Officiating on the Big Screen - Yes Dear

Tmac comments on Jimmy Hughes (Mike O'Malley)'s role as home plate umpire on an episode of Yes Dear in this edition of Officiating on the Big Screen. 

Jimmy enters his first career baseball game as an umpire with a mix-and-match uniform, a few exaggerated mechanics, interesting positioning, and an on-field demonstration of how to not trust your officiating partner.

Takes some guts. | Video as follows:

Officiating on the Big Screen - The Naked Gun

In this April 1 edition of Officiating on the Big Screen, we analyze Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen's) officiating performance in The Naked Gun. HP Umpire Drebin/Nielsen/Enrico Pallazzo ejected Joe West and Hank Robinson in this American League game between the Angels and Mariners in Los Angeles, employing several advanced umpiring techniques and mechanics.

We review this historic performance, including a risky game management move that demonstrates the full influence of a baseball umpire-in-chief.

Video as follows:

Officiating on the Big Screen - King of the Hill

The latest Officiating on the Big Screen features a King of the Hill episode in which Hank and Peggy Hill play on the same team in Stickland Propane's company softball league. Umpire Jeff Boomhauer calls balls and strikes and at one point ejects a disgruntled Hank after a safe call doesn't go his way.

This particular analysis of the KoTH television episode "Take Me Out of the Ballgame" includes both softball and baseball rules discussion (the rules for this episode's purposes mostly match), and discusses such scenarios as legal/illegal equipment, a player having a heart attack on the field during a live ball, batter-runner Dale Gribble jumping over said incapacitated player, a pitcher who cannot find the strike zone, and former Texas Rangers slugger Kurt Bevacqua's climactic at-bat that could have ended differently.

Stick around until the end of the video to see a further analysis of the psychological nature of Hank's ill-fated argument with the umpire, and how Hank's onscreen anger is oddly representative of some of the outbursts umpires are witness to during real-world games, and how such umpire abuse, while acute and wrought with emotion, is rarely about a personal dispute with the umpire and instead may be an example of the defense mechanism known as displacement.

Related Post: Gil's Call: The Blame Game (Umpire Scapegoating) (8/8/14).

Thatherton! | Video as follows:

Officiating on the Big Screen - Major League

Tmac makes his Officiating on the Big Screen debut with an analysis of the umpires that appear in the movie Major League. From uniforms to mechanics, timing, disappearing umps, and more, this film has a little bit of everything and ultimately culminates in what could possibly be the oddest home plate umpiring performance in big league history, complete with sleight of hand and a bevy of oversold safe calls.

Officiating on the Big Screen is the new-for-2021 series on CloseCallSports.com that features commentary and criticism on depictions of referees and umpires in movies, TV shows, and other cultural media. If you have a suggestion for what we should review next, leave a comment.

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Officiating on the Big Screen - Star Trek Umpire Analysis

CloseCallSports.com introduces our newest series for 2021, Officiating on the Big Screen, where we analyze portrayals of referees and umpires in movies, TV shows, and other pop culture. In this debut episode, we travel to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode Take Me Out to the Holosuite, where Odo serves as umpire for a baseball game between the USS T'Kumbra Logicians and Deep Space Niners.

After DS9 Captain Benjamin Sisko accepts visiting Vulcan Solok's challenge to a ballgame, the teams place their faith in Chief of Security Odo, the only person Sisko trusts to be an impartial umpire.

The character Odo, played by Rene Auberjonois, is a Changeling whose reputation is as a constable with great respect for and fair enforcement of the rule of law. Odo and Sisko's relationship evolved throughout the series from a contentious one to a close association; Take Me Out to the Holosuite thus serves to further cement Sisko's trust in Odo.

The following video analysis of Odo's performance as home plate umpire delves into Odo's mannerisms, mechanics, and technique, from plate brush to positioning to situation handling and beyond, including Odo's ejection of Sisko.

Video as follows: