GaryMrMets
10-21-2005, 01:20 AM
Poll Finds Baseball Umps Doing Good Job
By WILL LESTER
.c The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - Kill the ump? No way, say the vast majority of baseball fans. Eight in 10 of those surveyed in an AP-AOL Sports poll say major league umpires do an excellent or good job. Only 1 percent rated them as poor.
The survey also found a large majority - 69 percent - think the designated hitter rule should either be expanded to both leagues or scrapped. A smaller majority doesn't like the All-Star game determining which team gets home-field advantage in the World Series.
The results come during a postseason that has seen its share of umpire-fueled controversy. The most notable example was Oct. 12 in the American League Championship Series when plate umpire Doug Eddings ruled a third strike had hit the dirt, allowing Chicago White Sox hitter A.J. Pierzynski to scamper to first base.
Replays appeared to show the catcher caught the ball, which would have been the third out. The pinch runner for Pierzynski eventually scored the winning run. The victory was the first of four straight for the White Sox, who advanced to the World Series.
Barbara Province, a St. Louis Cardinals fan from Ellington, Mo., was among 394 self-described baseball fans surveyed Oct. 11-13 by Ipsos, an international polling firm. She said she thought the umpires ``were all nuts'' on the Pierzynski call.
``But they usually do a pretty good job,'' she conceded.
The poll surveyed 1,000 adults, including the 394 fans. The questions about baseball's rules were asked only of the fans.
Baseball is the only one of the four ``major'' sports - football, basketball and hockey are the others - that doesn't use instant replay to aid officials. Baseball commissioner Bud Selig said there's no reason to think that will change now.
``There has never been much support for it in the past and I don't believe support for the concept has grown over the last week,'' he said this week.
The White Sox will have the home-field advantage against the Houston Astros in the World Series, which begins Saturday, by virtue of a rule change backed by Selig. Looking to spur interest in the All-Star game, baseball decided three years ago that the winning league in that game would gain home-field advantage for its representative in the Fall Classic.
The poll found most fans - 56 percent - don't like that change from the old rule, which alternated the home-field advantage from one league to the other each year.
Another Selig-supported change - interleague play, which began in 1997 - is more popular, with 56 percent of fans favoring pitting National League teams against American League squads during the regular season.
The designated hitter rule, which allows American League teams to substitute a batter for the pitcher, has been controversial since its inception in 1973. Many baseball purists believe the ``DH'' takes away from the strategy of the game by, among other things, not forcing a manager to decide when to pinch hit for a pitcher.
The survey found 40 percent of fans think neither league should have the rule, while 29 percent say the National League should adopt it and 30 percent said things should stay as they are.
Not surprisingly, American League fans were more likely than National League fans to favor the current system.
White Sox slugger Frank Thomas, a frequent DH in his later years, thinks the rule is a good idea.
``It's extended many careers. I think it should be universal - it would mean more jobs in baseball,'' he said. ``Who wants to see pitchers hit? Nobody.''
Houston Astros manager Phil Garner disagrees.
``There's plenty of offense in the game today,'' Garner said. ``The game has more strategy without the DH, it's a more fun game to be involved in.''
Other poll findings:
The most popular teams are the New York Yankees, with 12 percent of those surveyed naming the Bronx Bombers as the team they root for during the regular season, and the Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves with 11 percent each. The St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs both were backed by 5 percent, Houston was named by 3 percent, while only 1 percent listed the White Sox.
A record 29 percent of major league players are foreign-born. Most fans - 59 percent - said baseball has ``about the right number'' of foreign players, while 22 percent said there are too many.
The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.
On the Net:
Ipsos: http://www.ap-ipsosresults.com
10/20/05 18:08 EDT
Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
By WILL LESTER
.c The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - Kill the ump? No way, say the vast majority of baseball fans. Eight in 10 of those surveyed in an AP-AOL Sports poll say major league umpires do an excellent or good job. Only 1 percent rated them as poor.
The survey also found a large majority - 69 percent - think the designated hitter rule should either be expanded to both leagues or scrapped. A smaller majority doesn't like the All-Star game determining which team gets home-field advantage in the World Series.
The results come during a postseason that has seen its share of umpire-fueled controversy. The most notable example was Oct. 12 in the American League Championship Series when plate umpire Doug Eddings ruled a third strike had hit the dirt, allowing Chicago White Sox hitter A.J. Pierzynski to scamper to first base.
Replays appeared to show the catcher caught the ball, which would have been the third out. The pinch runner for Pierzynski eventually scored the winning run. The victory was the first of four straight for the White Sox, who advanced to the World Series.
Barbara Province, a St. Louis Cardinals fan from Ellington, Mo., was among 394 self-described baseball fans surveyed Oct. 11-13 by Ipsos, an international polling firm. She said she thought the umpires ``were all nuts'' on the Pierzynski call.
``But they usually do a pretty good job,'' she conceded.
The poll surveyed 1,000 adults, including the 394 fans. The questions about baseball's rules were asked only of the fans.
Baseball is the only one of the four ``major'' sports - football, basketball and hockey are the others - that doesn't use instant replay to aid officials. Baseball commissioner Bud Selig said there's no reason to think that will change now.
``There has never been much support for it in the past and I don't believe support for the concept has grown over the last week,'' he said this week.
The White Sox will have the home-field advantage against the Houston Astros in the World Series, which begins Saturday, by virtue of a rule change backed by Selig. Looking to spur interest in the All-Star game, baseball decided three years ago that the winning league in that game would gain home-field advantage for its representative in the Fall Classic.
The poll found most fans - 56 percent - don't like that change from the old rule, which alternated the home-field advantage from one league to the other each year.
Another Selig-supported change - interleague play, which began in 1997 - is more popular, with 56 percent of fans favoring pitting National League teams against American League squads during the regular season.
The designated hitter rule, which allows American League teams to substitute a batter for the pitcher, has been controversial since its inception in 1973. Many baseball purists believe the ``DH'' takes away from the strategy of the game by, among other things, not forcing a manager to decide when to pinch hit for a pitcher.
The survey found 40 percent of fans think neither league should have the rule, while 29 percent say the National League should adopt it and 30 percent said things should stay as they are.
Not surprisingly, American League fans were more likely than National League fans to favor the current system.
White Sox slugger Frank Thomas, a frequent DH in his later years, thinks the rule is a good idea.
``It's extended many careers. I think it should be universal - it would mean more jobs in baseball,'' he said. ``Who wants to see pitchers hit? Nobody.''
Houston Astros manager Phil Garner disagrees.
``There's plenty of offense in the game today,'' Garner said. ``The game has more strategy without the DH, it's a more fun game to be involved in.''
Other poll findings:
The most popular teams are the New York Yankees, with 12 percent of those surveyed naming the Bronx Bombers as the team they root for during the regular season, and the Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves with 11 percent each. The St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs both were backed by 5 percent, Houston was named by 3 percent, while only 1 percent listed the White Sox.
A record 29 percent of major league players are foreign-born. Most fans - 59 percent - said baseball has ``about the right number'' of foreign players, while 22 percent said there are too many.
The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.
On the Net:
Ipsos: http://www.ap-ipsosresults.com
10/20/05 18:08 EDT
Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.