Being a baseball fan, you should recognize the names of Eric Gregg, Doug Harvey, and Joe West, among others in their category.

They were the umpires we watched and respected, regardless of their calls. Umpires have been as much a part of the game as any other aspect of the sport since the four-man crew came into play in 1952. We can all think back to their numerous arguments with managers, who would kick dirt and throw bases among other objects.

Baltimore’s Earl Weaver, New York’s Billy Martin, Cincinnati’s Sparky Anderson, and Seattle’s Lou Pinella were four managers that immediately popped into my mind in reference to altercations.

They were a few notches above the current class of umpires, who have had too many questionable calls over the past few seasons. This season certainly has had its share.

In this week’s version of my Behind the Plate column, I will look back at some of the umpires of our time, as well as the current status of the contemporary ones. In addition, I’ll explore the rise of the Miami Marlins and check in on the status of the Phillies, Yankees, and Mets.

You Know the Commercial

: In 1971, umpire Jim Honochick – an Allentown native and Central Catholic graduate – helped put Miller Lite beer on the map in a classic commercial with Orioles’ star Boog Powell. The Orioles slugger cites how Honochick – a longtime American League caller – recognized how the beer is a good one, but Honochick has the perfect punchline by needing to put on his glasses to recognize it’s Powell.

Along with Honochick, Easton native Frank Pulli was a long-standing National League umpire, who had his share of regular and postseason games. Philly’s Eric Gregg became one of the game’s more colorful and gregarious characters who always had a great rapport with the players. If you remember, Gregg – who battled weight problems – suffered a stroke on June 4, 2006, and passed away the following day.

A large number of the umpires from the 60s, 70s, and 80s, were Pennsylvania natives.

In 1996, you may recall veteran National League umpire John McSherry collapsed on the field and was rushed to a local hospital, but he was pronounced dead upon arrival. McSherry was well liked and revered by fans.

Until 2000, the leagues had their own set of umpires. The main visible difference was that the American League umpires wore their bubble chest protectors on the outside, while the National League umps wore their protectors under their shirts. American League umpires also wore red jackets.

Watching the Yankees on WPIX Channel 11, NBC’s Game of the Week and ABC’s Monday Night Baseball growing up, I remember the likes of Ron Luciano, Marty Springstead, Bill Kunkel, Larry Barnett, Tim McClelland, Derryl Cousins, Ken Kaiser (one of the larger umps), John Shulock, and Bill Haller, whose brother Tom was a catcher for the Tigers. Shulock still has the record for career ejections with 79.

Luciano was vibrant and animated on and off the field. He had a career in broadcasting and also did commercials. He became a media favorite.

On the other side, Shag Crawford, Jerry Crawford (Shag’s son), Tom Hallion, Bruce Froemming, Tom Gorman, Terry Tata, John Kibler, Ed Vargo, Harry Wendlestedt, Paul Runge, and Chris Pelekoudas all come to mind. Pelekoudas was referred to as “Smelly Pelly” for his calls. “Cowboy” Joe West recently retired in 2021 after 45 years on the job.

Whether you liked or disliked them, the majority of umpires from the baby boomer generation overall did the game a great service.

Not a Rave Review

: Since the start of the season, umpires have been under fire for their increasing amount of arguable and apparent bad calls on strikes and situational plays. There have been plenty of managers who have been vocal and direct about their displeasure. In addition, there has been plenty of squawking about college umpires as well.

During a recent Mets-Brewers game I watched, Milwaukee’s Joey Weimer was hit on the hand, but he obviously swung through the pitch, which was evident on replay. Home plate umpire Carlos Torres awarded Weimer first base, which kept a rally alive and led to a Brewers’ win.

According to the website Umpires Scoreboard, Angel Hernandez, Laz Diaz, and C.B. Bucknor has consistently been at the bottom of the rankings over the past few seasons. This is a case where statistics don’t lie.

MLB has instituted an automatic ball-strike system at the Triple-A level this year. However, commissioner Rob Manfred has stated the system wouldn’t be introduced at major league level before 2024.

However, if the outrage continues in the second half of the season, there could be some changes made.

On the Home Front

: With their sweep over the Cubs and loss to Washington, the Phillies raised their record to 18-6 since June 3.

One of the main reasons for their revival has been their starting pitching, which posted a 2.21 ERA in June. Taijuan Walker has a 1.69 ERA in his last eight starts and a 0.84 in his last five. This has been a run without the banner seasons expected from both Trea Turner and Bryce Harper.

Heading into Friday’ series with St. Louis, the Yankees had an 11-12 slate in June, an example of their inconsistencies all season long. Aaron Judge hasn’t played since June 3. Giancarlo Stanton has started to spark, but D.J. LeMahieu is still stuck in neutral. They haven’t found the answer at third base, shortstop, and in center field. It may be time to cut ties with Josh Donaldson.

As for the Mets, they had a 7-19 mark in June and had lost nine of 12 at the end of the month. It is becoming more evident that the Mets are built the wrong way, relying on two 40-year-olds to anchor their staff. They also haven’t had any consistency from the remainder of their starters. Yet, Justin Verlander arguably had his best outing Saturday in a 4-1 victory over the Giants.

Their bullpen appeared to be set with Edwin Diaz, Adam Ottavino, and Dave Robertson. Diaz’s season-ending injury has been huge, and Ottavino has blown too many situations. Robertson has been steady.

Miami’s Vice

: When you think about the Miami Marlins (originally the Florida Marlins), you likely picture images of Jim Leyland, Jeff Conine, Jack McKeon, Josh Beckett, Gary Sheffield, Giancarlo Stanton, Hanley Ramirez, Dontrelle Willis, and probably more recently Derek Jeter and Don Mattingly. Darren Dalton was part of their 1997 championship team. Heck, we should throw former Phillies’ skipper Joe Girardi into the mix.

You may also remember promising, young pitcher Jose Fernandez, who was killed in an early morning boating accident in September 2016.

However, this current group of Marlins are making baseball take notice. Beginning Friday, they opened a series in Atlanta, and the Marlins had a 48-34 record in second place, six games behind the Braves. They also were atop the Wild Card standings.

Second baseman Luis Arraez has led the league in hitting and had a .392 clip before the weekend. Outfielder Bryan De La Cruz was at .329 and had 84 RBIs, and fellow outfielder Jorge Soler had 21 homers. Former Phillie and third baseman Jean Segura had a .262 average.

Their .262 team average places them sixth in MLB. They also had a 13th best on-base percentage of .323 and a 15th-best on-base-plus-slugging mark- of .722.

In June, the Marlins hiked their average to .274 and an OPS of .736. Last year, the Marlins finished the season in the bottom five in all three of those categories with a .230 batting average, .294 on-base percentage, and an OPS of 657.

Defending Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara is off to a slow start, and their starting pitching has been adequate, yet they still have the 10th best team ERA at 3.85. Andrew Bordi was 6-1 and A.J. Puk had 13 saves in a bullpen that had an ERA of 3,90, 14th best in baseball.

Miami’s recent rout of Boston marked the 33rd time this season it had recorded 10 hits, and they had a 22-11 record in those games.

With the Mets seemingly trapped in a funk, and the Phillies still not where they want to be, Miami easily could be on its way to their first postseason appearance since the shortened COVID season when they finished second with a 31-29 mark. They beat the Cubs in the Wild Card round, but were swept by the Braves in the Divisional Round.

Final Thought

: Domingo German’s perfect game was the fourth in Yankees club history, with Don Larsen (1956), David Wells (1998), and David Cone (1999) for the Yankees. In each of those years, the Yankees won the World Series.

Will the Yankees make it happen again? Stay tuned.

Mailbag: If you have any appropriate comments, thoughts, or ideas, please submit them at tnsports@tnoline.com. I would welcome the opportunity to share them.