Ross Bray

Other than umpires, there are not many people who understand there can be four outs in an inning. The purpose of getting a fourth out is to negate a run scored as a result of a baserunning infraction. Baserunning violations only result in an out when an appeal is made. The opportunity for a fourth out has not occurred very often in professional baseball and there apparently has never been a successful fourth-out appeal in MLB, at least in modern times.

As I’ve grown over the years, I actually look back at early times in my career and laugh. Many times, when enforcing rules, “winning” discussions and when the inevitable ejection occurred, I simply got louder. Today, that is no longer the case. Yes, there are times when we need to be loud. There are times when we have to be that umpire and enforce something no one likes to, or for that matter, wants to.

Even if you’re not a fan of classical music, you likely recognize the first eight notes of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony when you hear them. Didn’t major in English lit? No matter. You probably know the Charles Dickens masterpiece A Tale of Two Cities begins with the words, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” The words and notes that follow those beginnings are classics and probably would be works of art even with less memorable starts.