That there were other worlds, invisible, unknown, beyond imagination even, was a revelation to him.
Any umpire who claims he has never missed a play is. . . well, an umpire.
Like some cult religion that barely survives, there has always been at least one but rarely more than five or six devotees throwing the knuckleball in the big leagues. . . Not only can't pitchers control it, hitters can't hit it, catchers can't catch it, coaches can't coach it and most pitchers can't learn it. The perfect pitch.
Umpiring is best described as the profession of standing between two seven-year olds with one ice cream cone.
No one ever grew up intending to be an umpire, except perhaps my friend Bill Haller. His brother Tom wanted to be a catcher, so an affinity for masks must run in that family.
The practical joke is the psychiatry of baseball.
Throwing people out of a game is like learning to ride a bicycle--once you get the hang of it, it can be a lot of fun.
Before all else, be armed.
I have done for my country and for all mankind, all that I could do, and I now resign my soul, without fear, to my God - my daughter to my country.
Without a band, I'm much more free to improvise.
I never, in any city I've ever been in, never remember the names of streets. The longest place I ever lived in was for five years and I didn't know the name of the next street over.