Baseball News & Archives

Archives
2012 | 2011 |2010 |2009 | 2008 | 2007 |2006 | 2005 | 2003| 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999

MLB, Umpires Reach Agreement on New 5-Year Contract

MLB-WUA Contract Talks Stall, Lockout Possible

Minor League Baseball Hires Jim Evans as Ump Advisor

AP Source: 7 Umpires Rotate at World Series

In a nod to new technology, Major League Baseball will tweak its postseason tradition and add a seventh umpire to rotate between the replay booth and field for the World Series and league championship series.

The changes will take effect for best-of-seven matchups this October, a person familiar with the format told The Associated Press.

The extra umpire will work home plate in Game 1, go to right field in Game 2, then shift to the replay booth in New York for the rest of the series. Another ump will handle replay the first two games before working the remaining games on the field.

The person spoke to the AP under condition of anonymity because umpire assignments haven't been announced for the World Series and the AL and NL championship series.

MLB began having six umpires on the field starting at the 1947 World Series, when rookie Jackie Robinson and the Brooklyn Dodgers opened at Yankee Stadium.

Six-man crews will call this year's wild-card games and the best-of-five division series. The postseason begins Tuesday night when the Oakland Athletics visit the Kansas City Royals for the AL wild card.

The plan for seven-man crews came from bargaining between the umpires' union and MLB this year when replay was increased to review most every call except balls and strikes. The extra slot gives MLB another way to include a first-time ump in a high-profile environment.

Under the new arrangement, an umpire who starts a seven-game series in the replay booth would work Game 3 in left field and eventually rotate to the plate for a potential Game 7.

As part of the agreement, a replay umpire will be assigned to every postseason game, with another umpire serving as his assistant. The assistants will remain in the replay booth for the entire series.

Before 1947, four-man crews worked the World Series. The AL and NL each supplied one alternate umpire to be at the games in case of an injury or illness.

From 1947 through 1963, there were six-man crews at the World Series. But the umpires who started on the left field and right field lines stayed in the outfield for the whole series, while the four umps in the infield rotated spots each game.

MLB Hires Seven New Umpires, Names a Director of Instant Replay

MLB Moves to Eliminate Third-to-first Pickoff Trickery, but no one has any idea why

May 10, 2012 - Those ballpark loudmouths who don't know what they're talking about when they see a pitcher fake a pickoff throw to third base and then yell "BALK!" when the pitcher turns and throws to first base instead?

Yeah, there's a good chance they will soon actually know what they're talking about.

Ben Walker of the Associated Press reports that Major League Baseball is looking into classifying that old Pony League trick as a balk for the 2013 season. So if a right-hander wants to pick off a guy at first, he'll have to do it with straight-up skills and not deception that rarely works anyway. As Walker notes, this pickoff play could be picked off itself.

From the Associated Press:

The Playing Rules Committee has approved a proposal to make it a balk, too, with MLB executives and umpires in agreement. The players' union vetoed the plan for this season to discuss it further. MLB is allowed to implement the change after a one-year wait — no telling whether that would happen if players strongly object.

Under the new wording, a pitcher could not fake to third unless he first stepped off the rubber. If he stayed on the rubber ... it would be a balk.

Of course, it's worth asking the question why the rules committee is spending time on this and not others like instant replay. Was this move really such a big problem that it needed extra attention? Do they think taking away part of the pitcher's control of the running game — and it's debatable just how much control this move really creates — will produce more offense?

I guess the best argument out there is that left-handed pitchers can't attempt the same move without being called for a balk. Yankees lefty Boone Logan makes this very claim in Walker's article. But equality and fairness simply don't exist in the pickoff game and I can't remember hearing many right-handers complain that left-handers get a special advantage by facing toward first when pitching out of the stretch — giving them a full view of the runner's lead until he starts his delivery.

Also, if it's something that's designed to speed up the game, it seems like a token move, at best. After all, if Bruce Chen can still throw 10 regular pickoff attempts in one at-bat, what good does getting rid of an occasional gimmick pickoff attempt do? (Outside of giving us the pleasure of yelling "BALK!" with the previously misinformed, of course?)

Seriously, with no previous controversy surrounding this age-old play, I wouldn't be surprised to find that the playing rules committee came around with this idea while wearing shirts that said "Here comes Selig! Look busy!"

The Business of Baseball 2012

Mike Ozanian, Forbes Staff - The National Pastime is flourishing thanks to cable companies’ desire for live baseball programming.

The average Major League Baseball team rose 16% in value during the past year, to an all-time high of $605 million. In 2011, revenue (net of payments to cover stadium debt) for the league’s 30 teams climbed to an average of $212 million, a 3.4% gain over the previous season. But operating income (in the sense of earnings before non-cash charges and interest expenses) fell 13%, to an average of $14 million in part due to a 5.1% increase in player costs (including benefits and signing bonuses for amateurs), to $3.5 billion in 2011.

Rights fees paid by cable television channels are behind the growth in team values. Aggregate cable television revenue for baseball’s 30 teams has increased to $923 million from $328 million over the past 10 years. And thanks to new television deals inked by teams like the Houston Astros, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Texas Rangers that have yet to kick in, as well as the pending deal for the San Diego Padres and a likely new, rich deal that will begin in 2014 for the Los Angeles Dodgers, local television revenue could exceed $1.5 billion in 2015.

The richer television deals are evident in the prices that are being paid for teams. Jim Crane, for example, paid $610 million for the Houston Astros in November. Crane’s purchase included a 45% stake in Comcast SportsNet Houston, a new regional sports network owned by the baseball team, Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association, and cable operator Comcast. The RSN will begin televising the Astros in 2013 and pay the team an average of $80 million in rights fees over twenty years, more than three times what the Astros received from Fox Sports Houston last season.

The debt-laden Los Angeles Dodgers, whom we say are worth $1.4 billion (including the team, Dodger Stadium and the lease to the parking lots), filed for bankruptcy last July. Yet Frank McCourt has offers ranging from $1.3 billion to $1.6 billion for his team. Why? The Dodgers current local television deals with Fox’s Prime Ticket and local station CBS affiliate KCAL Channel 9 expire after the 2013 season and the next deal could pay the team a rights fee that averages around $100 million a year, $55 million more than the team took in last season from Fox and KCAL.

