Michael SchaferBesprekingen

An entertaining series of stories and vignettes through the mind of an umpire that really cares about the game of baseball. Michael is clearly a great representative of the game and a mentor and leader to all of the players and umpires that he interacts with.

It's clear from reading this book that the author, Michael Schafer, has the right attitude toward being a youth umpire. He repeatedly emphasizes the idea of youth baseball as being fun for the participants, and he tries to demonstrate that over-involved parents rarely contribute much positive to their kids' enjoyment. Personal story sections alternate with more detailed discussions of some of baseball's more obscure rules. Baseball fans will find the rules discussions quite interesting, while more casual readers may well find themselves completely lost.

Schafer would have benefited from more rigorous editing. He tells the same aspects of certain stories more than once an in virtually the same exact language and the book as a whole is a bit disjointed. I wish more of his personality came through the book, because it reads a bit flat and dry and I sense that for Schafer his work as a youth umpire is neither of those things. There is an excellent book potential hidden here, but even the finished product is worth picking up for parents of young baseball players or, especially, aspiring youth baseball umpires.

The book has two audiences: those who are interested in the specifics of baseball rules and those who are interested in hearing personal stories about life as a baseball umpire. This book combines both, though not strongly. I liked how the rules sections broke up the personal sections, but too often they are disjointed and do not connect well. As with most books by umpires, I find myself constantly wondering what the other side of the story is on the personal side--the author paints himself as always right (an umpire's mentality) and leaves no room for error on his own part. This tires quickly, though it is abundantly clear that the umpire loves baseball, the children he deals with, and sportsmanship.

Michael Schafer is a very good baseball umpire, a man as dedicated to teaching the game as he is to making certain that the youth baseball games he officiates are played fairly and by the rules. Unfortunately, he is not as good a writer as he is an umpire. Life Behind the Mask is a book that will benefit youth league umpires and managers much more than it will interest those who have children or grandchildren playing the game. It is essentially a book in which baseball's rules are illustrated by stories and fictional situations, especially the more obscure and complicated rules. It is not nearly the book it could, or should, have been;

There are so many side-stories in kid baseball these days that Life Behind the Mask could have been a book filled with heartwarming stories about comebacks, kids who overcame great physical difficulties to play the game, parents who go the extra mile to coach teams, little girls competing with the boys, (to be fair, there is one good story about a little girl who pitched underhanded to the boys and did quite well with her surprising delivery), etc. There are thousands of personal stories out there and I'm sure that a man who has been around kid baseball as long as Schafer has knows dozens of them in great, firsthand detail. But, although a handful of such stories are included in the book, they are few and far between - and are usually used to illustrate some obscure baseball rule. This is simply a book that has none of the feel of a memoir despite being labeled as one on its front cover.

Frankly, I could not finish Life Behind the Mask - something that hardly ever happens to me when I commit to reviewing a book. If I make that commitment, I expect to read every word that the author wrote, including dedications, notes, and acknowledgements. But despite being an obsessed baseball fan, I am bored by all the "what if" rule interpretations that the author chooses to focus on here. He convinced me to abandon the book when he described two very complicated, and rather rare, situations where the infield fly rule was triggered and asked his readers what their calls would have been in each instance. Only at the end of that section does Schafer tell the reader that he will not be revealing the correct interpretation of the rule. Cute? Funny? I don't think so. End of book.

Youth baseball umpires searching for tips on rule interpretations and suggestions about handling managers, parents, and young players might want to read this one. Others are very likely to be frustrated by it.

The author has been a youth baseball umpire for 35 years. He loves the game and is certainly knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the game. A reader who is knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the game will probably love this book. I did.

However, it might be just a bit too rules-oriented for the casual fan and probably not something a non-fan would enjoy. He's got some great stories to tell but, many times, he talks about fairly obscure baseball rules and how they interact.

I enjoyed it a lot but realize that it's probably not for everyone. His writing style is not exactly dazzling, which makes this a somewhat slow read.½

I'm not sure why LibraryThing matched me with this book (I don't have many sports-related books or memoirs in my library), but I'm really glad it did. I took my time reading it, enjoying it leisurely, and letting the author's love for the game sink in. The author explains many of baseball's more complicated rules and uses those rules as an excuse to tell stories about some of the more memorable games he's umpired for. I'm only a casual baseball fan, but I never had problems understanding the author's explanations. I came away from this book with a greater appreciation of the game of baseball as well as a greater understanding of the game.

