Umpires never owe you one

“You owe us one, Blue!”

No they don’t.

We’ve all heard this from a dugout at some point.  Hearing that phrase actually is one of my pet peeves.  It usually follows a questionable call on the bases or behind the plate on balls and strikes.  The theory goes that if a bad call is made that seems to favor one team, the other team expects the umpire to make up for it later in the game with a call that benefits them.  The problem with this theory is that if the umpire makes up for it later, he now has made two bad calls.

Umpires vow to do the best they can to call the game as they see it.  They try to get every call correct.  Having to make up for a mistake automatically doubles the amount of mistakes the umpire makes.  Good umpires will not allow this to happen.   

So don’t expect umpires to ever “owe you one.”  All they owe anyone is to try to get the call right regardless of who benefits.