The ultimate cable model for a team is to own an equity stake in a regional sports network because it means you get two revenue streams (cable fees and advertising revenue) and have greater financial flexibility (for example, debt can be parked at the RSN rather than the team). The Rolls-Royce of the RSN model is the New York Yankees, who own 34% of the YES Network. The Bronx Bombers are the most valuable team in baseball, worth $1.85 billion, tying them with the National Football League’s Dallas Cowboys for the top spot among American sports teams and placing them second in the world to Manchester United, the English soccer team worth $1.9 billion. YES generated a staggering $224 million in operating income and paid the Yankees a $90 million rights fee in 2011.

The Boston Red Sox, whose parent, Fenway Sports Group, owns 80% of the New England Sports Network, pioneered the duel revenue cable model in baseball in the mid-1980s. We value the Red Sox, who generated $60 million from NESN in 2011, at $1 billion this year, third-most in baseball. The Red Sox averaged a 7.9 rating on NESN last season, tied with the Milwaukee Brewers for third in baseball.

Although both the Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins were unsuccessful with attempts to launch RSNs in 2003 because they could not strike sufficient deals with carriers, the Cleveland Indians have shown that it is possible for a small market team to have its own network. The Indians started SportsTime Ohio in 2006, spurning a rights fee offer from Fox Sports Net Ohio in excess of $30 million per season. Although the Indians raked in less than $30 million in rights fees from SportsTime last year, team owner Larry Dolan and his family made a huge profit from their ownership of the RSN. Besides Indians games, STO programming includes coverage of the Browns, Ohio State, high school sports, the Mid-American Conference and golf.

Both the Chicago Cubs, who rose 14% in value, to $879 million and the Philadelphia Phillies, who increased 19% in value, to $723 million, are expected to enjoy huge increases in local television revenue when their current deals expire. The Cubs contract with WGN, which televises about half the team’s games, ends following the 2014 season and its deal with Comcast SportsNet Chicago expires after 2019. The Phillies’ TV deal with Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia expires after the 2015 season. The Phillies led baseball with an average rating of 9.7 last season.

Only two teams went down in value: The New York Mets and Tampa Bay Rays. The Mets fell 4% in value, to $719 million, due to falling attendance and $41 million in operating losses. The Rays, one of the league’s biggest receivers of revenue-sharing, slipped 2% in value, to $323 million, as attendance and television ratings crashed last season.

MLB Will Not Expand Replay for 2012

With that runner and all defensive players stopping on the umpire's call of "foul ball," officials' biggest concern appears to be how to equitably place runners and the batter after a foul-to-fair overturn.

Expanded replay would also have included the catch vs. trapped ball call, and similar arguments can be made regarding outs recorded and runner placement in the event of a catch-to-trap overturn, or vice versa.

According to additional anonymous sources, umpires were concerned with the unequal quality of television feeds across the major leagues: For instance, umpires expected to receive much clearer images and more television angles at Yankee Stadium than they would in Oakland.

Similarly, MLB was unable to determine whether or not to implement a coach's challenge format—as is presently employed in football—nor did baseball decide whether to take the review process away from on-field umpire crew chiefs and make all decisions from an NHL-esque War Room in New York.

According to an Aug. 2011 UEFL poll, 36 percent of respondents favored fair vs. foul replay, 30 percent supported catch vs. trap and 68 percent supported home runs and fair ball spectator interference calls. Current MLB rules allow for home run and fair fly ball spectator interference review.

22 percent additionally favored a challenge system while 20 percent believed only officials should have the ability to decide when to use replay.

12 percent supported MLB's current format of having a crew chief leave the field to review and create a replay decision, 28 percent suggested MLB hire and assign a fifth official to each crew specifically for conducting reviews—similar to NCAA football—and 15 percent were in favor of adopting hockey's War Room model.

New MLB Labor Agreement

NEW YORK - Nov. 22, 2011 -- Baseball players and owners signed an agreement for a new labor contract Tuesday, a deal that makes baseball the first North American professional major league to start blood testing on human growth hormone and expands the playoffs to 10 teams.

The five-year deal collective bargaining agreement makes changes owners hope will increase competitive balance by pressuring large-market teams to rein in spending on amateur draft picks and international signings.

Other highlights of the deal include:

• Players will be required to play in the All-Star Game unless injured or excused.

• Instant replay will be expanded to include decisions on foul lines and traps, subject to an agreement with umpires.

• Players, managers and coaches may not use smokeless tobacco products during televised interviews and may not carry them in their uniforms.

• Players arrested for DWI will be required to undergo mandatory evaluation.

• Players will start wearing improved batting helmets manufactured by Rawlings by 2013.

An initial positive test for HGH would result in a 50-game suspension, the same as a first positive urine test for a performance-enhancing substance.

In addition, the number of offseason urine tests will increase gradually from 125 currently to 250 before the 2015 season.

"This was very important to me," baseball commissioner Bud Selig said. "This really is in everyone's best interest."

Random testing for HGH will take place during spring training and the offseason, but there is no agreement yet on random testing in-season. There can be testing at any time for cause.

"We've consulted with a lot of scientists on this, and we know there's a difference of opinion among scientists we've consulted," union leader Michael Weiner said. "We are sufficiently comfortable with the science to go ahead with testing, but we have preserved the right if there is a positive test for there to be a challenge -- if that's appropriate -- to the science at that point in time."

The sides will explore in-season testing, but the union wants to make sure it's done in a way that doesn't interfere with players' health and safety.

Blood tests will be taken on game days in spring training to see what effect they have on a player's energy level, a source told ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney. Those samples will be discarded immediately. If the tests go well, MLB will proceed with HGH testing during the regular season.

Weiner said scientists told baseball the current blood test can only detect HGH in the blood from 48-to-72 hours.

"The players want to get out and be leaders on this issue, and they want there to be a level playing field," Weiner said. "The realities, though, are that baseball players play virtually every single day from Feb. 20 through October. And that's unlike any other athlete -- professional or amateur -- who's subject to drug testing. We want to make sure that we're doing everything we can on the HGH issue, but that it be consistent with not interfering with competition and not interfering with players health and safety under those circumstances."

The new tobacco policy falls short of a call by some advocates, including members of Congress, who argued that a ban on chewing tobacco and dip during games was needed to protect impressionable kids watching on TV.

"Our members understand that this is a dangerous product, there are serious risks associated with using it," Weiner said. "Our players felt strongly that those were appropriate measures to take but that banning its use on the field was not appropriate under the circumstances."

At a time when the NBA season is threatened by a lockout and NFL preseason was disrupted by labor strife, this deal ensures baseball will have 21 consecutive years of labor peace since the end of the 1994-95 strike.

"Nobody back in the '70s, '80s and early '90s, 1994, would ever believe that we would have 21 years of labor peace," Selig said.

