Do you think with what's happening with the Nba scandal could possibly be happening in Baseball too?

Question

Do any of you in your opinion thinks it's possible that there is a tainted umpire that can be doing the same thing that this Nba Ref did?

Answer 1

Anything is possible. But Major League Baseball has a long history and a lot of experience, and they have taken steps to ensure that the officiating is as reliable and trustworthy as possible.

Umpires in baseball -- especially the home-plate umpire -- can have a huge impact on the game. So umpires come under a lot of scrutiny. In fact, umpires are judged on their performance by panels of other umpires. This peer accountability is supposed to make it difficult for an underperforming umpire to continue on with his bad calls. Additionally, the fact that an umpire's calls are so closely scrutinized by television makes it harder for a baseball umpire to cheat, when compared to an NBA official. In short, baseball deals with subjective events that are fairly easy to double-check after the fact (was it a strike or a ball?), and baskeball deals with judgement calls that are mostly a matter of opinion (did he commit a foul?)

A major league umpire's salary varies from a low of $84,000 up to more than $300K, so there is very little incentive for an umpire to take bribes. Compare this to an NBA official, who earns maybe 60K a year, and often has a day job.

Answer 2

It is not as likely to be happening in baseball or other sports for that matter. At least not based on referee's. Basketball is the sport that the referee can have the greatest impact on a game. The fouls that are called are so marginal and arbitrary to being with it is harder to know if something shady is going on. Players in Baseball, especially pitchers could certainly alter a games outcome to cover spreads or not cover. I imagine there is some gambling and cheating that takes place in all sports but not to the extent that it happens in basketball. There is also the fact that several NBA teams are owned by people that own Las Vegas Casinos that have sportsbooks. The Maloofs who are the owners of the Sacramento Kings own the Palms. I can'r remember the others but I know there are a couple.

Answer 3

No because in baseball the umpires get yelled at for good calls and when they make a bad call the managers go crazy so it would stick out. You cant help a team hit homeruns which is the bulk of the runs in baseball.

Answer 4

I don't think it is happening but it could. The only time I think umpires and people like that in baseball are when the signal home run when it is clear a fan reached over and caught the ball.

Answer 5

It already happened. The thing in baseball is the umpire only has so much power in what happens during the game. If they want to move the strike zone with todays technology they would be caught fairly easily.

Answer 6

I think there are plenty of bad umpires but I think it would be harder to do in baseball. Basketball you can stop the clock when the team you dont want to win gets hot, call excessive fouls etc. Bad strike calls and calls on the bases dont stop theses guys from hitting it out of the park

Answer 7

It's easier to do in baseball, however the Umps are policed a lot better than the NBA. The lines are followed and Umps are more scrutinized on their calls.

It's always possible, but I believe that MLB has a better hold on their crews than the NBA did.

Answer 8

Sure, think about it, all the umpire has to do is call some strikes balls and some balls strikes, I dont think ist as noticable in baseball as it would be in baskeball or football but, yeah it could happen very easily.

Answer 9

You would like to think that it could never happen but money can cause people to do things they might not otherwise do. I think it would be more difficult in baseball because fewer calls come into question when compared to basketball where there are so many judgment calls.

Answer 10

Even if it does..

People actually LIKE mlb. The NBA has become a joke over the past 5 years.