Hi, lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Jonathan
Weeks and his new book, “The Umpire Was Blind!” For other stops on his Goddess Fish
Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in
this post.
Be sure to make it to the
end of this post to enter to win a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!! Also, come back daily to interact with Jonathan
and to increase your chances of winning!
Thanks for stopping
by! Wishing you lots of luck in this
fabulous giveaway!
The
Umpire Was Blind!
by
Jonathan Weeks
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GENRE: Sports History/Biography
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BLURB:
In
the words of former American League umpire Nestor Chylak, umpires are expected
to “be perfect on the first day of the season and then get better every day.”
Forced to deal with sullen managers and explosive players, they often take the
blame for the failures of both. But let’s face it—umpires are only human.
For
well over a century, the fortunes of Major League teams—and the fabric of
baseball history itself—have been dramatically affected by the flawed decisions
of officials. While the use of video replay in recent decades has reduced the
number of bitter disputes, many situations remain exempt from review and are
subject to swirling controversy. In the heat of the moment mistakes are often
made, sometimes with monumental consequences.
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EXCERPT TWO:
JOE DiMAGGIO’S 56-GAME HITTING STREAK:
…“The
Streak” was in serious jeopardy on multiple occasions. In fact, DiMaggio
extended it during his final plate appearance nearly a dozen times. But never
was he more in danger of losing it than on June 10 at Chicago’s Comiskey Park.
After a pair of groundouts and an infield pop-up, the Yankee icon came to bat
in the seventh inning against right-hander Johnny Rigney, who was one of
Chicago’s top hurlers in those days. DiMaggio smashed a sizzling grounder to
third, where the sure-handed Dario Lodigiani was stationed. “Lodi” could only
block it with his body, but he recovered in time to nail the Yankee
centerfielder at first by a quarter of a step. Fortunately for DiMaggio, first
base umpire Steve Basil saw things differently, making a “safe” call on the
play.
Basil,
who had turned to umpiring after his playing career stalled out at the Class-D
level, was in his sixth year of major league service. Though generally
even-tempered, he was not afraid to assert his authority when his calls were
held in question. Never was this more apparent than in June of 1938, when he
tossed three members of the St. Louis Browns out of a game for arguing balls
and strikes.
According
to AL arbiter Joe Rue, Basil was a bit of a tattletale who was constantly
trying to curry favor with MLB officials. In particular, he had established
intimate relationships with umpire supervisor Tommy Connolly and AL president
William Harridge. “Basil was always playing up to Connolly,” Rue asserted
bitterly. “And he’d run to Connolly and Harridge with everything.”
There
was no need to seek the counsel of league officials on the date in question. In
fact, the White Sox hardly protested at all as DiMaggio’s streak was extended
to twenty-five games. Basil’s call proved to be of monumental importance when
Joe D. grounded into a double play in his final at-bat of the day. Had Basil
made the correct decision, “The Streak” would have been divided into two
roughly equal halves—impressive, for sure, but not exactly the stuff that
legends are made of.
The
events of July 17, 1941, have attained an almost mythical quality. DiMaggio had
pushed his streak to fifty-six games and was on his way to Cleveland’s
Municipal Stadium in a cab when the driver, recognizing the iconic outfielder
and his teammate Lefty Gomez, said ominously: “I got a feeling if you don’t get
a hit in your first at-bat today, they’re going to stop you.” (Several versions
of the quote exist) Flabbergasted, Gomez snapped: “Who the hell are you?
What’re you trying to do—jinx him?”
…Gomez
might have been on to something.
The
jinx appeared in the form of Indians third baseman Ken Keltner, who made a pair
of spectacular stops to rob DiMaggio. “The Streak” ended that day and “Joltin’
Joe” hit safely in his next 16 games. Many years after the fact, he claimed to
have had an encounter with the mysterious Cleveland cab driver. “Now this is
thirty years later,” DiMaggio asserted. “He apologized and was serious. I felt
awful. He might have been spending his whole life thinking he had jinxed me,
but I told him he hadn’t. My number was up.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GUEST POST:
UMPIRES OF THE OLD SCHOOL:
DICK HIGHAM
If
there were a Hall of Fame for dishonest umpires, Dick Higham would be a
founding member. To date, he remains the only arbiter ever to be permanently
banished from the sport.