The deal, which still must be ratified by the players and owners, is the first contract since Weiner replaced Donald Fehr as union leader last year.

The new playoff model will give baseball 10 of 30 clubs in the postseason. In the NFL, 12 of 32 teams make the playoffs. In the NBA and NHL, 16 of 30 advance.

MLB executive vice president Rob Manfred said a decision on whether the expanded playoffs would start next year likely will be made by the January owners' meeting.

But a source told Olney the extra wild cards in each league will be added for next season, which means the playoff field will expand immediately.

The two wild cards in each league -- the non-first place teams with the best records -- will meet in a one-game playoff, and the winners will move on to the Division Series.

The agreement calls for the Houston Astros to switch from the NL Central to the AL West in 2013, leaving each league with three five-team divisions. It's baseball's first realignment since the Milwaukee Brewers went to the NL after the 1997 season.

In a change, teams will be allowed to have 26 active players for day-night doubleheaders, provided they are scheduled with a day's notice in order to give clubs time to bring up someone from the minor leagues.

On the economics, the threshold for the luxury tax on payrolls will be left at $178 million in each of the next two seasons, putting pressure on high-spending teams such as the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies not to raise their spending even more. The threshold rises to $189 million for 2014-16.

And there is a new market disqualification test as an incentive for clubs to increase revenue, preventing teams from large markets from receiving revenue-sharing proceeds.

By the end of the labor deal in 2016, teams in the 15 largest markets will no longer be allowed to receive revenue-sharing funds, regardless of their TV contracts or attendance, a source told ESPN.com's Jayson Stark.

According to the source, the 15 teams that will be ineligible for revenue sharing by 2016 are the Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, Angels, Cubs, White Sox, Phillies, Red Sox, Rangers, Braves, Nationals, Blue Jays, Astros, Giants and Athletics.

The A's will be eligible for revenue sharing until their stadium situation is resolved, the source said.

The minimum salary reaches the $500,000 mark in 2014, and then there will be cost-of-living increases in both of the following two years. There also will be a new "competitive balance lottery" that gives small-market teams extra selections in the amateur draft, and those draft picks can be traded.

Major league free agent compensation will be completely revised in 2013, with a team having to offer its former players who became free agents the average of the top 125 contracts -- currently about $12.4 million -- to receive draft-pick compensation if a player signs with a new team. It eliminates the statistical formula that had been in place since the 1981 strike settlement.

In addition, the portion of players with 2-3 years of major league service who are eligible for salary arbitration will rise from 17 percent to 22 percent starting in 2013.

Owners achieved their goal of reining in spending on amateur players coming to the major leagues. For high school and college players taken in the June amateur draft, there will be five bands of penalties, starting with a 75 percent tax on the amount 0-5 percent over a specified threshold for each team next year, based on its selection spot. For teams going 5-10 percent over, the tax will rise to 100 percent and they will lose their next first-round draft pick. If a team goes more than 15 percent over, it could lose its following two first-round draft picks.

For players taken in the 11th round and beyond, teams may give them signing bonuses up to $100,000 without it counting against the new threshold.

Manfred said the amateur draft range will be from $4.5 million to $11.5 million next year. For players taken in the 11th round and beyond, teams may give them signing bonuses up to $100,000 without it counting against the new threshold.

For international amateur signings from nations such as the Dominican Republic and Venezuela, a luxury tax will begin with the July 2012-June 2013 signing season on amounts over $2.9 million.

Information from ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney, ESPN.com senior baseball writer Jayson Stark and The Associated Press was used in this report.

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel argued, saying that umpires are only supposed to use video replay when a home run is at stake. After lodging an official protest, Manuel also said West assumed that Petersen would have caught the ball after banging into the outfield fence — which would be quite an assumption.

A home run wasn't at stake this time — so use of replay in this case would seem to be outside the allowed parameters. For those who want replay expanded to include more than disputed home runs this could be a great moment of judicial activism. But it's probably just a case of West overstepping his bounds that won't stand up to appeal.

When reporters sought his comment after the game, West tried to leave Sun Life Stadium before talking, which prompted perhaps the tweet of the year, by Ryan Lawrence of the Delco Times:

Joe west is running out of the stadium

Well, go get him!

Reporters, including Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer, caught up to West — whose statement appeared to have some contradictions in it.

"I got two managers on the field," West said. "One was arguing he wanted an out. The other was arguing he wanted a home run."

But Manuel said he never requested a review. And he stood on the third base line, far away from West, who engaged McKeon before heading to the video screens. Manuel questioned the true motivation for review. West claimed because the Phillies argued it was a home run, it was reviewable.

"Now we've got a decision as to whether the spectator inference happened over the fence or before the fence," West said. ". . . I didn't assume anything. We went to look at the replays because there was a possibility it could have been a home run. Once we look at the home run, we have to take into account all the evidence. That's my statement."

And it's full of holes. Even McKeon wasn't sure why the umpires did it that way.

"I'm not the judge," McKeon said. "But I would think, isn't what we want from the umpires is to get it right? Did they get it right? Yes. Did they make a mistake on how they went about getting it right? Yes."

West umpires games his own way — quite visibly. Anybody who has watched him on major league fields these 35 years or so recognizes it. Of course, it could be argued that umpires with lower profiles also make for better umpires, but Joe does it his way and Major League Baseball keeps putting him out there.

A protest hasn't been upheld in 25 years, so there's little reason to expect the commissioner's office to overturn the umpires and make the teams replay the game from the point of Pence's hit. But if the Phillies do have to return to Sun Life, perhaps the TV in the visiting manager's office will be fixed by then.

It's the second time since Major League Baseball instituted replay in 2008 that a batter has been called out because of fan interference. In that instance, in 2009, Melvin Mora had a home run wiped out in Baltimore because fans interfered with Endy Chavez's attempt to catch it.

Fans still haven't learned to keep their hands inside the grandstand at all times. A couple of goofs who go to college in Florida — but are Phillies fans — were stubbornly defiant after the game about how they messed everything up.

"The Phillies are 45 games (actually 41) over .500," one said. "Get over it."

Once these guys flunk out of school and have to go back to Philly to sell widgets, they shouldn't be let into town.

How Joe Torre is Combating Rising Tension Between Players, Umpires

In his first year out of a major league uniform since 1989, Joe Torre is finally able to plan his own schedule. He can commute between Los Angeles and New York, his two most recent stops in a 29-year managerial career with five teams, watch tons of games on TV and spend time with family and friends.

