ty Cobb, and others. I’m not sure the story ever happened, but if it did happen, it probably involved Hall of Fame umpire Bill Klem and Hall of Fame second baseman Rogers Hornsby.

It goes a little something like this: A young pitcher, maybe even pitching in his first game, throws what he thinks is a good pitch to Hornsby. The Rajah doesn’t swing, and it’s called a ball. He throws another pitch he likes, Hornsby takes it, and the pitch is called a ball again.

He starts screaming at Klem, who looks at him with a fatherly gaze.

“Son,” Klem says, “when you pitch a strike, Mr. Hornsby will let you know it.”

I couldn’t help but think about that story again on Sunday during the United States’ unsatisfying 2-1 victory over the Dominican Republic during the World Baseball Classic. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Juan Soto led off against Garrett Whitlock. Here’s what the at-bat looked like:

Yes, home plate umpire Corey Blaser rang up Soto on a pitch that wasn’t even close to a strike, and while this wasn’t what made the game unsatisfying — as most of you know, a worse call was yet to come — it really struck me wrong. I couldn’t even believe how much that call ticked me off.

The Longest Conversation

I mistyped the title three times, each time substituting the word "Day" for "Conversation". Chalk one up to the power of movies. For today I want to discuss a conversation that Jesus Christ had with a woman, at a well, in Samaria, which ended up being the longest recorded conversation between Jesus and another person. 

Let's check it out together . . . 

When we join this story, Jesus has decided to leave Judea, because of the rumors that He was baptizing more people than John the Baptist. (So we see that pettiness ruled the ancient religious culture as well) Scripture tells us that despite the fact that the rumor was not true, (His disciples were the ones actually doing the baptisms), Jesus felt that it was time to leave. He starts back toward Galilee, which requires Him to travel through Samaria. 

Dave And Me

I worked for a company in Nashville, Southern Foods Inc, for over ten years during the mid-eighties and nineties, and among the company's holdings were fifty-two Wendy's restaurants. I ended up supervising eight of those Wendy's from Chattanooga, TN down to Rome, Ga. Our company headquarters, as I mentioned, were located in the Vanderbilt Plaza in downtown Nashville, where we were beckoned to give an account of our stores on a regular basis. 

On one of our regular visits, (as supervisors we were called to account for our stores P&L statements as well as discuss our sales figures), we were walking from the parking lot toward the front entrance and who did we see exiting the entrance but Dave Thomas! We excitedly introduced ourselves and his first, and only question now that I recollect that conversation was, "How are sales?". Dave knew that volume could whitewash a lot of mistakes but the opposite was also true. His attention to detail was notorious, and his focus on customer service, quality of food, and the results of those priorities was memorable. I thought my readers, however few . . . , might appreciate a peek behind the curtain of Wendy's lore. 

1968 - A Year To Forget

By all accounts, 1968 was a year most people would rather not remember. I was eight years old and it seemed like the world was exploding in front of my very eyes. Many of you reading this blog were not even born and have only read about it in history books or historical videos. Regardless, let’s remember for just a minute about the year that everyone wanted to forget:

January 1968. The war in Vietnam is raging and the Tet Offensive kicks off on all fronts across Vietnam. This month-long attack by Communist forces brings a new level of violence and bloodshed to the American military in Vietnam—and to American television screens from coast to coast here in the States. Up to that time, no war has ever been televised. But now, but now Americans everywhere see the bloodshed and carnage every night . . . and it has an effect on our Nation. In fact, in February 1968 after the Tet Offensive, CBS newsman Walter Cronkite declares that the war in Vietnam is unwinnable. And yet, the war rages on for seven more years. By the way, over the course of 1968, an average of 50 American servicemembers  

February 1968. The movie “Planet of the Apes” is released. Like a number of movies during that era, this blockbuster is based on the premise that humanity has destroyed itself through nuclear war. Indeed, the very-real specter of nuclear annihilation hangs over the Baby Boom generation like few other things do.

March 1968. American troops commit what becomes known as the “My Lai Massacre,” the worst slaughter of unarmed civilians on the battlefield in American history. A company of American Soldiers brutally kill and mutilate over 500 men, women, and children in the village of My Lai. The American public is outraged, and the anti-war protests swell in numbers.