Rating: 
Summary: Good stories but skewed viewpoint
Review: The best parts of this book are the stories about what it was like to be a minor league and major league umpire. The worst parts, from my perspective, are in Kaiser's biased views about the umpires' labor problems and the quality of umpiring in the majors. Kaiser goes on at length about how every umpire has his own strike zone, and complains about the attempts to standardize it. While it's true that calling balls and strikes is very difficult and that absolute standardization is probably impossible, it's also true that several umpires' strike zones had gotten completely ridiculous (Eric Gregg would regularly call strikes on pitches several inches outside, for example).Kaiser says he trusted union head Richie Phillips too much when he agreed to resign along with most other major league umps. The problem wasn't just one of trust - it was one of arrogance. The umpires thought they were bigger than the game, that a mass resignation would force the owners to come crawling. They also failed to consider whom they were dealing with. Sandy Alderson accepted the mass resignation. This is the one time in labor history that a union broke itself. Major League Baseball owners have historically been poor labor negotiators, but they finally ran into a group of people who were worse. Kaiser doesn't face up to any of this, in my opinion. He admits it was a mistake to sign his resignation letter, but apart from that he seems to see himself as a victim. I think the book is worth reading, as long as one takes some of Kaiser's views with a grain of salt.
Rating: 
Summary: Laugh-Out-Loud Funny
Review: This book was laugh-out-loud funny. Not that it is all one-liners, but the humor is spread throughout the book and often catches you off-guard. I would compare it to Dana Carvey (if you like him) -- good humor that is increased by one's ability to put yourself in another's shoes. I have never umpired professionally, but I have umpired enough amateur games to know that Kaiser is right on the money on much of what he writes. That might make the situations more humorous for me than a "typical" reader, but I doubt it. The writing is easy and friendly and requires very little knowledge of baseball (I would say none, but that might be a stretch). Definitely glad that I read the book!
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