When you’re watching the Cards this season, take a moment to check out the men in black. One of the umpires might just be St. Louis native Gerry Davis (gerrydavis.com). The veteran crew chief has toiled in the majors for 32 years, calling more playoff games than any other umpire in modern history. The first manager he ever ejected? Our own Whitey Herzog.
How has the game changed over the years? The game has changed over the years, but the fundamentals of what we [umpires] do is the same. There is obviously a lot more scrutiny of us because of ESPN and the other 24-hour sports stations. I don’t mind it; it comes with the territory. A friend once told me that my profession is the one where you have to be perfect when you get hired and then improve every day! Now we’re going to be implementing expanded replay this year. A manager will have the right to challenge particular plays.
What’s the most rewarding part of your job? Working the postseason. I’ve worked more postseason games than any umpire in history. At that time of year, management wants to choose people on merit, so being chosen so many times is fantastic.
What’s the most difficult part of your job? The travel. We umpire about 130 games a season, which is daunting. But when you combine that with the fact that every three to four days we’re in a different city, that’s the difficult thing.
Do you have a favorite city to work in? Chicago is one of my favorite cities because of the day games. After the game you can go and have dinner at the normal time like a regular human.
You’re a crew chief—what does that entail? It means you’re the mother hen of the crew. There are four of us, and we travel together. We stand near home, first, second, and third. We work all 130 games together. It makes us a stronger crew, knowing how people will react in different situations. The crew chief also makes decisions regarding rain delays and postponement.
What are some of the highlights of your career? My first World Series in ’96. I was behind the plate in Game 6 when the Yankees won the championship in New York. That’s the game that sticks out most. And just last year, I worked my 4,000th game in the majors.
How many balls do you carry when you’re behind the plate? When I’m behind the plate I start the inning with six balls. They’re in special ball bags or pouches that look like pockets. Anytime a ball gets scuffed I replace it.
What’s the most challenging aspect of calling balls and strikes? The timing. You have to make sure you see the pitch before you decide anything. When we call a pitch wrongly, it’s not because of bad judgment. It’s because we use our judgment at the wrong time. The higher the level of the game you work, the more movement there is on a pitch. The pitchers who are most effective are the ones who have late movement on their pitches. People don’t appreciate how fast the pitches are coming in, too. We’ve had clinics where the laymen come in and do it, and they’re very amazed at what we have to decide on.
How would you characterize your strikeout gesticulation? With calling strikeouts, everyone has his own personal style. My physical movements aren’t all that drastic, because I think when you do that it takes away from your consistency to some extent.
Tell us about ejecting players and managers. My first ejection was Whitey Herzog, when he was manager of the Cardinals. That was kind of a big deal, because I was from St. Louis. I have a picture of that moment in my den. It was in ’82, and the Cards were in the pennant race late in the year against Montreal. I called a balk against Joaquin Andujar during a key situation. Whitey didn’t agree with me. They never do.
What does a guy have to do to get ejected? Obviously, because it’s grown men playing the sport, there are going to be vulgarities involved, but if anything is prefaced with the word “you,” that’s grounds for ejection. You can also draw a line in the sand and say, “you’ve had enough to say,” and if they continue, they get ejected. Over time, players and managers learn what they can say and do. There are certain “magic words” that will get a guy ejected, and it’s very rare that someone gets ejected that didn’t deserve it.
What was your take on the incident where Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar spit on an umpire in ’96? I think any human being would see that as degrading. But as a union, we were also very disappointed that he didn’t get suspended immediately for that. At that time, a lot of people thought the umpire should have swung on him, but that would have lowered him to [Alomar’s] standards. That’s not what being a professional is all about.
What would people be most surprised to learn about your job? People might be surprised how seriously we take things. When we miss a play, we feel terrible about it. We want the teams to decide the games, not us… If a ball is hit into the gap and a runner tries to make it to second base, the fan is watching his team. But the guy who knows about umpiring watches how our team of umpires rotates and covers positions, too. Watch us work, and you’ll learn something.
Do you recall the infamous blown call in Game Six of the ’85 World Series between the Cards and the Royals, the Don Denkinger incident? I know Don Denkinger very well. The interesting thing about Don is that he’s one of the greatest umpires in our profession. It was just unfortunate he was in the wrong position at the wrong time.
What’s it like when you’re booed by the fans? One of the things you learn as an umpire really early is, the word fan is short for “fanatic.” I understand the fans’ desires. I used to coach junior-college basketball, and I didn’t always agree with the calls. I just hope the fans understand and appreciate where we’re coming from.
You have a side business, too. I’ve owned Gerry Davis Sports since ’97. We supply equipment and apparel to amateur sports officials around the country and world.
Sometimes umpires can get knocked around. Any memorable injuries? I had a play last year where we were rotating and the third base coach for Toronto was concentrating on telling the runner to score. He didn’t see me at all, and we collided. It happens all the time. I had a concussion last year. Comes with the territory.
