The main resource that umpires use to help make those
split second decisions are baseball rule books.
Every level of play has their own rule book. Many umpires work many different levels and
they are expected to know the many different rules at every level.
I have found these rule books have a unique language
and grammar format. I have found it’s so unique and perplexing, I have decided
to create a unique word to describe their language and grammar. (Grammage).
Reading and understanding (Grammage) can take minutes
if you’re lucky, days and years if you’re not. If the powers to be have created (Grammage) in order to help umpires be able
to quickly retain and recall baseball rules, they have failed.
In an English class making five completely different statements
in one sentence is called an F, but in the baseball rule book I call it (Grammage).
Provide the following sentence to an English teacher and let me know what they think,
“The pitching arm shall be at the side or on the hip of the pitcher with the ball in the
glove or pitching hand.” Now instantly apply a ruling on the field. How did you
do? What did the English teacher say?
(Grammage) is confusing, it’s slow, it produces
multiple interpretations, it’s bizarre and yet every baseball rule book uses (Grammage).
Demand an End to Grammage!
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