Umpire Contact Exhibits Double Standard

Tuesday night, Magglio Ordonez was called out on what he deemed to be a questionable call. As he expressed his frustration, in a respectable fashion, home plate umpire Paul Schrieber gently pushed Ordonez toward his dugout. Now, let's be careful to not go overboard here. He didn't shove Ordonez and there really didn't seem to be malicious intent. It was more of a just get outta my face nudge.

The aftermath was phenomenal, as Tigers manager Jim Leyland went absolutely ballistic on Schrieber (you can view the video here), and rightfully so. Umpires are very protective about being touched by players and managers, even if the contact is accidental and lacks any malicious intent. As well they should be. Any contact could escalate matters into ugly territory. Thus, physically moving a player is a double-standard.

Remember, Milton Bradley of the Cubs was slapped with a two-game suspension because the bill of his helmet touched the umpire's hat. That's inappropriate contact, but an umpire is permitted to physically move a player away from him, even when the player doesn't need to be restrained? Watch the video, in no way was Ordonez making any threatening gestures or motions in Schrieber's direction. If Mr. Umpire wanted space from Ordonez so badly, he should have just thrown him out of the game.

There are reasons the players can't touch the umpires. It's a slippery slope if you allow them to "accidentally" contact the game officials without repercussions, because players could easily claim an accident when actions were intentional. Thus, it's definitely defensible to suspend Bradley for the "contact," though a little leeway should probably be granted in some cases. The problem, as we see in the Schrieber case, is that it should be a two-way street.

As a high school football official, I understand how frustrating it can be when the biased players or coaches won't let an issue die. We have to understand it's part of the job and that it is never, under any circumstances, acceptable to lay your hands on a player or coach (with the obvious exceptions being separating players during fights or similar situations). Game officials, much like coaches, teachers and parents must be held to a higher standard because of their unique position of authority. If someone contacts you or gets in your face when officiating, you simply have to be better than to react in a harsh manner. This isn't "eye for eye" territory, because you are expected to be the calm and collected party on the field as an official.

The issue at hand is not the amount of contact by Schrieber or the reaction from Leyland. It is the double-standard exhibited in this situation from the umpire, and a simple apology just isn't good enough for me.

There's a distinct difference between being the law and being above the law. Schrieber's nudge of Ordonez illustrates a blurring of that line, and it cannot be tolerated. I know this is probably asking too much from the bumbling commissioner, Bud Selig, but some disciplinary action against Schrieber needs to be taken -- if for no other reason than to make an example out of him and deter future umpire-initiated contact. The umpires already come off as collectively a bit big for their britches, so it couldn't hurt to remind them they aren't above the law.