During this post-season, the umpires have been as hot a topic of conversation as the players. With memorable blown calls at third, at second, in left field, and at first, next-day analysis has often focused on questions of “Who are these umps, and why are they screwing things up?” The question less likely to be asked: “Why are they all men?”
There is not a single woman umpire in professional baseball today—not in the majors, and not in the minors. In March 2007, when it looked like Ria Cortesio might become the first woman ump in the major leagues, Slate’s Michelle Tsai wrote about why it had taken so long. Ria didn’t make it; she was fired that November.
Perry Barber, who has been umpiring across the country since 1981, has her own theories about the obstacles tripping up women umpires. Barber knew nothing about baseball until she was 28, when a regular trivia competition with a friend prompted her to study up on the category that so frequently stumped her. She read every baseball book she could find and quickly fell in love with the game, spending every in-season night driving with her mom to see Angels and Dodgers games.
In the spring of 1981, Barber’s mother saw her reading a book about umpires and took that to mean that she wanted to be one, which, Barber says “was very far from the truth at the time.” Still, she started umping Little League games in a nearby town. After her first game, there were three letters to the editor in the local paper begging her to stop. That just egged the competitive Barber on. She went to umpiring school in Florida that January (forcing her twin sister to go along so she wouldn’t be the only woman in the class of 200) and has made a career of it since, umping for high school, college, spring-training, and Independent League games.
Although she still loves the game, she’s grown increasingly frustrated with the way baseball treats women. She spoke with DoubleX about why women umpires always get fired, and about the rare good men who have the balls to stand up for them
You went to umpire school four times, but never scored a regular job in professional ball. Why not?
When I started out, I was 28 years old, and in umpiring chronology I was already too old. Women who did get the jobs were basically hung out to dry. One of them, Pam Postema, got promoted all the way up to AAA, but it took her eight years, and she spent the next five years waiting for her call-up, which never came.
I read that she ejected a lot of players, which may be why she didn’t make it to the majors.
You know what, that’s a bunch of bullshit. There’s no reason why she didn’t make it except for the fact that she was a woman and that the one man who had the balls to support her promotion to the major leagues had a heart attack and died before he had a chance to do it. That was Bart Giamatti, who was commissioner of Major League Baseball when he died in 1989. After he died, nobody gave a shit about her.
Samantha Henig is the associate editor of Double X, and can be reached at samantha.henig@doublex.com.
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"When I started out, I was 28
By: chickey_soup | Tue, 11/03/2009 - 14:36
"When I started out, I was 28 years old, and in umpiring chronology I was already too old." That's the biggest factor here. Most boys start umpiring in their teens to make some extra cash. By the time they hit pro selection age in their early 20s, they have years of experience. Boys develop an interest in and have exposure to sports when they're barely out of diapers."
Are you serious? We are talking umping a game. Not rocket science or neurosurgery. I'm not dismissing it as oh anyone can do it, but saying that someone at 28 is too old? Ridiculous. My daughter has had exposure to sports out of diapers too.
Is this perhaps as large an issue to gender equality as say sex slavery? No.
But if you can't see that its a little strange that there are no women umping, then you need to look a little closer. Sexism is still rampant in those good old boy institutions.
@vegemighty
By: ksargeant | Tue, 11/03/2009 - 08:27
There's so much that could be said in a discussion between a manager and an umpire that I'm only going to scratch the suface here! Many umpires cite the LIPS acronym, which I believe was invented by Jim Evans, in talking about reasons for "situations" (what we call discussions or arguments). Legitimate: there's a legitimate question in the manager's mind about prior events, such as A-Rod's home run that went to video review recently. Intimidation: the manager is trying to intimidate the umpire, which you may see more often with umpires who are young or new to a league. Personal: there is a history of dischord between the umpire and the manager. Situational: perhaps the manager's trying to get his team fired up. Maybe he's protecting his player, who's arguing with the umpire and might otherwise get ejected. LIPS doesn't cover every reason for a situation, but it's a pretty good acronym. The conversations we have depend on the situation. Excerpts from real past conversations on the field: "Did you have the tag on the knee or the ankle?" "You f----d up the last one, you f----d up this one, and you're going to f--k up the next one!" "That was a great f-----g call, but I gotta come out and talk to you some. [Motions to dugout with head.] You understand. So where you guys headed next?"
