43-671: Ronald Michael Luciano (June 28, 1937 – January 18, 1995) was an American professional baseball umpire who worked in Major League Baseball 's American League from 1969 to 1979. He was known for his flamboyant style, clever aphorisms, and a series of published collections of anecdotes from his colorful career. Luciano was born in Endicott, New York , a suburb of Binghamton near the Pennsylvania border, and lived his entire life there. The 6-foot-4, 260-pound Luciano
86-755: A catcher from 1968 through 1979 , most notably as a member of the Baltimore Orioles dynasty that won three consecutive American League pennants from 1969 to 1971 and, won the World Series in 1970 . He also played for the Chicago Cubs (1972) and New York Yankees (1976–1977). In 2001, he was inducted into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame. A native of Charlotte Amalie, United States Virgin Islands , Hendricks
129-406: A doubleheader ; the second ejection came, once again, before any pitches had been thrown. "The problem with Earl is that he holds a grudge," he said. "Other managers, if they disagree with a call, may holler and shout, but you can still go out for a beer with them after the game. Not Earl. He never forgets. Heck, he even holds your minor league record against you. Once, a couple of years ago, I made
172-626: A black player's head. Now, however, baseball is fully integrated, and there is little to no racial tension between teammates. Between 1943 and 1954, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League fielded teams in several Midwestern towns. Elrod Hendricks Elrod Jerome "Ellie" Hendricks (December 22, 1940 – December 21, 2005) was a U.S. Virgin Islander professional baseball player and coach . He played in Major League Baseball as
215-603: A catcher, Hendricks collected 2783 outs , 228 assists , 31 double plays , and committed just only 29 errors for a significant .990 fielding percentage . Hendricks was a big star in Puerto Rico . He played for 17 seasons with the Cangrejeros de Santurce and occupies third place on the all-time list in homers with 105. Hendricks became a fixture in Baltimore by holding the position of bullpen coach for 28 years,
258-677: A color commentator on NBC 's Game of the Week ; but he became best known as the author of five books— The Umpire Strikes Back , Strike Two , The Fall of the Roman Umpire , Remembrance of Swings Past and Baseball Lite — compilations of humorous anecdotes and reminiscences from his umpiring days. He also became a popular speaker on the banquet circuit. In 1982 he auditioned for the role of Coach Ernie Pantusso in hit TV show Cheers , but producers "wanted an experienced actor". The part went to Nicholas Colasanto . In January 1995 Luciano
301-434: A controversial call at the plate. Earl charged out of the dugout, screaming that that was the same call I'd blown at Elmira in '66. That sort of thing can get to you." Luciano ejected Weaver so often that Orioles players reportedly placed bets on the inning in which their skipper would be removed. Jim Palmer wrote that Weaver " protested any game Luciano umped." The friction became so intense that for an entire year, Luciano
344-540: A four-game series in Reading, Pennsylvania in 1965; Weaver was managing the Elmira Pioneers . Luciano ejected Weaver from all four games, with the last ejection coming during the pre-game lineup exchange. After an argument with Luciano during a 1967 Triple-A game, Weaver literally stole second base, taking it to his dugout and refusing to give it back. In the majors, Luciano once ejected Weaver from both games of
387-677: A practice strictly forbidden by the League. While behind the plate, he would often chat with batters. In his first memoir, he recalled a situation involving future Hall of Fame outfielder Carl Yastrzemski : I remember Yaz coming to bat in a gamer situation in Boston in 1976 ... Before I could say a word, he looked right at me and said, "Listen, Ronnie. My kid is hitting .300, my wife is fine, and I haven't heard any new jokes. I don't want to know about Polish restaurants. I'm nothing-for-15, and I want you to keep your mouth shut." What could I say? On
430-643: A specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada consists of the National League (founded in 1876) and the American League (founded in 1901). Historically, teams in one league never played teams in the other until the World Series , in which the champions of the two leagues played against each other. This changed in 1997 with
473-592: A total of four RBI to help Baltimore defeat the Cincinnati Reds in the 1970 World Series . He also appeared in the 1976 World Series for the Yankees against Cincinnati , returned to the Orioles as a bullpen coach following the 1977 season, and served as a player-coach in 1978 and 1979. He was involved in the most controversial play of the 1970 World Series when the Cincinnati Reds were batting against
