Oops, You Weren't Supposed to See That Cool Umpire Video
By Kyle Koster
Earlier this week, a clip of umpire Tom Hallion and his crew dealing with Noah Syndergaard, Terry Collins, and a potentially combustible situation following an errant beaning attempt of Chase Utley went viral. It was a magnificent and entertaining peek behind the curtain. Tensions were high, language was foul, and rear ends were in the, uh, says here, the jackpot.
Today, it is much harder to find as Major League Baseball, as it tends to do, has made a concerted effort to hide it. And this may be the rare case were MLB isn’t the big, bad guy disinterested in the sharing of content to advance the game. This time their hands were tied.
Rob Manfred said that the Terry Collins/umpire viral video has been scrubbed from the internet because a collectively bargained agreement with the umpires that said those interactions involving microphoned umpires wouldn’t be made public. MLB is trying to figure out how it leaked
— Jared Diamond (@jareddiamond) June 14, 2018
Manfred receives and — in my mind — deserves his fair share of criticism. But is there any doubt that memory-holing this video was necessary to ensure the CBA has merit and heft. Umpires have legit reasons for not wanting their interactions made public or into a spectacle. If they think leaks are inevitable, they’ll be less effective in communicating honestly and with pointed language.
Most people agree that MLB’s social media policy is lacking, and at some times, laughable. There’s plenty to pick apart and second-guess. It’s just that this isn’t one of those times.
In summation: you were never supposed to see that slice of awesomeness. So try to put it out of your mind.