It’s not terribly uncommon for a game to be called by three umpires if one of the crew takes ill or gets injured or something. But yesterday’s Mets-Phillies game was worked by a three-man crew because one of them -- Wally Bell -- didn’t show for the game.
Though one has to assume that it wasn’t just a blind no-show, no explanation was given for Bell’s absence. Here’s hoping that he’s OK. He had open heart surgery in 1999 and he’s not a small man, so part of me worries.
