The umpire who seldom called ‘em wrong

By RENE TORRES

In today’s opinionated society, a close call in baseball against the home team can bring instant chatter of “foul” play. But fans must have patience, as most umpires will make up the bad call as the game advances into later innings.

It’s always the fans who know the least about the game who protest the loudest, failing to realize that, in baseball, the arbitrator or umpire is human and can get it wrong.

But there some umpires who seldom get it wrong, like 84-year-old Humbert “Bert” Lozano, an icon in the Rio Grande Valley and in Monterrey, Mexico.

SALUTING EXCELLENCE
After finishing his high school baseball career at Mission High School, Bert looked for a way to stay in the game he loved and decided that umpiring provided that opportunity.

It was in 1970 that he was introduced to umpire David Mosqueda, who became his mentor. Lozano discovered he was a natural behind the plate.

Regardless of the temperature of the game, Lozano’s demeaner always remained constant — not allowing outside noises from the game’s participants to impede his judgement.

He admits that at 84, he is not as agile as he used to be, but says “my eyes are still working in harmony, seldom causing me to make the wrong call.”

Even after 53 years, the most tenured umpire in the Rio Grande Valley and the state of Texas, Lozano is not ready to call his last game, although, he suspects he may some day be replaced by a robot.

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