As They See 'Em

Wanted: person, most likely a man of large stature, who can live with being cursed at, hated, slashed tires, humiliated on national TV, and possibly even hit by an ersatz fastball. But the money’s pretty good and you get to see a lot of baseball games. Whether you’ve got respect or a grudge against major and minor league umpires, we’ve got an inside track on the thankless occupation.

New York Times reporter Bruce Weber spent much of three years attending umpire school, hanging out with umps, and even working behind the plate during spring training. His new book As They See ‘Em: A Fan Travels in the Land of Umpires is a kind of umpire-strikes-back look at the craft and lives of the men in blue. He joins us to talk about the book.

(Photo courtesy Jim Epler via Flickr/Creative Commons)