The Sad Tale Of The Umpire Spat On By Roberto Alomar

Occasionally, we'll select stories - old and new, sports and otherwise, relevant and merely sublime - that we urge you to read for one reason or another. Today: a portrait of an umpire battling to save his sons from a rare disease.

"The Umpire's Sons," by Lisa Pollak, (The Baltimore Sun, Dec. 12, 1996)
The story follows John Hirshbeck, an MLB umpire who was once on the receiving end of new Hall of Fame inductee Roberto Alomar's expectorate, as he struggles with the strange genetic disease that threatens the lives of his sons.



But there was no answer.


We don't know.





Thanks, said Hirschbeck, crouching down for the next pitch.

"The Umpire's Sons," by Lisa Pollak
. [The Baltimore Sun]