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Show THE UMPIRE. The umpire is a necessary evil. eUe he would have been put aside a long time ago. The great American game of baseball calls for an umpire, just the same us it does a pitcher and catcher, and he is just as much a pari of the home team as he is of the visitors. Unfortunately, the umpire is only a human being. He is not infallible, and he no doubt does make some bad breaks in his decisions, and they are especially bad if the home team gets the worst of it. If the visitors arc "handed a bunch'' it is very unfortunate, but the usual baseball crowd can stand that kind of mistakes, liut if the poor umpire um-pire is called upon to make a close decision on th bases, and he is within five or ten feet of the play, it is pretty certain that he can sec the result of the play better than some loud-mouthed "fanatic' on the bleachers who bayls the umpire out. Already this 5-casoii there have been crowds who thought it was the proper thing' to "go after' the umpire, though just what they expected to accomplish by their actions is not cleaer, unless, indeed, it was to put the umpire hois de combat. Admitting that the umpire does sometimes make mistakes, it is very likely that, taking the year through, one team suffers no more than another: the law of averages certainly will hold good here. The umpires are all chosen for their ability. As a rule they know all the fine points of the game, and decide questions of law or rule fairly. It is the close decision on the bases that stirs up the crowds. And it is the close decisions that help to make the game interesting'. If there were none of these the patrons of the game would soon tire of it. And in the matter of a close decision, the way to put an umpire in such a condition that ho will make "bum'' decisions is for the crowd to yell at him, and to invade the field. And the best way to spoil a great and glorious sport and to drive patrons of the game away is for players to violently protest ihe decisions of the umpire. The patrons go to see the game, not to hear a ragging contest. |