For his new book As They See 'Em: A Fan's Travels In The Land Of Umpires, journalist Bruce Weber ventured into the little-known world of foul balls and face masks. Over the course of three years, Weber trained to be a baseball umpire, learning the finer points of calling a game and conducting over 200 interviews with other umpires along the way.
In A They See 'Em, he gives readers an insider's perspective on the dedicated men (and the handful of dedicated women) who choose to face angry fans, disgruntled coaches and poor pay in service to the game they love.
Weber is a reporter and obituaries writer for The New York Times. He started as a staff editor on the paper's Sunday magazine in 1986, and has worked in the daily's newsroom since 1991. He co-authored the biography of dancer Savion Glover, called Savion! My Life In Tap.
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