SABR Digital Library: The SABR Book of Umpires and Umpiring
Make the right call and add this new baseball book from the SABR Digital Library to your collection:
The SABR Book on Umpires and Umpiring
Edited by Larry R. Gerlach and Bill Nowlin
Associate editors: Dennis Bingham and Len Levin
ISBN (paperback): 978-1-943816-45-3, $21.95
ISBN (e-book): 978-1-943816-44-6, $9.99
8.5 x 11″, 484 pages
This nearly 500-page book on umpires and umpiring is the collaborative work of 34 members of the Society for American Baseball Research. It is, in effect, a companion book to another SABR title, Can He Play? A Look at Baseball Scouts and their Profession, edited by Jim Sandoval and Bill Nowlin.
The SABR Book on Umpires and Umpiring includes biographies of all the umpires in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, other notable arbiters, essays about professional female umpires, umpiring in the Negro Leagues, explorations of the baseball rules, umpire equipment, and much more.
During the course of working on The SABR Book of Umpires and Umpiring, interviews were conducted with 56 major league umpires currently serving, former umpires, supervisors and those involved in umpire administration, and others whose jobs cause them to interact with umpires. It is our hope that we have helped shed light on the umpiring profession past and present, the work involved on the field, and the arduous challenges and sacrifices it takes over a large number of years to become an umpire at the top of the profession. We have tried to look at the occupation of umpiring from many different angles. No one book can cover all facets of the job, but we hope this book had touched on enough to help give readers a fuller appreciation of the game of baseball and those charged with the integrity of the game.
Contributors include: David W. Anderson, Mark Armour, Perry Barber, John Behrend, Dennis Bingham, Alan Cohen, Reynaldo Cruz, Kevin Cuddihy, Reid Duffy, Rob Edelman, Eric Frost, Larry Gerlach, Dennis Goodman, Leslie Heaphy, Harold V. Higham, Joanne Hulbert, Bob Hurte, Gil Imber, Chuck Johnson, Rodney Johnson, Stephen Johnson III, Bob LeMoine, Len Levin, Hank Levy, Bob Luke, Shaun McCready, Clark G. “Red” Merchant, Brian Mills, Bill Nowlin, Albert Piacente, Bill Pruden, David Vincent, Bob Webster, Chris Williams, and Herb Wilson.
SABR members, get this e-book for FREE!
- E-book: Click here to download the e-book version of The SABR Book on Umpires and Umpiring for FREE from the SABR Store. Available in PDF, Kindle/MOBI and EPUB formats.
- Paperback: Get a 50% discount on The SABR Book on Umpires and Umpiring paperback edition from the SABR Store ($17.99 includes shipping/tax).
Buy the book
- E-book: Click here to purchase the e-book version of The SABR Book on Umpires and Umpiring for $9.99 from the SABR Store. Available in PDF, Kindle/MOBI and EPUB formats.
- Paperback: Get the paperback edition of The SABR Book on Umpires and Umpiring from the SABR Store ($34.99 includes shipping/tax).
About the SABR Digital Library
For more than 40 years, SABR and its members have led the way in publishing the best baseball historical and statistical research. Our publications program is shifting to take advantage of new methods of publishing. Not only will we continue to publish new books like Can He Play? A Look At Baseball Scouts and Their Profession (released in December 2011); Detroit Tigers 1984: What A Start! What A Finish! (December 2012); Sweet ’60: The 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates (April 2013); Inventing Baseball: The 100 Greatest Games of the 19th Century (July 2013); Thar’s Joy in Braveland: The 1957 Milwaukee Braves (May 2014); Winning on the North Side: The 1929 Chicago Cubs (February 2015); Scandal on the South Side: The 1919 Chicago White Sox (June 2015); The Team That Time Won’t Forget: The 1951 New York Giants (December 2015); Nuclear Powered Baseball/The Simpsons (February 2016), Au jeu/Play Ball: The 50 Greatest Games in the History of the Montreal Expos (April 2016); Cuban Baseball Legends (July 2016), Baseball’s Business: The Winter Meetings: 1901-1957 (December 2016); and Dome Sweet Dome: History and Highlights from 35 Years of the Houston Astrodome (February 2017), which showcase the best efforts of SABR’s members, chapters and committees, but new technology makes it possible for us to bring out-of-print titles like Run, Rabbit, Run: The Hilarious and Mostly True Tales of Rabbit Maranville (February 2012), Great Hitting Pitchers (March 2012), Nineteenth Century Stars (August 2012); Batting (January 2013); The Fenway Project (September 2013); and ’75: The Red Sox Team That Saved Baseball (April 2015) back again.
Books will be available in digital formats as well as paperbacks produced by “print on demand” (POD).
SABR members will get discounted rates for all Digital Library publications, including many for free. If you’re not a member, click here to join SABR.
Stay tuned throughout the year for new (and old!) titles that we’ll be adding to the SABR Digital Library. To learn more about SABR Publications, contact Publications Editor Cecilia Tan at ctan@sabr.org.
Having trouble downloading our e-books? To view PDF files on your computer, click here to download the free Adobe Reader software. Having trouble downloading e-books to your Kindle, Nook, Sony Reader or iPad? Click here for additional help.
Originally published: March 28, 2017. Last Updated: August 6, 2020.