Even his new job as MLB's executive vice president of operations is one Torre, 70, describes as stress-free. He is responsible for everything that happens on the field: He monitors the pace of games, listens to the complaints of managers and general managers and disciplines players. There is, however, at least one sizable challenge for the future Hall of Famer, and that is to eliminate the growing tension between players and umpires that has caused more than a few headlines this season.

"This may be a pie-in-the-sky thing for me, but I'm determined to get these guys to work together,'' Torre said during an interview with SI.com. "I'm not going to say, 'This is crazy,' and throw my arms up and walk away. I want the relationship to work smoothly.

"Respect is the word I want. You have to earn it. You give, and you get it in return, that's how I see it.''

In Torre's eyes, whenever a player bumps an umpire it's a sign of disrespect. On Aug. 2, Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina bumped umpire Rob Drake, drawing a suspension in what was just one, but far from the only, example this season of a player making contact with an ump.

In July, Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland said that tension between players and managers is escalating. "We need to work harder to eliminate tension," said Leyland. You can feel it."

"I agree with Jimmy,'' said Torre, though he said he isn't sure what the reason is. "It is my top priority. I hate to say that, but the issue takes most of my time.''

Communication was one of Torre's strength as a manager, and he hopes it will help solve this problem. Torre, who ranks fifth all-time in victories by a manager and was a nine-time All-Star in his 18 seasons as a player, says he has new respect for umpires and hopes to use his experience in uniform to fix the relationship.

Torre said there are "short fuses'' on both sides and says he's heard all the complaints: Umpires are annoyed that players are too sensitive, quick to assign blame, don't know the rules and don't appreciate their professionalism.

Players say umpires are unapproachable, hold grudges, and give bang-bang calls to contending or home teams to avoid a hostile crowd reaction. Players are also concerned that umpires aren't held accountable for performance.

The problem doesn't mean that Torre has become a proponent of expanded replay, which allows umpires to use replay to determine if a home run is fair or foul and whether or not it cleared the fence. Baseball has resisted attempts at more replay. Commissioner Bud Selig agrees that a knee-jerk reaction to add replay is not good.

"We're always going to have the human element in the game,'' Torre said. "Nobody's perfect. This is a very imperfect game. I'm not in favor of wholesale replay. I look at the big picture. Sometimes, you get the short end and sometimes you get a break.''

Torre said that umpires don't hold grudges or make calls to favor contenders, nor does he support firing umpires that make mistakes. Instead, he wants to build relationships between players and umpires, something he said has deteriorated since 2000, the first year that American and National league umpires were eliminated and started working under the umbrella of Major League Baseball.

Under the old system, Torre said, the 68 umpires worked only one league and got to know the players better. Now, players don't see the same umpires as often.

Torre's solution is in the planning stages. He's trying to arrange logistics in spring training so that umpires and players can sit down, get to know each other, hash out issues and understand each other's professional pride in the game. The goal is friendship.

"I don't totally know how to plan it, it's not as easy as it sounds,'' Torre says. "It's going to start next spring training. It might be in smaller groups. We are trying to plan something that makes sense. We don't need to define the relationship as umpire-player. We want it to be a Bill-George thing. I'm not sure the parties know each other.

"They all want the same thing: Respect. My goal is to try to re-create the mutual respect so that it's there all the time. I am not saying it's not there, but overall.''

Players and umpires interviewed by SI.com were reluctant to talk in specifics about the problem.

"We have to work on it,'' Chicago White Sox shortstop Omar Vizquel says.

White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski, said he's not sure there's tension, but he said the most important thing for an umpire to do is answer questions and admit mistakes.

"We give them a very tough job to do and they do it well,'' Pierzynski. "If an umpire says directly, 'I missed that,' how can a player be mad?''

Kirk Gibson, manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks, said that he's not "touching'' the issue between players and umpires, but he thinks players shouldn't concern themselves with umpires' calls.

"If you worry about the umpires, that's a bad sign,'' Gibson says. "Umpires do a good job. Sometimes, you get a break, sometimes you don't. As a player, I sometimes made mistakes.''

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen says that umpires are making strides in their flexibility: "Sometimes, they kick me out before I step on the field. They have to give me a chance. But, there's a better attitude. Umpires are getting better and better.''

Torre said that umpires have to understand that when players react to a third strike or a popup, the anger isn't directed at the umpire.

"If there is a situation where a player throws a bat, the umpire has to understand that the player is not angry at the umpire, but is angry at himself. Things are so misunderstood. We have to find a way to be more respectful.''

Torre's advice to players is similar: "They have to understand that umpires aren't perfect in every situation and players shouldn't translate a missed call into, 'It's not as important to them as it is to us.' But, both sides have to realize there's misunderstandings and mis-interpretations, then it gets blown out of shape.''

As a manager in the postseason, Torre, who led the New York Yankees to four World Series titles, used to remind umpires that players are going to be intense and they are going to react when something goes wrong. "If they don't react, they don't care,'' Torre said.

Torre said he knows that players are worried about umpires' accountability, and while he wouldn't get into specifics, he said that umpires are graded and evaluated daily on many levels.

"They are graded on a number of things to determine All-Star Game (assignments) and the postseason,'' Torre said. "We record their work. I know players worry about accountability. We are evaluating them. The players are just going to have to take our word for it.''

Technology, with 24-hour Internet replays of umpire's mistakes, as well as a tracker on every pitch in local TV broadcasts, puts added pressure on umpires, Torre said.

"Umpires are wound a little tighter,'' he said. "And we live in a society that likes to point fingers and place blame, whether it is sports, the stock market or politics.''

The TV technology that grades umpires and allows analysts to second-guess an umpire isn't accurate, Torre said.

He said MLB has its own computer technology to grade the accuracy of umpires' ball-strike calls. Torre said the problem with the TV networks is that they strike zone technology is set up for one strike zone, to a batter that stands six feet tall.

MLB's technology takes into account the batters' various stances. "We couldn't give it to you with that quick of response,'' Torre said. "TV is not accurate.''

Torre also knows that controversial calls get a lot of attention and fuel the belief that umpires aren't doing a good job. On July 26, in the bottom of the 19th inning at Turner Field, home plate umpire Jerry Meals missed a call at the plate that allowed the winning run to score. Meals ruled that the Braves' sliding Julio Lugo eluded the tag of Pirates catcher Michael McKendry.

After the game, Pirates pitcher Jeff Karstens suggested to reporters that Meals wanted to go home early. "Maybe he didn't want to be here any more,'' Karstens said.