Born
in County Suffolk, England, Higham was two years-old when he moved with his
family to America. He began playing baseball as a teenager. After spending time
with the New York Empire and Marrisania Union clubs, he ascended to the majors
with the New York Mutuals. The promotion was bittersweet as his mother passed
away within weeks of his big league arrival.
Higham
was a talented hitter, compiling a lifetime .307 batting average for six
different teams. Most often appearing at the top of the order, he led the
National League in doubles twice and runs score once. A versatile fielder, he
played every position on the diamond except for pitcher. He served in the
outfield more often than not, but also spent a significant amount of time
behind the plate. Catching was a hazardous profession in the 1800s due to the
lack of protective equipment. Gloves were sparsely padded. There were no
shin-guards and the use of masks and chest protectors was uncommon.
Over
the course of his career, rumors began to circulate that Higham was fixing
games for a price. Though nothing was ever proven, his playing days ended when
he was still very much in his prime. Upon retiring in 1880, he settled in Troy,
New York. Despite his questionable past, the National League hired him as an
umpire in 1881. At the time, NL umpires had to be approved by team owners. Of
the two dozen candidates selected that year, Higham placed third in voting.
Umpires
were assigned to specific teams and Higham ended up with the Providence Grays
to start the season. Later that year, he called games for the Detroit
Wolverines and Troy Trojans. In all, he drew fifty-eight assignments,
performing well enough to be honored with a testimonial game at season’s end.
In
1882, Higham placed eighth in voting during the selection process. He started
the season with Detroit and drew the suspicions of Wolverines owner William G.
Thompson, who believed that Higham was making calls against his team. A private
detective hired by Thompson confirmed those misgivings. A letter written by
Higham to a notorious gambler was discovered. In it, a simple telegram code for
placing bets was established. “Buy all the lumber you can” was a cue to bet on
the Wolverines while no telegram was an advisement to bet against them.
Confronted
by a group of disgruntled owners, Higham was fired from his position and banned
from the sport. He never admitted to any of the charges made against him. Upon
being dismissed from his duties, he settled into a career as a bookkeeper. He
was married with two sons at the time of his death in 1905 from complications
of Bright’s disease (an ailment characterized by chronic inflammation of the
kidneys).
Higham’s
case helped raise awareness of the dishonesty within baseball and the need to
hold umpires accountable for their actions. 1882 was the first year in which
umpires, players and managers were all prohibited from betting on games. Though
shady dealings would continue to pervade the sport over the next few decades,
the situation was more closely monitored following Higham’s expulsion.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR BIO:
Weeks
spent most of his life in the Capital District region of New York State. He
earned a degree in psychology from SUNY Albany. In 2004, he migrated to Malone,
NY. He continues to gripe about the frigid winter temperatures to the present
day. He has published several books on the topic of baseball. He would have
loved to play professionally, but lacked the talent. He still can't hit a curve
ball or lay off the high heat. In the winter months, he moonlights as a hockey
fan.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CONNECT WITH JONATHAN:
Website:
BookBub Book Page:
Goodreads Author Page:
Goodreads Book Page #1:
Goodreads Book Page #2:
Amazon Author Page:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOOK BUY LINKS:
Amazon Kindle eBook:
Amazon Paperback:
Barnes and Noble NOOK eBook:
Barnes and Noble Paperback:
Kobo eBook:
Google Play eBook:
The Book Depository Paperback:
BAM! Books-A-Million Paperback:
McFarland Books Paperback:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY INFO:
Jonathan will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC
to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.
**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a
purchase is made, I may receive a small commission to help support this
blog. This does not cost you anything,
it just helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**
This contest is sponsored
by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish
Promotions. Prizes are given away by the
sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish
Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteJonathan ~ Good morning! Welcome to FAB! It is so great to have you here! Congrats on your new book and good luck on the book tour! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! I always appreciate an opportunity to get my work out there and interact with readers.
DeleteDid you help design the cover?
ReplyDeleteActually, I didn't help with the design. This is my first time working with this particular publisher. In the past, I have been asked for input regarding cover designs, but not this time around. I'm not complaining. I think it turned out very well.
Delete:-)
DeleteGreat post and I appreciate getting to find out about another great book. Thanks for all you do and for the hard work you put into this. Greatly appreciated!
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks to you James for being so supportive.
DeleteHappy Friday - thanks for sharing the great post and awesome giveaway :)
ReplyDeleteIt's my pleasure.
DeleteThanks for sharing, this sounds like a great book
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed post, sounds good!
ReplyDelete