Bruce Froemming is retiring after this season, and not soon enough. Unlike any umpire this side of Joe West, Froemming makes himself part of the game like no other. You need not look up the umpires when he is working the game, because he will call attention to himself at some point during the game.
MLB realizes this, and assigned him to work Tuesday's All Star Game so that they would not have to use him when it matters, in the postseason.
Last night, as he wore his All-Star patched hat (as if to remind people), He blew another call (or calls):
From the Seattle Times:
The crowd of 31,994 at Safeco Field erupted in thunderous cheers as it realized Beltre was safe and all the runs counted. But second-base umpire Bruce Froemming had plenty of explaining to do as the Tigers, led by Guillen and manager Jim Leyland, surrounded him on the field.
"They don't get him and now they come out to argue that they got him," Froemming told a pool reporter after the game. "But they don't know if they got him or not."
But television replays appeared to show Guillen tagging Beltre at least once, if not twice.
"It felt like twice," Guillen said. "I don't know. He made the call."
The confusion mounted moments later when the Tigers made an appeal throw to second before the next pitch. Froemming called Beltre out, ruling he'd never touched the bag before heading to third.
But replays appeared to show Froemming getting it wrong once again. Beltre did indeed appear to touch second base — Froemming initially made a "safe" gesture with his arms that seemed to confirm it — but was ruled out nonetheless.
"He said that I never touched the bag, which I did," Beltre said. "He [Guillen] might have tagged me, I don't know. It was weird because I was trying to swing away from him. I don't know if he tagged me."
This guy isn't just a bad umpire, he is a
bad guy.