That's the kind of attitude among players that Torre is trying to erase. He talked to Meals several times and said that Meals didn't want to miss the call.

"He felt very bad,'' Torre said. "He was devastated. I reminded him several times that he was a good umpire. I know how he feels. When I was a player and hit into a double play, I felt as if I was letting everyone down.  "I know in the heat of battle, it's hard not to get angry, especially in the 19th inning. But Jerry Meals is a good umpire. Life isn't always fair.''

Umpire Odds & Ends: An Analysis of the Strike Three Mechanic

"It's kind of like a pitcher's signature pitch," said New York Mets pitcher R.A. Dickey. "The strike-three call has always been the one thing the umpire can make his own."

"Every time I see Tom I tell him, 'I will not have you go 'Hiii-Yahhhhhh' on me tonight, that's my goal," said San Diego Padres infielder Orlando Hudson, imitating the motion as he spoke. "He's got the best strike-three call in the game."

On the other hand, umpires with dramatic strike-three calls constantly tread the murky water between showmanship and ridicule. Or, as big-league umpire Jeff Nelson put it, "There's a fine line between good taste and Leslie Nielsen," a reference to the late movie actor's turn as an overly exuberant umpire in "The Naked Gun."

Umpires Ratify Labor Agreement
Five-year deal with MLB lasts through end of 2014

By Barry M. Bloom and Tom Singer MLB.com - 01/19/10

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Members of the World Umpires Association voted late Monday night to ratify a new five-year contract with Major League Baseball that will extend to Dec. 31, 2014. MLB's owners certified the deal this past Thursday during their joint meeting in nearby Paradise Valley.

Monday's vote by the 67 umpires attending a 5 1/2-hour general session formally finalizes the new contract, which was agreed upon in principal last month, only eight days before the old one expired this past Dec. 31.

"It wasn't unanimous, but it was the most overwhelming vote I've ever participated in," said Joe West, the veteran umpire who is president of the umpires' union. "Everyone is very happy and pleased that we could work through this. This was a good day for baseball and a good day for the umpires. We will make every effort to keep baseball and professional umpires first. We will all work hard to make it right."

The owners and union were in negotiations all last year on this new contract, and for the second consecutive extended collective-bargaining session, came to agreement without acrimony. Since the issue wasn't decided until about 10 p.m. MT, MLB officials weren't available to comment. They had said last week that they would not do so until after the umpires ratified the deal.

As part of the agreement, Commissioner Bud Selig will have more flexibility to dictate expansion of the instant replay system and umpires will now be able to work in successive World Series. There was also a modest pay raise that increases over the course of the contract and buyouts that will allow veteran umpires the ability to retire early.

"The retirement issue was important to several umpires who are thinking about it," said Brian Lam, an attorney for the Perennial Law Group in Washington that represents the umps. "The provisions of this contract will allow them to do that comfortably in the near future."

Under the old agreement, the six umpires who called a particular World Series would not be able to do so again for two years, although they were available to work the Division Series and the League Championship Series the next postseason. That flexibility alone would allow baseball to use its best umpires throughout the playoffs on a rotating basis, although umpires still won't be able to work successive series in a given postseason.

The World Series clause is still being worked out, West said, and is subject to "tweaks."

As far as replay is concerned, it now covers boundary calls on home runs -- fair or foul, in or out. That issue was negotiated with umpires outside of regular collective bargaining in 2008 and the program was put in place in August of that year.

Selig said recently that he would consider expanding replay after a spate of missed calls plagued the first two rounds of last year's postseason. The expansion of replay is now a matter before Selig's 14-man Special Committee, which met this past Thursday and is expected to convene again during the next few weeks.

By and large, the umps were satisfied with the contract, Lam said.

"You would always like a little more, but these are especially challenging times, and under the circumstances the umpires are happy with the deal and we know baseball is, too," Lam said. "Nothing controversial was raised [at the meeting]. We had updated the membership, and they had asked everything well in advance by e-mail. So more than anything, there was a lot of review of the issues."

The World Umpires Association was certified by the National Labor Relations board on Feb. 24, 2000, and became the negotiating arm of the umpires. Its first president was John Hirschbeck, who was replaced by West this past April.

The certification came after the dissolution of the old union -- the Major League Umpires Association. In 1999, led by President Richie Phillips, 50 of the 66 umpires resigned as a negotiating ploy to move along collective bargaining. Some rescinded their resignations, but MLB ultimately accepted the resignation of 22 umpires, thus breaking that union.

Since then, 11 of those 22 umpires have been reinstated, including West, Bob Davidson, Tom Hallion and Ed Hickox, who were added during the successful negotiations of 2004.

Thus, MLB concluded the past decade without a work stoppage involving either the players or the umpires for the first time since the 1960s. Under the leadership of Rob Manfred, MLB's executive vice president of labor relations and human resources, the owners have negotiated successfully with unions of both entities four times since the players threatened to strike for the last time in 2002.

"If somebody would have told us, particularly me, having lived the work stoppages of '72, '73, '81, '84, '85, '90 and '94 that we would have 16 years of labor peace with the players and the umpires, I'd have said they would be crazy," Selig said last week. "This has been good. That's why the sport has grown. I don't think anyone realized the damage we were doing to the sport. People were tired of reading and hearing that stuff every day."

Crawford, Reilly, Meriwether Retiring

NEW YORK -- Jerry Crawford, Mike Reilly and Chuck Meriwether are retiring, the second straight year a significant number of veteran umpires are leaving work. The announcement was made Wednesday by Major League Baseball.

Crawford, head of the former MLB umpires' union, joined the major league staff in 1977 and had been the senior umpire since Ed Montague retired last year after 34 seasons. Crawford worked the World Series in 1988, 1992, 1998, 2000 and 2002.

Reilly had been on the major league staff since 1983 and Meriwether since 1993. Meriwether was on disability and missed last season.

In 2010, Randy Marsh, Rick Reed and Charlie Reliford retired, in addition to Montague. Crawford on Wednesday recalled his major league debut and could recite every detail. Tom Gorman had broken his leg, so Crawford got called up from the minors and filled in at third base in St. Louis on May 15, 1976, as part of a crew with Paul Pryor, John McSherry and Art Williams.

His first call came in the third inning, when pitcher John Denny was thrown out going from second to third, with Ken Reitz applying the tag. "I have a picture of my first call," the 63-year-old Crawford said. "My first one, I got right.

"I would probably still be out there if I could physically do it, but it just became too much of a hardship. My back just wouldn't hold up to the wear and tear. My back has been bothering me for a couple of years now. It's just the degeneration of the discs."