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#1732798633250516-538: A word. (I was tempted, though. Really tempted.) Luciano's antics amused players and fans, but earned him frequent reprimands from the League office: Tommy John was pitching for the White Sox against the Orioles and accidentally dropped the ball behind him during his motion. He completed his delivery, and as a joke I called "steee-rike" on the batter. The batter, Don Buford , was aghast. He looked at me as though I
559-468: Is a joke. We take more abuse than any living group of humans, and can't give back any. If we're fired without notice, our only recourse is to appeal to the league president. And he's the guy that fires you. That's gotta be unconstitutional!" Luciano was also known for a long-running feud with Orioles manager Earl Weaver , whose career closely paralleled Luciano's. The two men first met in Double-A during
602-664: The 1959 NFL draft ; however, he suffered a serious shoulder injury in the College All-Star Game , and never played for the Lions. He was traded in 1960 to the Minnesota Vikings , who released him at the end of the season. The AFL Buffalo Bills picked him up in 1961, although a severe knee injury forced his retirement after only two games. Luciano began umpiring in the Class A Florida State League in 1964,
645-764: The Commissioner of Baseball . Operating outside the Minor League Baseball organization are many independent minor leagues such as the Atlantic League , American Association , Frontier League , and the feeder league to these the Empire Professional Baseball League . Japan has had professional baseball since the 1930s. Nippon Professional Baseball consists of two leagues, the Central League and
688-591: The Major League Umpires Association , and was one of its principal leaders and spokesmen during the 1979 umpires strike . "The umpires have kept this game honest for 100 years," he explained to a reporter, in 1978. "We're the only segment of the game that has never been touched by scandal. We gotta be too dumb to cheat. We must have integrity, because we sure don't have a normal family life. We certainly aren't properly paid. We have no health care, no job security, no tenure. Our pension plan
731-730: The Pacific League , each with six teams. South Korea has had professional baseball since 1982. There are 10 teams in KBO League . Taiwan has had professional baseball since the 1990s. The Chinese Professional Baseball League absorbed Taiwan Major League in 2003. There are currently 6 teams in the CPBL. Other Asian leagues include three now defunct leagues, the China National Baseball League , Israel Baseball League , and Baseball Philippines . During
774-550: The Orioles with one out and the score tied at three in the sixth inning of Game 1. With runners Tommy Helms at first base and Bernie Carbo at third, pinch hitter Ty Cline hit a Baltimore chop off Jim Palmer who, while running towards home plate, immediately signaled to Hendricks that Carbo was trying to score from third. Hendricks fielded the ball barehanded, spun around to his left and lunged at an oncoming Carbo in an attempt to tag him out, but collided with umpire Ken Burkhart who, while positioning himself to judge whether
817-469: The United States and Canada. The minor leagues are divided into classes AAA, AA, High-A, A, and Rookie. These minor-league divisions are affiliated with major league teams, and serve to develop young players and rehabilitate injured major-leaguers. "Affiliated baseball" (archaically, " organized baseball ") is often applied as an umbrella term for all leagues — major and minor — under the authority of
860-556: The advent of interleague play . The Philadelphia Phillies , founded in 1883, are the oldest continuous same-name, same-city franchise in both Major League Baseball and all of American professional sports. In addition to the major leagues, many North American cities and towns feature minor league teams. An organization officially styled Minor League Baseball , formerly the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, oversees nearly all minor league baseball in
903-461: The air, making an attraction out of myself. The fans loved it. Naturally, the League officials hated it." For all his antics, his skills were respected by the players: In a 1974 Major League Baseball Players Association poll, Luciano was one of only two American League umpires rated "excellent." The other being Doug Harvey . In addition to making theatrical events of routine outs, he was considered an "individualist" who played fast and loose with
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#1732798633250946-420: The ball, I'd call it a strike. And if they threw it right back, it was a ball. If the game was close in the later innings, I'd take back control. No one I ever worked with ever took advantage of the situation. And no hitter ever figured out what I was doing. And only once (when Herrmann was calling the pitches) did a pitcher (Herrmann's own pitcher!) ever complain about a call. I smiled. I laughed. But I didn't say
