My Sportsman Choice: The ALCS umpires

By Michael Bamberger

The umps conferred at first base after Alex Rodriguez knocked the ball out of Bronson Arroyo's glove and was called safe. Al Tielemans/SI  Chris Stone: Red Sox Nation, you've earned this one  Paul Zimmerman: Boy Wonder brought Boston a title  B.J. Schecter: Red Sox captured Boston's heart  Richard Deitsch: The Babe had a big presence in '04  Rick Reilly: Big Papi did it all for the world champs  Jeffri Chadiha: A reward for reversing The Curse  Lisa Altobelli: Ramirez never took anything seriously  • Sportsman of the Year archive

All God-fearing people believe in The Curse, and this year it was lifted, thanks to the umpires working Game 6 of the epic Red Sox-Yankees series for the American League pennant. Had these half-dozen men-in-blue-windbreakers not conferred with one another on two occasions in that game to make the correct calls, the pox on the Sox might have endured for another 86 years. Instead, the spell was broken, right there on a lighted lawn in the Bronx. There were millions of witnesses.

For years, the pattern of behavior was growing worse and worse, on both sides. You remember when Roberto Alomar of the Baltimore Orioles spat in the face of John Hirschbeck, the home-plate umpire who dare to call him out on a strike. For a long time now, the players have become more belligerent with those charged with keeping order in the game, and the umpires became more haughty. We generalize, but that's the way things were going. Joe West, the veteran umpire who goes by "Cowboy Joe," was among the worst offenders. Round and pugnacious and highly rated -- he has a very good eye -- he looked like he was looking for a fight. Where were the Doug Harveys and the Augie Donatellis, umpires from yesteryear who would stoically listen to the venting of blue-veined managers, intent on not becoming the stars of the show? They were relics.

We announce the following lineup without the usual pre-game high fives, elbow dances and body shakes. Just respect. On the evening of Oct. 19, 2004, at Yankee Stadium -- with New York one win from a berth in the World Series and extending the Boston plague -- the following umpires took the field: Joe West, home plate; crew chief Randy Marsh, first base; Jeff Nelson, second base; the very same John Hirschbeck, third base; Jim Joyce, left field; Jeff Kellogg, right field.

In the fourth inning, with the visitors batting and with two on, Red Sox second baseman Mark Bellhorn hit a line-drive about a three feet over the left-field fence. There were 56,128 fans on hand that night, most of them ready to throw back opposition home run balls. This time that wasn't necessary. The ball struck a fan wearing blue jeans and a hooded navy blue sweatshirt in the stomach. The ball bounced back onto the field and Jim Joyce oddly declared the ball to be a ground rule double. Maybe he was having a James Joyce moment. (Good writer, bad eyesight.) You get nervous in big games -- umpires, players, managers, fans, everybody. It's one thing to make a mistake, and another thing not to correct it. The umpires, the whole gang, had a little confab -- not a common occurrence -- and got the call and the score correct: home run, three-run job, Boston 4, Yankees 0. Jim Joyce did a manful thing. Unsure of himself, he deferred to others.

Then in the eighth, an even weirder play. With one out and Derek Jeter on first and Gary Sheffield on deck and the Yankees trailing 4-2, Alex Rodriguez came to the plate. You knew where this inning was headed. Instead, Rodriguez -- paid about $42,500 per at-bat -- hit a 50-foot squibbler, fielded by the Boston pitcher, Bronson Arroyo. Arroyo, with the ball in his glove, was about to get the biggest out of his career when Rodriguez took his gloved left hand and slapped the ball out of the pitcher's glove. (A desperate and smart move. The culture of baseball is to get away with what you can.) Randy Marsh, oddly, declared Rodriguez safe even though he had failed to touch first base. Then, with the ball bouncing around the first-base coach's box, Rodriguez finally touched first and made it to second. Jeter scored. Sheffield became to go-ahead run.

Terry Francona's mild manners served him well here. Had the Red Sox manager charged out of the dugout with white foam coming out of his mouth, the umpires may have turned their backs on him. But he was reasonable, and the umpires wise. Cowboy Joe told his boss that he had a good view of the play. (Marsh was blocked out by the first baseman, Doug Mientkiewicz.) Rodriguez was called out for interference, Jeter went back to first, the umpires were pelted with baseballs from the stands. They deserved better.

On a Sunday morning in a Chicago church many years ago, Augie Donatelli was sitting in the same pew as Leo Durocher. The priest asked his parishioners to greet one another. The umpire turned to the manager known as Leo the Lip and said, "Peace, Leo, peace." To which Durocher said, "War, Augie, war."

Here's to peace, and to lifted curses. In 2004, the umpires opened the door.

Sports Illustrated will announce the 2004 Sportsman of the Year winner on FOX on November 28. Check back every weekday until then to read more Sportsman picks from SI writers.