Interesting take on the quality of the umpiring lately…
While federal laws prohibit Major League Baseball from discussing injuries of employees, FOXsports.com has learned that the sidelined umpires include crew chiefs John Hirschbeck (testicular cancer), Charlie Reliford (back), Jerry Crawford (back), Tim Welke (concussion), Ed Montague (concussion and neck), Gary Darling (ankle and foot) and Rick Reed (stroke).
Other umpires who are sidelined by injuries include Kerwin Danley (concussion), Alfonso Marquez (back), Brian Runge (details unknown), Bill Hohn (back) and Ed Hickok (concussion).
Any umpire who makes the bigs is surely a quality product. That said, these particular men in blue, especially Hirschbeck, Crawford, Montague, and Darling are the cream of the crop. Ok, maybe Yankee fans might disagree with the Hirschbeck opinion.
Not trying to excuse any of the mistakes and the whole angle of the story maybe just that, an angle dreamed up by the media. But it IS an interesting take on the story.