MURPHY: PRISSY GAME LACKS CROWD LURE
"Baseball is not a gentleman's game, contends Johnny Murphy, Boston farm director and former Yankee relief ace (1934-46). Why try to make it one, he asks.
'When baseball was at its peak, the crowd used to get excited about an occasional big rhubarb with the umpires, or even a fight,' Murphy says.
'Now they've given the umpires so much authority, you can hardly say, 'Hello, Mr. Umpire' and get away with it. The minute a disputed decision arises the umpire says, 'Don't come any closer.'
'The Commissioner and league presidents are always making rules, giving the umpire a bigger stick. For instance, they have rules saying a player can't argue a ball-strike decision, or a coach can't leave the coaching box, etc.
'It was an interesting, well-attended game under the old rules. Why not leave the rules alone?'
Murphy noted the excitement attached to the recent Giants-Pirates explosion. 'That picture of the mob scene looked like old times when I played with the Yankees,' John reminisced. 'I'm not advocating for fights or continuous rhubarbs, but those things will happen occasionally and why not let them challenge an umpire once in a while? They're human, so they can't be infallible.' "
-Tom Briere, Minneapolis Tribune (Baseball Digest, August 1958)
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