STL All Sports

They tell a silly story about a not-too-bright umpire who was working a game on a dark and dismal day. It got darker and darker as the game progressed until it was almost impossible to see anything that was happening on the field. It was then that the pitcher for one of the teams got a bright idea. As the batter took his stance at the plate, the pitcher wound up and threw as hard as he could towards the plate. That is, he acted as if he threw. In fact, he did not let go of the ball.

The batter, thinking he saw the blur of the ball as it came up to the plate, swung. "Strike one!" yelled the umpire.

The catcher made believe he was throwing the ball back to the mound. The pitcher pretended to catch it, rubbed it up a little, and again faked making the pitch. Again the batter swung and missed. "Strike two!" barked the umpire.

The battery mates went through the same routine again. Again the pitcher pretended to throw the ball to the plate. This time the batter, figuring that the man on the mound was going to waste one, refused to offer at the imaginary pitch. To his amazement, the umpire yelled out, "Strike three! You're out!"

The batter turned furiously on the umpire. "You're crazy, man!" he screamed. "Anybody could see that wasn't a strike!"

"What do you mean, it wasn't a strike?" quoth the umpire. ·

"See for yourself," snarled the batter as he rolled up his sleeve. hit me right here on the arm!"