Last night, Bob Davidson ejected both Carl Crawford and Joe Maddon from the Rays' game against the Red Sox for arguing balls and strikes.  The video, which you can see here, suggests that Davidson not only didn't diffuse the situation, but actively participated in escalating the argument.  He may have initiated contact with one of, or both, of the ejected Rays, and certainly screamed, swore, and positioned himself aggressively in the confrontation.  To me, it looks like Davidson was out of control, antagonistic, and itching to fight.  And players have long complained about Davidson's style.  In 2007, Chipper Jones told Georgia papers, "Bob Davidson feels like these thousands of people who come to the park come to see him. That's the way he's always been. It's kind of a joke among us players."  Davidson may, indeed, be a longtime offender as an abusive umpire, but he's far from the only one.  Indeed, quick-tempered, foul-mouthed, and power-hungry umpires have been a part of baseball since the leagues began cracking down on umpire abuse in the early 20th century.  Here are a few of the most unprofessional and antagonistic moments by umpires in baseball history:



Tim Hurst

There is no record of Hurst playing major league ball, but he did manage the St. Louis Browns in 1898 to a 39-111 record in the old National League.  After that, he resurfaced in the National League as an umpire in 1903, where he lasted for a season before dropping out of sight for a year.  In 1905, he began working in the American League, where he would stay until 1909.  According to a 1975 Baseball Digest Article by Ron Coons, Hurst had a fatal flaw:

"[He] had a habit of calling out runners long before the ball reached the first baseman's mitt....One day the Philadelphia Athletics enjoyed a big lead at the expense of the Washington Senators when a slow-footed batter hit a grounder to A's second baseman Eddie Collins.  When Collins let go what seemed to be a throw, Hurst called the runner out.  Harry Davis, the first baseman, completed the act by pretending to catch the phantom throw.  But the Senators' coach yelled that Davis didn't have the ball, and when Collins showed Hurst he still [had it], Tim expdoded.  The madder he got, the harder the A's and Senators' players laughed...Hurst called Collins...every name in the book and grew so angry that he spit at the A's second baseman."

Ban Johnson, the President of the American League, was in the process of professionalizing and standardizing his umpiring corps, and demanded decorum on the field.  Hurst was fired a few days later.

Bill Klem

Klem is (rightfully, probably) considered the greatest umpire in baseball history, and issued the greatest mantra for umpires, "The best umpired game is the game in which the fans cannot recall the umpires who worked it."  But the Old Arbitor was not always as dignified as we think of today.  Klem had to struggle in the early days to earn the respect of players and managers, and engaged in a lengthy feud with Giants catcher Roger Bresnahan.  The feud culminated in June of 1911, when Klem punched Bresnahan after the end of a game.  The Pittsburgh Press writes,

"It is generally believed that Umpire Klem will receive some kind of punishment for his slugging of Bresnahan, which was a serious offense and one never before perpetrated in the National League.  There are plenty of times when an umpire would be justified in handling a player a poke in the kisser, but this seems not to have been one of them.  Klem admits that Bresnahan used no indecent language, and all the spectators know that Roger did not make any attempt to strike the umpire or to interfere with him as he left the field.  It was evidently a piece of bad judgment on the part of Klem, who simply picked the wrong time to lose his temper."

Klem was fined $50, but was not suspended.  On October 1, 1914, again against the Giants, Klem ejected the entire Giants' bench for loud namecalling (presumably his hated nickname, "Catfish") exept for Turkey Mike Donlin and a batboy. 


Cy Rigler

Rigler was apparently a huge guy, over 6 feet tall and 240 lbs, at a time when that meant something.  He was a former professional football player, and liked being a rabble-rouser.  In 1915, the Reds got caught with the hidden ball trick, and manager Buck Herzog went wild.  Despite being ordered off the field, Herzog returned to confront Rigler.  Apparently, Herzog said something the massive Rigler didn't cotton to, because the umpire took off his mask and hit Herzog in the face.  It took multiple players and 12 policemen to keep the pair apart. 

