Books and articles about Doug Harvey

One of the most respected umpires of his time, Harvey says of his profession: "Umpires are necessary evils. That's just the nature of the beast. For years people have looked on umpiring as a job they could get any postman to do." He first got the urge to become an umpire while watching Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 WS on TV. In a 1978 game, Harvey collected three scuffed baseballs, then ejected Dodger pitcher Don Sutton for apparently doctoring the balls. The league decided not to penalize Sutton after he threatened to sue the NL if he was suspended. (RTM)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » July 14, 1978: Umpire Doug Harvey ejects a shocked Dodger P Don Sutton in the 7th after discovering three scuffed balls. Sutton takes the loss, 4–1, against the Cardinals with Pete Vuckovich getting the win. » August 21, 1979: The Mets win a protested game against the Astros 5–0. With two outs in the 9th inning, Houston's Jeff Leonard flies to CF to apparently end the game. Umpire Doug Harvey rules that time had been called, and orders Leonard back to the plate. He then singles to left. The Mets were without a 1B, however, so the umps order Leonard to bat once more. He flies to LF to end the game.