“Hey Blue…Or Is it black and blue?”

“Hey Blue…Or Is it black and blue?”With the recent incident in the MLB, the question arises, are umpires safe behind the plate?  Sure they have their typical gear: facemask, chest protector, leg guards, and “cup.”  But what more can be done?  Can more be done?  Well sure because both arms are exposed, as well as other awkward areas to cover up such as your thighs and neck region to name a few.  Should umpires be bundle up like a hockey goalie?  Maybe…Are they crazy to have such a profession?  To all their own…But there’s also a certain amount of manliness about being behind the punch out of a 100MPH Joba Chamberlain fastball that just cannot be taken away from these guys.  Being an umpire I know personally how scary it can be.  And that’s only 18 year olds that are throwing at me.  Just getting nicked by a foul tip can provide a bruise or pain for days.  It’s not a fun occupation, but one that get’s a nice payday in the end (if you make it to the top, something very few do).  For working 6-7 months, MLB umpires start off at $120k and the senior umps get up to $350k…Not a bad payday for hanging out with sluggers, traveling the

United States, and living it up in the meantime.  The occasionally black and blue bruise, bump, or session in the hot tub doesn’t sound too bad after all.  (Obviously this currently referenced case is extreme and luckily happens very rarely) 

We wish Kerwin Danley a speedy recovery.  He should be returning to the diamond soon. 

-III-

This entry was posted on 30. April 2008 at 22:58 and is filed under Misc MLB, MLB. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.