Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction. The Devil We Know: A Very Brief History of Umpiring
Part One. The Umpire Giveth, the Umpire Taketh Away:
deleteStreaks and Records Helped or Hindered by Umpires
• Johnny Vander Meer’s Consecutive No-Hitters
• Joe DiMaggio’s 56-Game Hitting Streak
• Don Larsen’s Perfect World Series Game
• Bob Shaw’s Balk-a-Thon
• Don Drysdale’s Consecutive Scoreless Innings Streak
• Orel Hershiser’s Consecutive Scoreless Innings Streak
• The 1998 Home Run Chase (Featuring Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa)
• Kerry Wood’s 20-Strikeout Performance
• Armando Galarraga’s Near-Perfect Game
• Max Scherzer’s Near-Perfect Game
Part Two. The Road to October: Critical Calls During
deletethe Regular Season
• Bob Ferguson’s Campaign Against Gambling
• Tim Hurst and the Beer Glass Incident
• Soggy Games in Pittsburgh: Round 1
• Soggy Games in Pittsburgh: Round 2
• Fred Merkle’s Infamous Blunder
• Stuffy McInnis’s Gift Homer
• Germany Schaefer Steals First Base
• Bill Brennan Imposes His Iron Will
• The Indecision of Charles Johnston
• Red Jones’s Fourteen Ejections
• Two Balls in Play at Wrigley Field
• Don Money’s Nullified Grand Slam
• The Pine Tar Game
• Wild Card Tiebreaker Game
• Bill Hohn’s Fist Bump
• 19-Inning Marathon Ended by Jerry Meals’s Blown Call
Part Three. The Victors and the Spoils: Playoff Controversies
• The Jeffrey Maier Game
• Livan Hernandez’s 15-Strikeout Performance
• The 1998 ALCS Disaster
• 1999 ALCS: The Phantom Tag and Other Issues
• Pierzynski and the Uncaught Third Strike
• Midges Invade Jacob’s Field
• 2009 Playoffs: The Fall Guys
• 2010 Playoffs: Bad Calls in Multiple Rounds
• 2012 NL Wild Card Game: Improperly Invoked Infield Fly Rule
• 2015 ALCS Game 6: A Wet, Wild Finish in Kansas City
• 2016 NLCS Game 4: Angel Hernandez’s Blown Call at Home Plate
• 2017 NLDS Game 5: Nationals Lose on Account of Jerry Layne’s Mistakes
Part Four: Legends of the Fall: Infamous World Series
deleteDebates
• 1885 World’s Championship Series: Umpire David Sullivan’s Hot Mess
• 1911 World Series Game 5: The Run That Shouldn’t Have
delete deleteCounted
• 1925 World Series Game 3: Sam Rice’s Mystery Catch
• 1935 World Series Game 3: Moriarty Defies Landis with 3 Ejections
• 1948 World Series Game 1: Bill Stewart’s Blown Pickoff Call on Phil Masi
• 1955 World Series Game 1: Jackie Robinson Steals Home
• 1969 World Series Game 5: The Old Shoe Polish Trick
• 1970 World Series Game 1: Ken Burkhart’s Miraculous
delete deleteBehind-the-Back Call
• 1975 World Series Game 3: Armbrister Interferes with Fisk
• 1978 World Series Game 4: Reggie Jackson Interferes with Infield Throw
• 1985 World Series Game 6: Don Denkinger’s Blown Call at First Base
• 1998 World Series Game 1: Rich Garcia Gives Tino Martinez an Extra Pitch to Work With
• 2006 World Series Game 2: Kenny Rogers and the “Smudgegate” Affair
• 2011 World Series Games 3 and 7: Ron Kulpa and Jerry Layne Make a Mess of Things
• 2013 World Series Game 3: Cardinals Score Game-Winner
on Obstruction Call at Third Base
• 2017 World Series Game 5: Bill Miller’s Oddly Shaped Strike Zone
Notes
Bibliography
Index

About the Author

Jonathan Weeks has authored several sports biographies and two novels. He lives in Malone, New York.