Phil Garner Umpire Quotations

If he hits a ball hard, you can get him out. If he hits it soft, he'll beat it out every time. He has an incredible burst the last 15 feet or so. There have been six or seven times this season when an umpire will anticipate a little bit and call him out and then realize that he was safe. I got thrown out of a game or two because I got tired of seeing that. I don't know if he's going to win the rookie of the year or not, but there is no doubt he's an exciting player.

I'd just as soon us do what we do, ... I can get as upset with the umpires as anybody but on balance they do a terrific job. These are our best umpires, and it's not an exact science.

The umpire said he went to his mouth. It was a bad call. It was a mistaken call. It's unfortunate that the game, in my opinion, turned on that. You don't know what's going to happen, but it takes it out of the players hands. He did not go to his mouth. He was sweating profusely on his face. He wiped his eyebrow (and came) across his nose and caught it on his face. It was a bad call, plain and simple.