Crawford spent from 1970-76 in the minor leagues and wound up seeing 40 years of professional baseball up close.

"The players are bigger, stronger," he said. "Or maybe I was getting older and slowing down, and it just seemed like they were going faster."

In addition to five World Series, Crawford also worked 12 league championship series, five division series and two All-Star games. His favorite game was when he had first come up as a fill-in. On May 22, 1976, he worked home plate in the major leagues for the first time, part of a crew that included future Hall of Famer Doug Harvey, Terry Tata and John Kibler.

Jim Kaat pitched for the Phillies and John Curtis for the Cardinals. The game was in Crawford's hometown, at Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium. His entire family was there, and his brother-in-law at the time, Jack Marshall, even caught a foul ball.

"It was the only game my mother ever saw me work in person," Crawford said. "To be honest with you, she never watched the game on TV."

Crawford's father, Shag, was an NL umpire from 1956-75 and Jerry's brother Joey is an NBA referee.

When Kirk Gibson hit his famous home run at Dodger Stadium in the 1988 World Series opener, Jerry Crawford watched from the left-field line -- it was his first World Series game. He was behind the plate for Orel Hershiser's four-hitter in the Game 5 clincher.

While he never worked a no-hitter behind the plate, he came close on May 12, 1984, at Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium. The Reds' Mario Soto had a no-hit bid and a 1-0 lead with two outs in the ninth inning against St. Louis,

George Hendrick was at the plate, and Soto got two strikes.

"All he had to do was throw George a slider or something," Crawford recalled. "And you know what he did? He dusted him. He knocked him down. And George got aggravated and he said, 'Just give me a little time.' And he got back up in the box, and he hit a home run to tie the game up."

Years later, Crawford asked Hendrick about it while Hendrick was coaching first base for Tampa Bay, a job he's held since 2006.

"He remembered that," Crawford said, laughing.

Crawford does have one disappointment -- his actions while president of the Major League Umpires Association in 1999.

A mass resignation used as a labor negotiating tactic led to 22 umps losing their jobs. It took six years of litigation to sort out the issues, and only half of the group was rehired.

"Men lost their jobs," Crawford said. "When you have second thoughts, that is a regret. But that's the only regret I have."

MLB also said Wednesday that Scott Barry and Brian Knight have been hired as additions to the big league umpire staff. They follow the hirings last year of Rob Drake, Chad Fairchild, James Hoye and Adrian Johnson.

Minor League Umpires Union Partners With OPEIU

With an overwhelming vote of 91 percent, The Association of Minor League Umpires (AMLU) will partner with Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU), AFL-CIO. This partnership will now be known as AMLU/OPEIU Guild 322, the 322 representing three balls, two strikes, two outs.

The AMLU was created in 2000 as a way to protect the interests of everyone involved. Prior to ‘00, umpires did not have representation. According to the AMLU website, 2009 was filled with appearances from minor league umpires, with many of them recruited by MLB—1,300 games featured at least one.

The day-to-day rigors of a minor league umpire do take their toll, but the wear and tear faced in a season is never fully realized. The inability to return home during the regular season, no vacation or sick time; this agreement without a doubt gives a sense of relief to the rookie and veteran “umps” of the game.

Located in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada, OPEIU is now focused on giving these baseball professionals the same security as their counterparts.

“We’re now looking to take the umpires to another level and secure rights and benefits afforded to other baseball professionals, including wage improvements, job security, and better working conditions,” said Francis. “We look forward to bringing OPEIU’s talents and resources into the world of professional umpiring to make these goals possible.”

Presently, minor league umpires in Triple-A bring home $2,600-3,500 per month, while Double-A umpires sit at $2,300-2,700 per month. Class A-Full Season and Class A-Short Season/Rookie make approximately $1,900-2,400 per month.

The umpire strike of ‘06 did not resolve all issues but did bring changes that were, one could say, necessary. With the six-year agreement that runs through 2011, several advancements have been made—adjustments that elevate the level of work while stabilizing quality of life. Find below some of the alterations, courtesy of MiLB.com

Pay raises for Minor League umpires (the starting monthly salary for a rookie umpire is currently $1,900 [compare this with the $175 per month before the establishment of UDP]). All Minor League Baseball umpire salaries and expenses are paid by the league which employs the umpire. Group medical, dental, and life insurance is provided free of charge for all umpires in all full-season leagues. Hotel lodging is provided free through the league offices for each umpire while on assignment within the league. Local courtesy transportation (generally a complimentary rental car) is provided through the league offices for Triple-A umpire crews in each city.

DH to be Used Every Year in All-Star Game

04/28/10
Beginning in 2010, the designated hitter will be used in the All-Star game every year, and rosters will be expanded again to 34 under changes made by baseball's special committee for on-field matters. A pitcher who starts on the final Sunday before the All-Star break will be ineligible to pitch in the All-Star game and will be replaced on the roster, Major League Baseball said Wednesday. Under a change that runs contrary to normal baseball rules, each manager may designate a position player who will be eligible for re-entry to the game if the final position player - at any position - is injured.

MLB Names New Umps, Crew Chiefs
Four Promoted from Tripple-A, New Head Arbiters Announced

By Tom Singer - 04/02/10
Major League Baseball completed its umpiring lineup for the 2010 season with the promotion of four Triple-A arbiters and the appointment of four new crew chiefs.

