“Rules? We don’t need no steenking rules!”

I was thinking.  Umpires are a necessary part of baseball, and their duties are well defined. They decide whether each unswung upon pitch is a ball, or a strike.  The umpire’s authority is absolute in this area.  Four balls and the batter walks to first base. Not 3 balls, not 5 balls; four.   Three strikes, and the batter is out.  Not 2 strikes, not 4; three. So, umpires have the power to enforce baseball’s rules, but not change them.  Ever.

 

Judges are umpires.  Too many of them have decided that they can change the rules willy-nilly, and when they do that, they disturb the balance and harmony of the game…