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Planet of the Umps: A Baseball Life from Behind the Plate
After calling balls, strikes, and outs for thirty-six baseball seasons and more than 3000 major league games, umpire Ken Kaiser finally called it a career. From the first day he hit a minor league catcher with a pool table to the fateful day baseball called him out on a strike, Kaiser was one of the game's most popular and colorful characters. And in this autobiography-wri...more
Paperback, 288 pages
Published
April 19th 2004
by St. Martin's Paperbacks
(first published April 19th 2003)
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This is fun for it's behind-the-scenes take on the game from the minor leagues to the Big Time. The problem, of course, is it's a bit out date. Still, Kaiser is a character; and his writing seems to mirror his abrasive personality (in a fun way). I lost count how many guys he throws out of the game - including spectators! - without the slightest of care.
One thing my dad and I always hypothesized about the game turned out to be true. After bad calls, managers would run out on the field to "argue"...more
One thing my dad and I always hypothesized about the game turned out to be true. After bad calls, managers would run out on the field to "argue"...more
Ken kept it real discussing being an ump and being one of the "other guys" on the field that we either love or hate depending on if the call went the right way. All fans should read this book simply to understand what goes on in the mind of an umpire and to see how difficult it really is.
Terrible. Very whiny. Some good stories, though.
It was OK only because I love to read about umpiring. Kaiser couldn't make a call right-handed so the umpiring rules had to be ignored for him. The book is better than his umpiring only because it couldn't be any worse.
Once I started thinking of this book as a transcription of a guy in a bar BSing about his life, I really enjoyed it. Don't look for facts or deep insight, just enjoy the tall tales Ken tells.
May 14, 2013
Nate Regan
marked it as to-read
Dec 03, 2012
David
marked it as to-read
Jul 06, 2012
Anita Pomerantz
added it
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