A bad call that still hurts

WATCHING THE Phillies lose yet another game toward the unenviable 10,000-loss mark on a recent night, I was suddenly whisked back to another dark, ugly loss in our fabled history - October 1977, the one we Phillies' diehards remember as "Black Friday."

Sure, the Phillies lost the 2007 game I was watching to the Astros, 4-3, in extra innings, thanks to a blown call on a surefire double-play by umpire Lance Barksdale. But this was just a regular game, and one game doesn't really matter when it comes to the overall season standings, right?

Oh, yeah, I forgot - the Fightin' Phils lost a chance at a wild-card playoff by one game

or so two times out of the last three years.

Still, this Wednesday night loss didn't hurt as much as one of the greatest umpiring blunders of all time made by the infamous Bruce Froemming in the 1977 National League playoffs.

Incredibly, to this day, and unlike Barksdale, who immediately apologized to Charlie Manuel after his blown call, the soon-to-be retiring Froemming (he'll get no congratulatory card or flowers from me or any Philadelphian for that matter) is as smug and unapologetic about his "error" as he was on that gloomy day almost 30 years ago.

How can we ever forget it? I surely won't, for I was at Game 3 of the National League championship series against the Dodgers with my dad and brother.

I was sitting in section 217, row 6, seat 7, which was right at first base, the scene of the crime at the Vet. The Phils were about to go up 2 games to 1 after we literally booed Burt Hooten off the mound in the first and took a lead into the ninth. It would have been our first World Series appearance since 1950. It would also have wiped out the disappointment of 1964 for my dad and brother, I'm sure.

Put aside for a moment the fact that manager Danny Ozark made mistakes of his own in that game, most notably forgetting to substitute Jerry Martin in the fateful ninth inning for Greg "the Bull" Luzinski in left.

Fact: The Phillies had the game won, if only Froemming had cooperated and made the right call at first. He couldn't or wouldn't believe Gold Glove winner Larry Bowa scooped up the Davey Lopes ricochet that shot off Schmitty's leg and signaled him safe, much to our dismay.

I was right there staring at the bag from section 217 with my 18-year-old perfect 20/20 vision. From my vantage point and my seat, I know Bowa got his man. But no, not Froemming. Not then, not now, not ever!

Having watched today's umpiring crews with keen interest, I've been under the impression that the modern version is even more smug and obnoxious than their contemporaries from the '70s and '80s. They will follow players back to the dugout, even baiting them at times for more. Heck, one even went after a Phillies' coach this year.

However, given Barksdale's apology to Manuel within a day of his obvious blunder, I have a newfound respect for the modern-day men in blue.

I applaud Barksdale for his admission - as this is indeed a rare happenstance.

So while I permit myself one last boo for the retiring and still-obstinate Froemming (good riddance, Bruce), I say hooray to Lance Barksdale for standing up and admitting he got the call wrong. *

Michael Weick, who works for an electronics firm in Horsham, has been a lifelong (and long-suffering) Phillies' fan ever since his dad took him to his first game at Connie Mack Stadium in 1964.