Customer Reviews

Center Field on Fire: An Umpire's Life with Pine tar Bats, Spitballs, and Corked Personalities

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Many books have been written on sports, some by the players, some by those who watch and some by the people whose job it is to write about them. However, the people who officiate the games have the most unique perspective on the game, how it is played and how it is managed, in the sense of the on-field manager up to the level of the executive. Dave Phillips was an umpire in the major leagues for 32 years and has witnessed many changes in the game.
Two points really stand out in the book. The first is how the umpires get along between themselves, which in many cases, is not very well at all. The stories about members of a crew hating each other so much that they refuse to even speak to each other or making bad calls and blaming others for it were disturbing. The idea that the umpires often do not work well together is a disturbing one, for even-handed officiating is the one thing that no sport can lack.
The second is that baseball really has some serious problems that must be corrected. As Phillips notes, there has been a serious drug problem in baseball for over a decade, with an adverse affect on many careers. The focus has now shifted from cocaine to steroids, but there still appears to be no stomach for tackling the issue. Which is silly, because allowing the players to continue using drugs damages their careers and ultimately their health.
Phillips recounts many of the most memorable events in the last three decades, from Gaylord Perry finally being kicked out of a game for using grease on a ball to George Brett being called out on a home run because there was too much pine tar on his bat. All are presented from the perspective of the umpire, which is an interesting one.
The most disturbing point in the book is when Phillips discusses George Steinbrenner and an incident where Steinbrenner was asking for "special consideration" from the umpires. I found the description disgusting, I have never been a fan of Steinbrenner, but now I loathe him, a position all who care about the game should have.
At the end of the book, Phillips goes over what he considers the fundamental problems baseball now has, from high ticket prices, to the lack of a commissioner tasked with "acting in the best interests of baseball." Clearly, the powerful owners seem unable to learn from other sports. Basketball and football have salary caps with revenue sharing and the popularity of both has soared in the last two decades. In this time, baseball has entered into a state where two players on the Yankees earn more than all the players on some of the other teams. In this environment, some teams simply cannot be competitive, and that destroys a sport.

Poorly written. Can't believe he can remember all the details of games he worked over 30 years ago. Co-author has done similar books, and all are about the same caliber.

The is a good book if you are curious about the inside life of a MLB umpire. Dave Phillips was truly a great American League umpire during his tenure, and it was pretty cool to read about his daily routine separating his family and umpiring life.

I enjoyed this book. Dave Phillips umpired in some very bizarre games and he tells about that and much more from the umpires' perspective.

It is very interesting to read about the relationships (some good and some bad) he had with his fellow umpires.

If you like umpiring and baseball from the 70s and 80s, you'll like this book.

I struggled throught this book. I would recommend almost any other book by any other umpire over this one.If I had not have read Ron Luciano's book beforehand I would have been lost a couple times in the stories Mr. Phillips attempted to tell.Really nothing in here but whining.Save your time and read "You're out and yer ugly too".It is much more entertaining.

Dave Phillips is a funny man, and he has many amusing stories, but Rob Rains, the person who should have been helping him write this, doesn't seem to have had any luck in shaping them into a book.

The chapters are almost organized chronologically and are almost organized thematically. Instead the anecdotes, comments, and history of Phillips's life are left splayed across the margins of meandering transcription that appears not to have been edited at all.

I remember Dave Phillips as an excellent umpire- one of the few AL umpires whose name a fan can easily recall who wasn't 'known' to be overly pitcher friendly, overly hitter friendly, or just plain 'on fire' to show-up a player or manager. He brings forth many names and images from one of Baseball's past, and it is clear that he loves the game and the people who have made it. His stories are not "kiss-and-tell" violations of trust, nor are they bland retellings of stale legend, but the lack of organizing principle makes the book painful to read. That is a shame because the great stories seem to be there, just trapped in a melange of unedited recollections, and the missing background and flawed structure of this book really hamper the reader's quest to share them.

DAVE GIVES THE READER AN INTERESTING AND FUNNY INSIGHT INTO THE LIFE OF AN UMPIRE. FOR ME THE HIGHLIGHTS COVERED WERE THE STRIKE UMPIRES STRIKE, DISCO DEMOLITION IN CHICAGO AND THE CORKED BAT USED BY ALBERT BELLE. THIS BOOK IS EASY TO READ AND NOT TAXING ON THE MIND. I RECOMMEND IT FOR ALL FANS.

How can you name a book about the fire in center field at Disco Demolition and NOT mention the name Steve Dahl? That is insane! PLUS what IS mentioned in the text is nowhere NEAR accurate! You cannot say that there were no fans left in the stands I WAS THERE and I was STILL in the stands -- I NEVER went out onto the field and neither did a LOT of other people! I would not buy this book and I would not recommend this book!

And I thought umpires were just blind!

I had so much hope for this book. There are so many problems with this book, I can not possibly recommend it. It is riddled with errors and omissions. How can a publishing company produce something so flawed. There is a reason this book has a low review score, it is bad.

I do not know where to start with the inaccuracies in this book. Phillips says Reggie Jackson's last game was in Boston, when I distinctly remember it being in Chicago. If Phillips thinks he is the greatest clutch hitter he ever saw, you would think he would remember seeing that. He only devoted four pages to "Disco Demolition Night". I know he could have devoted a whole chapter to it. It is just irresponsible to say "the stands were empty" and "center field was literally on fire" when neither is true about the infamous game. It makes me wonder if umpires are blind. Other exaggerations exist, but there is a word limit in these reviews.

The good points of the book include an inside look at the life of an umpire and a number of humorous antidotes. Although I enjoyed this part, I felt many of his stories were very self serving and told to project him in a good light. I do not question whether Phillips is a good man for baseball, but I question his ability to write an accurate book. That being said, I wish I never would have bought this book.

Former umpire Dave Phillips provides us with a number of anecdotes from his 32 years umpiring major league baseball. Many of the stories are funny, and the book is intended to be light reading of his experiences in dealing with controversial incidents, various managers, and umpires. The book takes its title from Disco Demolition Night in Comiskey Park when fires were set in the outfield to burn disco records between games of a twi-night doubleheader between the White Sox and Tigers. Phillips doesn't appreciate his experiences with senior umpires such as Nestor Chylak and Larry Napp, who Phillips felt were not helpful to young umpires. He does express his appreciation of those such as Bill Haller who helped his career. As other books of this sort Phillips give his opinions on the DH (doesn't like it), a salary cap for baseball, World Series games starting earlier so the games end before midnight, and other issues baseball is facing. He feels, probably correctly, that baseball is in trouble unless positive steps are taken to correct its problems. The book is light reading, would hardly rate as a future classic, and I'm sure Phillips didn't intend it to be. It is an enjoyable quick read, and we are provided with his experiences with many baseball personalities we are all familiar with.