Umpires Not Calling Strikes
A veteran National League pitcher who had outlived his usefulness as a hurler became an umpire in a minor league and almost immediately gave evidence that he was good enough to return to the majors. During the first week of the season, the reformed pitcher was handling a game from behind the plate when a batter, after taking four pitches, started for first, thinking he had drawn a walk.
"Come back here," ordered the umpire. "The count is three and one." The batter came back raging. "You're out of your mind!" he howled.
"Which one of those four pitches was a strike?"
"You know as well as I do," answered the former hurler calmly. "The one that was over the plate."