989-508: The bases after hitting a home run to end a long slump. "The third baseman was looking at me as if I were slightly out of my mind," he wrote. "But before he could say a word, I said firmly, 'It's okay. We're Italian.' " In 1973 during spring training, he switched positions and hats with Buddy Bell , playing a portion of an inning at third base while Bell umpired. (Both were reprimanded by the League.) Luciano would routinely converse with players during between-inning breaks and even during play,
1032-405: The batted ball was fair, accidentally blocked the runner's path to the plate. Carbo slid around Burkhart on the outside but missed touching home plate. With his back to the play and after being knocked down, Burkhart ruled Carbo out even though Hendricks made the tag with his mitt while holding the ball in his bare hand. Having not been properly tagged out, Carbo unknowingly stepped on the plate as he
1075-430: The dates because, on June 29, we decided to get a divorce." Luciano was an enthusiastic amateur ornithologist and an avid reader. "I don't understand Shakespeare's sonnets at all, but I follow his tragedies," he said. "I like the mean characters, people like Macbeth's wife. Hey, you've got to be a masochist to be an umpire, right?" After his retirement in 1980, Luciano spent two seasons partnered with Merle Harmon as
1118-687: The few umpires people have paid their way into the park to see." Of Weaver, Luciano wrote, "It's impossible for me not to admire him, but it's pretty hard for me to like him." Luciano married Polly Dixon, an airline flight attendant from Chicago, in 1974. During the baseball season they saw very little of each other, and during the off-season they could not agree on where to live: she did not want to move to upstate New York, and he did not want to live in Chicago. They had no children and divorced after less than two years. "I once went four months—from March 3 to June 28—without seeing my wife," he said. "I remember
1161-594: The late 19th and early 20th centuries, players of black African descent were barred from playing the major leagues , though several did manage to play by claiming to be Cubans or Native Americans . As a result, a number of parallel Negro leagues were formed. However, after Jackie Robinson began playing with the major-league Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, the Negro leagues gradually faded. The process of integration did not go entirely smoothly; there were some ugly incidents, including pitchers who would try to throw directly at
1204-528: The league mark at that moment. He had been traded along with Ken Holtzman , Doyle Alexander , Grant Jackson and Jimmy Freeman from the Orioles to the Yankees for Rick Dempsey , Scott McGregor , Tippy Martinez , Rudy May and Dave Pagan at the trade deadline on June 15, 1976. Hendricks made the only pitching appearance in his MLB playing career in a 24–10 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays at Exhibition Stadium on June 26, 1978. He
1247-539: The league's rules of conduct. For example, rather than working from behind second base as mandated by the American League, he would frequently stand between the pitcher and the base, National League -style. He refused to call balks , insisting that the official definition was too vague to permit consistent enforcement. "I never called a balk in my life," he wrote. "I didn't understand the rule." He once congratulated Oakland infielder Sal Bando as he rounded
1290-553: The left-handed Hendricks to pull in right-center, chased down the ball on a dead sprint, extending his left arm for a backhanded over-the-shoulder catch in the webbing of his glove. His most productive season came in 1970 with the World Champion Orioles, when he hit 12 home runs with 41 RBI . Hendricks went 4-for-11 (.364), hit a solo home run in Game 1, decided Game 2 with a two-run opposite-field double and had
1333-404: The longest active coaching streak with one club among all major league coaches. After his stroke, Hendricks was reassigned to another position within the organization, one that would enable the club to take advantage of his huge popularity within the Baltimore community; along with his loyalty to the "Oriole Way" and to the traditions of baseball, he was a tireless signer of pre-game autographs and
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1376-495: The longest coaching tenure in Orioles history. Hendricks was noted for consistently wearing shin guards in the Orioles bullpen, even when he wasn’t actually catching a potential relief pitcher. His contract was not renewed for that position as of October 2005, in part because he had a mild stroke in April. The 2005 season marked the 37th that Hendricks served in a Baltimore uniform as a player or coach, another club record. He also had
