I’ve heard it said that umpires are necessary evil. Well, we are necessary, but we are not evil. We are hard-working and dedicated people whose primary interest is to make sure the game is played fairly. We are the integrity of the game. Doug Harvey Read Quote
When you’re in between the white lines, the game face is on. I was only focused on the task at hand – out, safe, ball, strike – leaving little time to think about how special a player, moment or game happened to be. Doug Harvey Read Quote
I just loved officiating, and I hope what I did helped make it better. That’s what I tell young umpires: you can have fun. I never spent a day where going out on a baseball field didn’t make me feel better. Doug Harvey Read Quote
Before I joined professional baseball, I started umpiring in San Diego, California. I worked 155 games in a five-month season. For three years in a row, I was working tripleheaders on Saturday and doubleheaders on Sunday. Doug Harvey Read Quote
My mom beat us until she started breaking clothes hangers. Wooden clothes hangers! Once we started laughing back at her, then your spankings were through. That’s the way I was raised. So, I got to be about 13 years of age when finally she quit spanking on me. But I think that it was great way to be raised. Doug Harvey Read Quote
If you don’t need umpires out there, and you can put robots out there, then why do we need ballplayers? Doug Harvey Read Quote
Umpires are necessary evils. That’s just the nature of the beast. For years, people have looked on umpiring as a job they could get any postman to do. Doug Harvey Read Quote
I was correct in every call I made, regardless of what managers, players or replay may have said. To me, that’s the reason I’m in the Hall of Fame. If I didn’t umpire with conviction, I wouldn’t have made it for long. Doug Harvey Read Quote
As we all know, Cooperstown is the home of baseball. One of the many duties of the home plate umpire is to make sure that the runner touches home. Well, if you’re a true baseball fan, you need to visit Cooperstown. This is home. Doug Harvey Read Quote
I always told my young umpires, ‘Don’t get mad. Whatever you do, don’t show it. But no matter how long it takes, get even.’ Doug Harvey Read Quote