MLB Appoints New Umpire Supervisors

By Bailey Stephens - 03/06/10
Following a postseason which included several disputed calls by its umpires, Major League Baseball has decided to adjust its roster of supervisors responsible for judging umpire performance, league spokesperson Pat Courtney confirmed to MLB.com on Saturday. Longtime umpires Randy Marsh and Charlie Reliford have retired and taken jobs as supervisors, while former supervisors Marty Springstead, Jim McKean and Rich Garcia have not been retained. Marsh had been a mainstay behind the plate in the Majors since 1981, working five World Series, while Reliford, 53, began his Major League service in 1989. Springstead had been with the league as an umpiring supervisor since 2000. Garcia and McKean both became supervisors in 2002. "Because of early retirement, there were some quality people like Randy Marsh who became available to us," MLB executive vice president Rob Manfred told ESPN.com. "When things go less than perfectly -- as they did in the postseason -- you're going to think about making changes. And part of it is just the natural turnover in an organization. It's no more complicated than that." The league's umpires came under fire during the 2009 postseason, on the heels of several debatable calls. In the American League Division Series between the Twins and Yankees, a call by umpire Phil Cuzzi came into question. Cuzzi ruled that a fly ball to left field off the bat of Joe Mauer was foul, when the ball appeared to land in fair territory. The Division Series between the Red Sox and Angels also brought about some disputed plays, as umpire C.B. Bucknor came under criticism for multiple calls at first base. In the National League Division Series featuring the Phillies and Rockies, Phillies second baseman Chase Utley was given an infield hit, although it appeared the ball struck his leg in the batter's box. The questions continued in Game 4 of the AL Championship Series, when umpire Tim McClelland ruled that Nick Swisher of the Yankees left third base early on a sacrifice fly. Another call of his that drew scrutiny was when Angels catcher Mike Napoli tagged out Yankees base runners Jorge Posada and Robinson Cano at third, but McClelland missed the call, only charging New York with one out on the play instead of two. In the same game, umpire Dale Scott called Swisher safe when it appeared he was out on a pickoff play at second base. The controversy surrounding the umpires' calls led to a renewed push for expanded use of instant replay in the Majors. The topic was raised at the annual general managers' meeting in November, but the group declined to vote on the issue. Commissioner Bud Selig has suggested his new 14-member panel of baseball executives and managers discuss the issue. The Commissioner reportedly has greater latitude in changing the use of replay after the World Umpires Association reached a new labor deal with baseball in January.

Umpires, MLB Agree on Deal

December 23, 2009
NEW YORK -- Major League Baseball ensured its first decade of labor peace since the 1960s by agreeing to a five-year contract with umpires that runs through 2014. The deal announced Wednesday, which is subject to ratification next month, was the second straight achieved without acrimony since a failed mass resignation in 1999 led to 22 umpires losing their jobs. "I think both sides acted very professionally in trying to work through a tough time, and we ground it out," said World Umpires Association president Joe West, who lost his job in the 1999 dispute and regained it three years later. Owners are expected to vote on the deal when they meet in the Phoenix area on Jan. 14, and umpires are set for balloting four days later. Stung by a series of missed calls during the playoffs, management sought increased flexibility on postseason assignments in the new agreement. MLB asked that the prohibition be lifted against umpires working the World Series in consecutive years, a request that some of the union membership had trouble with. Negotiators said they wouldn't discuss specifics of the deal before ratification, but it is hard to imagine owners agreeing to a contract that didn't include the removal of that restriction. "As president of our union, my first responsibility is to the game of baseball, my second responsibility is to my profession, and my third responsibility is to do what in my heart I think is right," West said, speaking generally. "When I say baseball, that doesn't mean the commissioner's office, and when I say umpiring or my profession of umpiring, that doesn't mean the union. ... Whenever we came to something that was tough in contract, we both tried to abide by those rules." The deal leaves the collective bargaining agreement with players as baseball's next labor negotiation. That expires in December 2011 but both sides seem intent on an early start for bargaining. "I do believe, me personally, that these negotiations -- the umpires and the players, frankly -- are more complicated than a lot of collective bargaining agreements and that the parties are well served by getting started early," said Rob Manfred, baseball's executive vice president of labor relations. New players' association head Michael Weiner had a similar view. "I would expect bargaining will begin well in advance of the termination date," he said. The umpires' relationship with management has mirrored that of the players, leading to work stoppages in 1970, 1978, 1979, 1984, 1990, 1991 and 1995. After the 1999 mass resignations backfired, Richie Phillips' Major League Umpires Association was replaced by a new union, the WUA, which negotiated a pair of labor contracts under union president John Hirschbeck. West succeeded Hirschbeck in February. After a series of eight work stoppages from 1972-95, players and owners reached agreements without strikeouts or lockouts in 2002 and 2006. The umpires' deal had been set to expire Dec. 31. The leadership and professionals of the WUA did an outstanding job working with us to try to get an agreement, Manfred said. I think we're in a period of time where both sides recognize that our best interests are served by reaching a deal." Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press Abbott and Costello Have Nothing on Ambidextrous Pitcher, Switch-Hitter

Switch-Hitting Vs. Switch-Pitching

Associated Press, June 21, 2008
NEW YORK -- Ambidextrous pitcher Pat Venditte can confound hitters -- and umpires -- when he's on the mound.

Only Female Ump in Minors Released

October 31, 2007
NEW YORK (AP) -- She's out!

Ria Cortesio, pro baseball's only female umpire, was released by the minor leagues this week. Earlier this season, she became the first woman in nearly 20 years to call a major league exhibition game. "I've been prepared for it, to some extent, for a long time," she told The Associated Press on Wednesday from her home in western Illinois. "But I was surprised a little bit." Cortesio spent nine years in the minors, the last five in the Double-A Southern League, and hoped someday to become the first female ump in the majors. In March, she worked a spring training game between the Chicago Cubs and Arizona Diamondbacks. Her mask made it to the Hall of Fame. She handled the Futures Game and Home Run Derby at the All-Star game in Pittsburgh last year. She once was called out by George Steinbrenner for squeezing the strike zone when Roger Clemens made a rehab start. Cortesio cut her ponytail several years ago and lowered her voice for making calls, trying to be more inconspicuous. At 5-foot-10, she was slender -- Prince Fielder once gently lifted her out of the way so he could charge the mound. She was at her off season job, helping run the music system at the arena where the Quad City Flames of the American Hockey League play, when she got a call Tuesday from minor league baseball's umpire organization. "They let you know around the World Series about next year. If they want to keep you, they send a letter. If they're going to let you go, they call," she said. "When I saw the number on my cell phone, I thought, 'Whoa, this is it.'" There are about 300 umpires in the majors and affiliated minors. Several minor league umps get released each off season, with baseball trying to make a decision on their futures within a few years. At 31, Cortesio wants to map out what's next. Her family runs a wine business and she's been a substitute teacher in high school. When she went to Rice University, she worked the scoreboard at the Astrodome. "It does feel freeing, in a way," she said. As she spoke, she said she was putting on her Joan Jett-style makeup to go to work on Halloween night. There have been six female umpires in the affiliated minor leagues, and none have made the majors. Pam Postema spent several years in Triple-A during the 1980s; after being fired, she filed a sex discrimination suit against baseball and settled out of court 5 1/2 years later. Cortesio said she had not decided whether to pursue legal action. Her release came in a call from Mike Fitzpatrick, executive director of the Professional Baseball Umpire Corporation. He did not immediately return a call for comment. Cortesio started this season as the top-ranked umpire in all of Double-A. If there had been an opening in Triple-A, it would've been hers. There were no vacancies and when the new ratings by minor league supervisors came out in midseason, her ranking substantially dropped. So, too, did her chance of getting a promotion and possibly making it to the majors someday. A move up would have greatly changed her status -- umpires in Triple-A are under the auspices of major league supervisors. "I don't know if they wanted to make a call on me in the majors," she said. Cortesio started out in the rookie Pioneer League in 1999 and later worked in the Midwest and Florida State leagues. She was an instructor at the Jim Evans Academy of Professional Umpiring. As a crew chief in the Southern League, she made about $2,700 per month. Her three-person crew drove an average of 24,000 miles during the six-month season.