1419-429: The second pitch, he hit a home run. As he crossed home plate, he looked right at me and nodded. "Okay," he said, "you can talk to me now." He later admitted that "on bad days following good nights"—when a hangover hampered his ability to call pitches accurately—he would sometimes allow trusted catchers, such as Elrod Hendricks , Ed Herrmann , or John Roseboro , to umpire for him: It would work just fine. If they held
1462-629: Was a member of the 1974 World Series umpire crew, but did not work the plate; the Oakland Athletics closed out the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games. Other extra-season duties included the 1971 , 1975 , and 1978 American League Championship Series and the 1973 All-Star Game . He was the home plate umpire for Nolan Ryan 's second no-hitter in Detroit on July 15, 1973. Luciano served two full terms as president of
1505-462: Was a standout offensive and defensive tackle at Syracuse University , where he majored in mathematics. He played in the 1957 Cotton Bowl and was named to the 1958 College Football All-America Team . In 1959, he played on the Orangemen's national championship squad with future Heisman Trophy winner Ernie Davis . The Detroit Lions selected him as an offensive tackle in the third round of
1548-592: Was arguing, but the play was dead once Burkhart made his call. Hendricks also had tied the game at 3–3 with a solo home run one inning earlier in the fifth. Hendricks also played briefly for the Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees, earning a World Series ring with the latter club in 1977 . Playing for the Cubs on September 16, 1972, against the Mets at Wrigley Field , Hendricks received five bases on balls, equaling
1591-461: Was at bat in a pivotal play during the 1969 World Series . With the New York Mets leading 3–0 and two Orioles on base with two outs in the fourth inning of Game 3, Hendricks cracked a hard-hit line drive into the left-center field gap that most thought would go for extra bases, scoring two runs and putting the Orioles back in the game. But center fielder Tommie Agee , who was playing
1634-430: Was crazy. And out on the mound John was falling all over himself with laughter. I changed the call to "no pitch", of course, but John couldn't stop laughing. He walked the next three batters, gave up a double and was taken out of the game. He laughed all the way to the showers. League President Joe Cronin sent Luciano a registered letter the next day, chiding him for "conduct unbecoming of a major league umpire". Luciano
1677-636: Was found dead at age 57 in his garage at his home in Endicott, a victim of suicide via carbon monoxide poisoning. He reportedly suffered from depression for many years, and he was hospitalized for its treatment in early 1994. He is buried at the Calvary Cemetery in Johnson City, New York . Professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for
1720-634: Was promoted to the Double-A Eastern League in 1965 and the Triple-A International League in 1967. In 1969, he became a Major League umpire, in the American League , and remained so until his retirement just before the 1980 regular season. As an umpire he was known for his flamboyant calls, particularly his habit of "shooting out" players. "My personal record is 16 shots; Bill Haller counted them," he wrote. "I started screaming my calls and leaping in
1763-778: Was selected by the Baltimore Orioles from the California Angels in the Rule 5 draft on November 28, 1967. He was a superior defensive catcher and a very fine handler of pitchers on a usually strong Orioles rotation that included Mike Cuellar , Pat Dobson , Dave McNally , Jim Palmer and Tom Phoebus . Hendricks spent most of his playing career with the Orioles, regularly with the winning teams of manager Earl Weaver . They went to three consecutive World Series from 1969–71, as Hendricks shared catching duties with Andy Etchebarren . Hendricks led all American League catchers in fielding percentage in 1969 and 1975 . He
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1806-512: Was the second consecutive position player used as a relief pitcher after Larry Harlow when he entered the game with two outs and the Orioles losing 24–6 in the fifth inning. He allowed only a hit and a walk over 2 1 ⁄ 3 scoreless innings. In 711 games played , including 658 with Baltimore, Hendricks was a .220 hitter with 62 home runs (still the all-time record for a United States Virgin Islands native) and 230 RBI. In nine postseason games, he had .273, 2 HR, 10 RBI. In 602 games as
1849-405: Was transferred whenever his umpiring crew was scheduled to work an Orioles series. In the third inning of Luciano's first Orioles game a year later (August 26, 1979, at Chicago 's Comiskey Park ), he ejected Weaver — who in turn publicly questioned Luciano's "integrity" and received a three-game suspension. Eventually, each admitted a grudging respect for the other. Weaver said Luciano was "one of
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