Day 4: Japan vs Mexico

Today reminded me of my old days in professional baseball, due to the late start time of the game. I spent a good portion of the day looking for ways to stay busy. (I didn't do a very good job of it, either. I have another night game tomorrow and am planning on going out with my camera during the day to get some good shots.) Anyway, my crew today consisted of two of the Taipei guys (Lin and Kuo -- you are not allowed to have a name with more than three letters if you umpire and live in Taiwan) along with Nelson Diaz from Cuba. We had a play with a little controversy tonight. A Japanese hitter got a base hit with multiple runners on. The throw from the outfield came in behind him at first base and a rundown ensued. The runner eventually ended up on second base. The Mexican team felt either that they had tagged him or he had run out of the baseline, I'm not quite sure which. I allowed the discussion to go on for a while, although nothing was really getting discussed because the Mexican manager and the Taiwan umpire couldn't communicate very well. I finally went out, and the manager, through one of his players who spoke English, told me he wanted to ask the first base umpire for some help. I told the player that it was too late for that to happen, as the whole reason I was out in the middle was because the discussion had lasted too long. The manager wasn't happy, but I was able to get him off the field.

Japan kind of had their way with Mexico tonight. The Mexican pitcher couldn't find the plate from the start, and the score ended up 15-3. Mercifully, they play a 10-run rule after seven, so we were able to stop after six and a half. I didn't have too many hitters snapping their heads back tonight, and the catchers seemed pretty happy. I got a little concerned when the Japanese pitcher who came in for the top of the sixth started getting really animated and kept issuing some kind of gutteral mantra on any close two strike pitch. I gave him the universal "tone it down" signal, which he seemed to understand.

This stadium was very old and not nearly as nice as the one yesterday. We actually dressed in what I guess you'd call a sky box, in full view of anyone out on the field. No shower available here and a three flight walk up to get into the room. (I think I'll be using my new SSK soft bag from now on, even on the days of plate jobs.) No crowd again tonight.

Anyway, another day down. Even though we struggled to communicate, the umpires get along fine. Everyone is extremely polite. The Taiwan umpires go out of their way to help in any way they can. I get the feeling that if we get out for cocktails here soon, it might be a long night!

Tomorrow's game is Chinese Taipei vs Japan at the nicer stadium (Intercon). I've got the plate again, and I expect this match-up might draw a decent crowd. I'm going to get some rest, as we've got an umpire meeting tomorrow morning. Then hopefully I can shoot some pictures before heading out to umpire again tomorrow night (6:00 pm start here, 5:00 am start for most of you back home).