An entry at the Wall Street Journal muses about whether or not baseball watchers can judge how badly an umpire blows a call based on the speed with which the manager arrives to express his objections.
The conclusion seems to be that speed alone can't determine the severity of the call. Managers have a wide range of ages and physical fitness (one of baseball's few legitimate errors is how it makes managers -- whose frames sometimes express their love of delights epicurean enjoyed over a long and successful career -- wear a stretch knit shirt and pants) and these variables affect their approach speed.
After all, the story notes record holder for dugout to blind-as-a-bat no-good so-and-so is held by George Brett following the Pine Tar Incident of 1983 (engineered by then-Yankees manager Billy Martin, himself no laggard or dilettante at offering observations on the accuracy of umpiring). When told his home run was disallowed and he was out, Brett took only 3.7 seconds to make certain he was within umpire Tim McClelland's hearing range before opening debate on the matter. But Brett was 29 and in prime playing shape, unlike many managers.
No recorded film exists of the legendarily fleet Negro Leaguer James "Cool Papa" Bell's years as a coach and manager, so we have no confirmed times for any protest trips he may have made. We may suspect, though, that the man who was said to be so fast he could turn off a light and be under the covers before the room got dark or who was once supposed to have hit a line drive past the pitcher that struck his own behind as he slid into second base would have been similarly swift in supporting his players. He may in fact have been so fast that he reached the umpire before the call was made and corrected the error before it happened.
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