SWEEPING OFF THE PLATE

“This is a ‘PERFECT GAME’ for the reader.” —Lee Thomas, Former Major Leaguer and All Star, now Special Assistant to the General Manager of the Baltimore Orioles 

Jim Smith spent forty years on ballfields and courts all over the Mid-Atlantic. He called blocks and charges, balls and strikes, assigned hundreds of officials, and enhanced the stature of sports officiating wherever he worked. Here he shares his decades of blessings and bruises, both real and metaphoric, in a humorous, fast-paced record of his umpiring life. For those on the periphery of baseball and for those with plenty of dust on their own cleats, these stories will make readers laugh and rethink the umpire’s role. Smith offers an inside look at the colorful characters that coach, umpire, and criticize in the world of baseball. Just sweep off the plate and find what’s beneath.

In Memoriam x

foreword xii

Introduction xiv

Chapter 1. “Hey, Blue” 1

Chapter 2. Becoming a Sports Official 16

Chapter 3. What was I Getting Myself Into? 26

Chapter 4. The Fun Games 33

Chapter 5. Spring Games with Jackets 54

Chapter 6. Collegiate Umpiring 92

Chapter 7. Baseball Commissioner 142

Chapter 8. Forty Years of Stories 180

Chapter 9. Accomplishments 205

Chapter 10. Nobody Does It Alone:

Reflections of Comrades 209

Chapter 11. Extra Inning 254