Rick Swanson: MLB Umpires: Too Old to React? | DugoutCentral.com's Blog

In this past Monday???s Red Sox ??? Indians game, Boston first baseman Jeff Bailey hit a base hit down the third base line. But??? the ball struck third base umpire Jerry Davis, and the Indians turned it into an out between third and home. The bigger issue isn???t about a hit becoming an out, and the Red Sox possibly losing the game because of it. The bigger issue is why we expect umpires who are in their fifties to have the reaction time like they did when they were in their twenties and thirties. Jerry Davis has been an MLB umpire for 24 years. Maybe it???s time to let a younger, quicker umpire to take a place. If we don???t have players who are 55, why should we have umpires at 55 still in the show? If baseball had a mandatory retirement age of 50, nearly half of the umpires would be out of a job. Baseball should just give the 50+ umpires a golden handshake and a million dollars each. This would enable the best umpires of the next generation to start their careers at the Major League level in their 20???s ??? at their physical peak. The 90 umpires that make up the World Umpires Association (WUA) should let all the other minor league umpires into their union. Baseball should use evaluations that are made public ??? for all umpires. From their ball and strike percentage, to missed calls at each base, everyone should be held accountable for their performance. The only fair way to give promotions to minor league umpires is to let those with the best evaluations and cull those with the worst. Right now baseball has 25 umpires over 50 and four over 60. I don???t believe that any of them at that age have the physical ability to react necessarily. On the flip side, MLB only has eight umpires under the age of 40, with 36 being the youngest age. Julio Franco would be considered young if he were an umpire. How does this make sense?

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