Billy Evans

Evans worked from 1906-1927, entirely in the American League, and was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veteran's Committee in 1973.  Evans went to Cornell University until the death of his father in 1904, when he became a sports reporter in Ohio.  Two years later, he became the youngest arbiter in the majors at just 22 years old (and still holds the record).  Evans was honest about the fact that he missed calls occasionally, but that didn't protect him in 1907, when his skull was broken in Detroit from a thrown bottle.  But Evans could also dish it out.  In an essay for the Biography Project at SABR, David Anderson recounts a brawl between Evans and Cobb after a game in 1921,

"Cobb was irate over a strike call in the late innings.  During the argument Cobb reportedly told Evans that he would whip him right at home plate, but would not do so because he knew he would be suspended.  Evans invited Cobb to the umpire's dressing room after the game for the post-game festivites.  The brawl itself took place under the stands , with players from both teams forming a ring for the combatants....Several witnesses later said the fight, which ended in a draw, was the bloodiest they had ever seen.  Cobb was suspended for the next game, which Evans umpired wearing bandages."

A 1973 interview with Sammy Barnes, one of Cobb's teammates, recounts the fight in more detail,

"Ty was a bit too fast for Evans.  One of Cobb's blows split Evans' left eyebrow, and another literally parted the flesh like a jagged dull knife would have done on Evans' right cheekbone.  Ty eventually knocked Evans down, got on top of him and was banging his head on the hard surface.  It was at this time that a big burly groundskeeper for the Washington club...reached down and pulled Ty off of Billy and very authoritatively told them, 'The fight is over, boys.'  Ty Cobb Jr., a bout of about 11 years, had made the eastern trip with us and you should have heard him hollering, 'Come on, Daddy....'  After...Evans took his shower, with just a towel around his waist, he came over in the Detroit dressing room, held his hand out and said, 'Well, Ty, you got the best of it.'  The Detroit players clapped, applauding Billy's good sportsmanship.  I don't recall any Detroit player telling Ty 'Nice going, Skip....'  It was my impressing at the time that they would have liked to see Billy get the best of Ty."

Neither reported the scuffle to Ban Johnson, who still got wind of it anyway.  Johnson was, uncharacteristically, amused, and reportedly said he wished he could have been there, and suspended Cobb.

George Magerkurth

Magerkurth was a former heavyweight figher, who became a National League umpire from 1929-1947.  He is reputed to have fought players under the stands during his minor league career, but is primarily remembered today for being attacked in Brooklyn by a fan as a distraction, so that the fan's partner could more effectively work the stands as a pickpocket.  Magerkurth, according to articles about his retirement in 1948, recount him as a "storm center" and one of the most argumentative umpires in the league.  In 1939, the Reds' Harry Craft hit a fly ball down the leftfield line that Lee Ballanfant called fair.  The Giants erupted.  Catcher Harry Danning pushed Ballanfant, and shortstop Billy Jurges and Magerkurth got into a spitting match.  Magerkurth apparently was the first to throw a punch, hitting Jurges in the ribs.  Jurges swung back and hit the umpire in the face.  Both Jurges and Magerkurth were fined $150 and suspended for 10 days.  NL President Ford Frick announced that "The reports I received didn't say who struck the first blow, and, anyway, it doesn't matter."  Magerkurth was also a frequent target of Dodgers' manager Leo Durocher and lost his World Series assignment in 1941 over his repeated run ins with the team.  As late as 1947, Magerkuth was still apparently able to inspire enough conflict to make an entire team charge him from the dugout.

Jocko Conlan

Conlan was a weak hitting outfielder for the White Sox in 1934 and 1935, but is more rightly remembered as a Hall of Fame umpire from 1941-1965.  Conlan was generally considered "feisty."  He was a particular target of Leo Durocher.  In 1961, Durocher (who was an enthusiastic dirt kicker) and Conlan's feud reached a new height (or low).  According to a Reading Eagle article,

"Durocher kicked Conlan at least once in the shins and the umpire held his own with counter-kicks....Conlan walked over too the dugout and thumbed Durocher out of the game.  Conlan siad Leo threw a towel out of the dugout.  Durocher denied this later, saying he threw a towel but it did not go out of the dugout.  Then Durocher, after he knew he was out of the game, threw both a towel and a helmet out of the dugout....He walked out, he said to find out why Conlan was ejecting him and...kicked the dirt in his direction.  Most press box observers believed Durocher made no physical contact with Conlan on that first kick.  But Conlan indicated he believed otherwise.  He hauled off with a smart kick that connected with Durocher's right shin.  Durocher countered with a kick to Conlan's right shin."

Conlan refused to talk much about it after the game, saying just that he had gotten kicked twice, and so had Durocher.  NL President Warren Giles suspended Durocher for three games, though knowing Leo, I can see why Giles didn't exactly take his side.

