Interesting story. I never knew the little dynamics that go on between batters, catcher, and the umpire. so basically in a stadium of 30,000 people with tv cameras looking in, their is this private conversation going on and Hosmer messed up by making it visible.
Also I didnt know about the “Getaway” game thing.
There is always a conversation going on between the 3 parties, starting in high-school ball. Even more so at that same age in travel-ball and Legion. It increases as you progress up, and the individuals get familiar with each other.
I caught a tournament game once where the Umpire spent six outs talking about the women he picked up at the hotel bar the night before, and I mean every detail. I was a 17 year old kid laughing my ass off, while some old dude I never met, described his eventual hard-to-come-by windsock.
Wow, tell me more. so you were this 17 year old catcher and this umpire starts saying “hey kid let me tell you something”? Was it like that?
What other weird things did umpires say?
Pretty much. He was probably in his late 50s, which at the time seemed ancient. I think he was just a weird old guy.
That was the weirdest and the one I remember. Mostly it was just shooting the shit. Talking about a female in the crowd, weather, a MLB game from the night before, or the game at hand. As a player you do it to get on their good side, and having a regular conversation makes it easier to argue a call later.
Umpires at that level range from their 20s to 70s and you get a wide variety of personalities.