The incredible memoir from the man voted one of the "Best Umpires of All
Time" by the Society of American Baseball Research--filled with more
than three decades of fascinating baseball stories.Doug Harvey was a
California farm boy, a high school athlete who nevertheless knew that
what he really wanted was to become an unsung hero--a major league
umpire. Working his way through the minor leagues, earning three hundred
dollars a month, he survived just about everything, even riots in
stadiums in Puerto Rico. And while players and other umps hit the bars
at night, Harvey memorized the rule book. In 1962, he broke into the big
leagues and was soon listening to rookie Pete Rose worrying that he
would be cut by the Reds and laying down the law with managers such as
Tommy Lasorda and Joe Torre. This colorful memoir takes you behind the
plate for some of baseball's most memorable moments, including Roberto
Clemente's three thousandth and final hit; the heroic three-and-two
pinch-hit home run by Kirk Gibson in the '88 World Series; and the
nail-biting excitement of the '68 World Series. But beyond the drama,
Harvey turned umpiring into an art. He was a man so respected, whose
calls were so feared and infallible, that the players called him "God."
And through it all, he lived by three rules: never take anything from a
player, never back down from a call, and never carry a grudge. A book
for anyone who loves baseball, They Called Me God is a funny and
fascinating tale of on- and off-the-field action, peopled by
unforgettable characters from Bob Gibson to Nolan Ryan, and a treatise
on good umpiring techniques. In a memoir that transcends the sport, Doug
Harvey tells a gripping story of responsibility, fairness, and honesty.