Dale Ford

Billy Martin was, by no means, a choir boy to the umpires.  But Martin always maintained that he got as much abuse as he gave, and one exchange with AL Umpire Dale Ford in 1980 supports his claim.  On June 9, during an argument, Martin claimed that Ford pushed him, and complained bitterly to American League President Lee MacPhail.  Ford denied pushing Billy, saying, "That's an out-and-out complete lie.  It's possible that I brushed him when I was going back to the plate.  I sure didn't push him."  Billy countered with photographic and video evidence, "We got films that show he put his hands on me.  He's lying."  Martin's case was strengthened by a tape recording of an exchange between the two after the game, in which Ford is heard saying, "Come on Billy, let's go" and challenging the A's manager to a fight.  MacPhail fined Martin for "overaggressive dissent" and rejected both of Martin's contentions that Ford pushed him and that he had challenged him to a fight.*

Joe West

Cowboy Joe West has long been a seen as a provocateur.   West has worked in the majors since 1976, and has had his share of confrontations.  In 1984, he ejected two television cameramen from Shea Stadium because they allowed the Mets to see replays of a play at the plate.  In 1990, in a brawl between the Phillies and Dodgers, West (a former college football player) lifted and slammed to the ground Phils pitcher Dennis Cook.  Later that season, he overheard Philly outfielder Von Hayes say something to crewmate Harry Wendelstedt, and gave him the boot.  NL President Bill White made an official inquiry and specifically warned West to tone it down.  Earlier this year, West complained about the time of games, calling the Red Sox and Yankees "pathetic."  And then today, he justified his inclusion on this list by running first Ozzie Guillen, then Mark Buerhle, after calling the lefty for two balks, and aggressively confronting Buehrle on the mound.  I love it when they make it easy.

Mike Winters

Winters was famously suspended in 2007 for baiting Padres outfielder Milton Bradley in the heat of a pennant race.  Winters allegedly called Bradley "a piece of s___," and followed up on an argument from earlier in the game. Bradley, predictably, lost his cool and had to be restrained by manager Bud Black.  In the struggle, Bradley fell and tore his ACL, taking him out for the rest of the year.  Winters was benched for the rest of the regular season and playoffs, but according to Baseball Almanac, still has a job with Major League Baseball.

Obviously, Davidson joins a lengthy pantheon of abusive umpires.  It's a tradition seemingly as old as umpiring itself.  While many fans may view this as simply a colorful part of the game, I don't.  I watch baseball because I want to see Carl Crawford and Mark Buehrle play the game.  It's what fans pay money for tickets, MLB Advanced Media, and MLB Season Ticket for.  I don't want to watch a showboating, grandstanding umpire send my favorite guy to the bench because he feels the need to prove a point.  I hope Davidson is disciplined by baseball, and I hope he has to apologize.  I shouldn't have to watch him barking for two minutes with his mask off.  You know what would shave time off of games, Joe West?  If you and your brethren in blue would leave your masks on and do your damn job.

* I also found a reference to an incident where Martin actually wore a microphone on the field, maintained a civil tone, and recorded the umpire's profanity and aggressiveness toward him.  I could not find any specific reports about the umpire involved or the date.  However, the article suggests that Martin submitted the tape to the league office, his claim was rejected, and he was fined for being out of uniform.

Update: Good friend of the blog (actually, both Bill's blog and mine), Lar of Wezen-ball, has done some additional digging on the Billy Martin/hidden microphone story.  The story was covered by several papers in 1975, but the papers seem to have gotten different stories.  The Sarasota Journal suggests that Martin warned AL President Lee MacPhail about the stunt first, and that MacPhail instructed him to "Make sure there are no deletions on the tape."  However, "A slight problem arose.  Malfunction in the system.  Scrub one miniature mike."  However, the Lakeland Ledger had a different take on the stunt, suggesting that Martin was using the microphone as "a psychological ploy" to intimidate the "No. 1 umpire on his enemy list, Ron Luciano."  "Martin had the microphone clipped to his lapel as though every word Luciano said would be duly recorded and shipped to the commissioner.  Only thing is, Martin didn't connect the battery."  Either way, the framework of the story seems to be true, even if we don't know all the details.  Thanks, Lar!  See you this weekend!

The Common Man writes 2-3 days every week on his own site, and you can follow him on Twitter.