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Penobscot Valley High School softball coach Thom Coyle already knew how good Kayla Dube is. But when umpires starting raving to him about the movement on Dube's pitches, Coyle decided to check it out from their perspective. "I've stood back there ...

When is a home run not a home run? How many pitching changes can you fit on the head of a pin? For answers to these and other baseball rules questions, just 'Ask The Ump!'

Major League Baseball appears set for a vast expansion of video review by umpires in 2014 and is examining whether all calls other than balls and strikes should be subject to instant replay.

We're not here to complain about umpiring. Been there, done that -- about two billion times. This time, we're here to help.

Manny Acta explains how technology has changed the game in a way fans don't see, and gives a list of his 10 best umps in the game.

Story | Conversation | May 13, 2013

As a society, we want and demand perfection from umpires. But, in reality, that wish could be a rather slippery slope.

HOUSTON -- This time, the umpires got it right. That made Adrian Beltre's three-run home run in Sunday's 12-7 victory over Houston at Minute Maid Park the most memorable moment in a win that clinched a three-game sweep of the struggling Houston As...

Garrett Jones hit a three-run homer -- a call that was correctly overturned by baseball's beleaguered umpires -- and Wandy Rodriguez pitched the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 7-3 victory over the New York Mets on Friday night.

The rule covering pitching changes was not applied correctly by the umpiring crew in the seventh inning of Thursday's Angels-Astros game in Houston, Major League Baseball said Friday.

The look and tone that Angels manager Mike Scioscia aimed at the umpires in Houston on Thursday night reminded you of a third-grade teacher admonishing students over a paper airplane thrown across the room. Scioscia's language, however, was a litt...

Blog | May 10, 2013

Take a shot at writing a cartoon caption. Playbook cartoonist Kurt Snibbe will offer up a blank cartoon each weekday morning, and he will fill in the blank with our favorite reader submission at the end of the business day. So please, by all means...

Replay isn't perfect, and it'll never be perfect. But let's just hope something positive comes from this debacle in Cleveland.

Coaches who think it's OK to ride the refs, fans who feel it's cool to yell at officials all the time and the confusion of professional sports with youth sports lead to a breakdown in respect for authority.

I'm sure by now you've seen the home run that was not called a home run in Cleveland in the ninth inning Wednesday night. Instead of a double for Adam Rosales, it should have been a homer that tied the score for the Oakland A's. But after replay, whi...

There really is no gray area with the disputed home run call in the Oakland Athletics-Cleveland Indians game: Upon further review, the umpires still missed an indisputable call on Adam Rosales's long drive to left-center field. There could be exp...

Blog | May 09, 2013

Major League Baseball acknowledges an "improper call" was made by umpires in the ninth inning of a game between the Cleveland Indians and Oakland Athletics.