@ksergeant
By: Vegemighty | Mon, 11/02/2009 - 19:36
Totally agree on culture. Rugby simply has a culture of respect that most sports lack. It's not adhered to flawlessly, but I am grateful for the existence of the ideal. And I really do find it bizarre that baseball is so tolerant of a game being interrupted so a manager can abuse an ump. Maybe you can answer a question: aside from the unprintable things said in a baseball argument, what exactly IS the discussion? From the stands or the tv, it always seems so futile to me to see an ump go out and argue. Unless there is some debate or clarification on application of a rule, I don't know what a manager can say except, "He was safe." "No, he was out." "Really, I must insist he was safe." I just don't get what there is to discuss.
Vegemighty: Having played
By: ksargeant | Mon, 11/02/2009 - 18:54
Vegemighty: Having played rugby on both men's and women's teams, and having umpired independent professional baseball, I feel pretty comfortable in saying the cultures of those games are apples and oranges. Maybe I just happened to play with some really chill dudes, but I felt that a woman official would be more accepted by ruggers than ballplayers. (Actually, the rugby officials tried to recruit me when they heard I umpired!) I understand that recreational rugby is very different from professional baseball, but I think there is a culture of respect for officials in rugby that is completely different than baseball's attitudes towards umpires. Ruggers call the official "Sir." Ballplayers...well, what some ballplayers have called me is unprintable. :*)
By the way, for any women or girls out there who umpire or are interested in umpiring, there's an online network of women umpires, Women Umpiring Baseball. Our website is meant to be an informative resource for all umpires, especially women, and can be a great way to get questions answered, share stories, or find a mentor. Check us out at www.womenumpiringbaseball.org!
Thanks Perry
By: LenoraBabb | Mon, 11/02/2009 - 18:41
I corrected the name error.
@jewellya
By: feministworkingmom | Mon, 11/02/2009 - 15:44
Then he's not a very good pitcher if he can't control his thoughts and emotions and keep his head "in the game." That's his problem, not the umpire's.
Telling
By: rakewell | Mon, 11/02/2009 - 14:38
"When I started out, I was 28 years old, and in umpiring chronology I was already too old." That's the biggest factor here. Most boys start umpiring in their teens to make some extra cash. By the time they hit pro selection age in their early 20s, they have years of experience. Boys develop an interest in and have exposure to sports when they're barely out of diapers. (I knew the baseball rulebook better than most adults when I was in grammar school.) Most girls, especially in a sports like baseball or football in which women's leagues aren't common, don't develop the passion and love for the game until later in life. (This is why basketball isn't comparable.) I would suggest Ms. Barber read the book "Outliers" to learn just how important that is.
I'm not trying to say women shouldn't be allowed to umpire, I'm just saying it's not shocking that it's very difficult for women to reach the pro ranks when they in a highly competitive field against people who likely have much more experience than they do. When it comes to officiating sports, knowledge doesn't substitute for experience. You can read all the books you want, you can know the rulebook inside and out, but a great official is a great game manager, and that's a skill that can only be developed through experience.
Rugby
By: Vegemighty | Mon, 11/02/2009 - 13:00
I have played in rugby games refereed by women (and one ref among 30 players is a damn hard thing to do) and found that they don't get any more abuse than their male counterparts of similar quality.
Dana Teagarden of the United States, in fact, has refereed men's international matches. Nothing REALLY big time (yet) though of course speed plays a big role at the highest level.
distraction on the field...
By: Jewellya | Mon, 11/02/2009 - 12:41
From my observations of men: It wouldn't matter if the Ump were dateable, looked like his mother, or looked more like a man than a woman. If the pitcher knows that one of the three people he's staring at is female, he suddenly has more mental wrangling than before. thus distracting him from the task at hand.