Even if he didn't talk about it early in the book, it would be easy to tell that Michael Schafer grew up in a baseball family. If you’re part of one, you know what this means: the sport and its metaphors slip into conversation, it’s taken for granted that you know how to keep score before you’re ten. Correctly. And that you understand the application of the infield fly rule. At least most of the time.

There is plenty of detailed description from a point of view most of us don’t get to share. The umpire sees the game as an analyst, not rooting for either side, not caring what the score is most of the time. Each pitch, each play, is a discrete event, viewed through the lens of a rulebook of maddening complexity. If you love baseball -- that is, if you find a pitcher’s duel more exhilarating than a high-scoring slugfest, and you find yourself debating with your companions whether a close play was correctly called by the ump, and why -- you’ll find this book delightful. Sometimes you have to read a vignette twice, just to catch its intricate spin or its subtle irony. You’ll recognize many of the characters in these stories: players, coaches, parents. You may recognize yourself.

The umpire is the hero, the goat, sometimes the only one on the field acting like an adult. A figure of respect and a little mystery. By sharing these stories from his astonishingly detailed memory of thirty five years behind the mask, Schafer lets us in on a few secrets, makes us chuckle and sigh, and reminds us why for many of us time truly does begin on opening day.½

I was so disappointed when this book wasn't what I had expected. The word "memoir" in the subtitle made me think this would be a bunch of witty stories from the perspective of a youth baseball umpire. This turned out to be more of a Little League rule book illustrated by stories from Mr. Schafer's time as an official. I feel a little guilty for not enjoying this book more because it's obvious that the author loves youth baseball and has his heart in the right place. But if I ever read the word "spheroid" in place of the word "ball" ever again, I might just die.

As a father of two Cal Ripken League players I was looking forward to reading the memoirs of an experienced umpire. Having been to hundreds of youth baseball games, and even officiating a couple myself, I was hoping that this book would give me an insiders perspective of life behind the mask. Unfortunately, what had hoped would be an easy read turned out to be rather tedious. The author certainly has a lot to say, and he certainly tries to do so, in painstaking detail. I was expecting a much more light handed reflection upon the life of an umpire. Instead, the author spends too much time going over the most obscure baseball situations and explaining the rules of each. As a baseball fan I can certainly appreciate the various types of rulings that an umpire faces, and on some level it can be enjoyable to read these, however by the time I had gotten through most of these explanations I had already lost interest in the rest of the book.

A fun read for me. Schafer's book brought back memories: I umpired Little League and High School Baseball in Hawaii in the late 702 and early 80s, and Pony League and Mexican League in California in the early 80s.

The author not only gives us a glimpse of baseball from behind the mask, but explains, in game situations how the rules of the rule book apply. It will be a good read for parents who come out to watch their children play, and a good read for the young players as well.

This book has one large positive and one large negative. On the positive, the author truly loves his subject - umpiring youth baseball - and teaching kids and his readers about the sport - his commitment comes through as genuine. As evidence he supplies several stories from his long career umpiring that I thoroughly enjoyed. On the negative, this book doesn't define its audience. Half of the book is surprisingly technical, going into serious detail about baseball rules (I certainly know what the infield fly rule is) and would really be of interest only to people actively involved in managing baseball games. The other half includes the stories I referred to above as well as Schafer's opinions about the value of baseball -- certainly of interest to people who like baseball or are interested in youth activities. Since the book is small - only 173 pages - by having two target audiences, it really leaves both short. I wish he had chosen one approach or the other.½

I enjoy baseball and was thrilled to receive a copy of this book told from the umpire's view. Michael Schafer is a good writer; he is well versed in the English language. His stories are funny and interesting. The only problem is that Schafer either wants to impress the reader with his knowledge of youth baseball or Schafer intended to rewrite a youth baseball official guide in layman's terms. I enjoy all the stories of youth baseball, but felt the constant interruption of baseball rules a bit tedious. I did not need all the different sizes of the playing fields. Still the book invokes the feeling of love and devotion to baseball that seems to be absence from youth baseball today.

Although Mr. Schafer calls this book a memoir in the subtitle, it is primarily a book explaining the rules of youth baseball, using instances from the author’s 35 years of umpiring experience as examples. Separate chapters discuss the rules of different aspects of the game such as batting, running, pitching, scoring, and coaching. Mr. Schafer clearly enjoys the game of baseball, and wants the players to enjoy it also.

The book would be valuable to parents and coaches of young baseball players in better understanding the game.