Minor League Umpires Agree to Background Checks With Conditions

September 7, 2007, Andover, Mass. --- The Association of Minor League Umpires (AMLU), the labor union representing over 200 minor league baseball umpires, including minor league umpires employed by Major League Baseball (MLB) to perform regular and off-season MLB umpiring assignments, announced that its members agreed to sign MLB releases for background checks after obtaining an agreement from MLB regarding the use of any background information obtained by MLB.

After obtaining MLB's assurance regarding the use of information and the right of minor league umpires to be represented by the AMLU in the event of further inquiries by MLB, the AMLU, on behalf of each of their members who were requested by MLB to submit to background checks, gathered its members' signed releases and forwarded them to MLB.

"We said from the start that we could live with some sort of background check, but we were opposed to signing a blank check for MLB without some clarification of how the background information would be used and the right of minor league umpires to have union representation in the event of any problems arising", said Francis.

The World Umpires Association (WUA), representing major league umpires, refused to agree to these same background checks, citing provisions in their collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that prohibits MLB from unilaterally forcing them to comply. However, minor league umpires have no such CBA with Major League Baseball, and are not recognized by MLB as major league employees.

"Minor league umpires dealing with MLB is sort of like David vs. Goliath", said Francis. "Our dialogue with MLB and our understanding with them about background checks is a step in the right direction for these minor league umpires who also work for MLB. All we're asking for is fairness and justice."

The AMLU represents the 210 umpires employed in 16 minor leagues across the United States and Canada, including the minor league umpires employed by MLB to work major league regular season, spring training, instructional and fall league assignments. The AMLU is actively exploring merger with another national labor organization to support its members' bargaining power with professional baseball.

Umpire Winters Suspended by MLB

September 26, 2007 New York, NY (Sports Network) - Umpire Mike Winters has been suspended by Major League Baseball for the rest of the regular season for his involvement in a heated dispute with San Diego Padres outfielder Milton Bradley on Sunday.

Umpires Union Won't Fight Winters' Suspension for Profanity Aimed at Bradley

NEW YORK - The union for baseball umpires will not contest the season-ending suspension given to Mike Winters for using a profanity aimed at San Diego's Milton Bradley last weekend. The World Umpires Association issued a contrite statement Thursday and union spokesman Lamell McMorris said the WUA would not challenge the penalty handed down by Major League Baseball a day earlier. "I've spoken with Mike Winters, and he sincerely regrets what happened on the field that day," McMorris said. "Sometimes, regrettable situations just come out of nowhere and spiral out of control, and everyone involved later wishes that the entire thing can be undone and everyone can go back to the beginning and start over. Unfortunately, this is not one of those situations. But we wish the Padres well on the remainder of their season, and we look forward to having Mike back on the field next year." McMorris said Winters does not plan to telephone Bradley, who tore a knee ligament when Padres manager Bud Black spun him to the ground to keep him from going after the umpire during Sunday's 7-3 loss to Colorado in San Diego. Bradley had knee surgery Thursday in Cincinnati to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus in his right knee. Winters will not work during the post-season, a baseball official said. He umpired during last year's World Series and would have been in line to work a league championship series this season. San Diego claimed Winters baited Bradley, who has had a volatile temper in the past, into the confrontation.

Baseball: Finding of Umpire Bias is Small but Unsettling

Minor League Umps, MLB Clash Over Checks
Refusal to sign release could mean official won't be promoted

Aug 10, 2007 NEW YORK - If a minor league umpire refuses to allow Major League Baseball to perform credit checks, it might cost him a job in the big leagues.

Longtime NL umpire Shag Crawford dead at age 90

Longtime major league umpire Shag Crawford, patriarch of a family of prominent sports officials, died Wednesday. He was 90.
Jerry Crawford became a big league umpire in the mid-1970s, around the time his brother, Joey, became an NBA official.
Born Henry Charles Crawford, Shag called more than 3,000 games as a National League umpire from 1956-75. He worked the World Series three times, the NL championship series twice and handled three All-Star games.
Crawford, one of the founders of the umpires' union, ended his active career in 1975 after getting into a dispute with baseball over the rotation of umpires in the World Series.
Crawford, who raised his family in the Philadelphia area, worked the first game at Veterans Stadium in 1971. He stood with son Jerry at home plate when the lineup cards were presented before the final game at the ballpark in 2003.
Jerry Crawford said his father died at an assisted living facility in suburban Philadelphia. "For someone who was going to be 91 in August, he was in pretty good health for a long time," Crawford said by telephone.  "When we were young, my brothers and my sister would go watch my dad work," Jerry Crawford said. "I'm sure that had something to do with what we did."

My Trip to The Show (Part II)

"You're expected to be perfect the day you start, and then improve."
-- Ed Vargo, NL umpire supervisor, 1985

By Tom Verducci
March 28, 2007

Embarrassment. Injury. Blunt force trauma. Estate planning. The mind quickly accelerates the possibility and the amplitude of catastrophe when you are standing on the infield grass, as I am, 75 feet in front of Boston Red Sox slugger Manny Ramirezwhile he bats with a runner on first base. No infielder ever would be so foolish to put himself this close to the potential harm of a Ramirez line drive, not even armed with world-class hand-eye coordination, a fielder's glove and a protective cup -- all of which, as I am most acutely aware, I do not possess at this moment..

Working from the interior of the infield, however, reveals the power and speed of the game. It's the difference between observing a funnel cloud from a safe distance on the ground and flying a research plane into the vortex of a tornado. "I tell all the young umpires that come up from the minors, 'Expect a close play every time,'" says Tim Tschida, 46, my crew chief who is working home plate this game. "[The play's] only routine here after it's over. That ball three steps to the right of the shortstop? They don't get to that ball in the minors and here they might throw the guy out. Middle infielders get to more balls up the middle that minor leaguers would never get to -- and not only get to them, but turn them into double plays. I tell the young guys, 'Don't give up on anything.'"

My proximity to Ramirez, who is poised in that familiar asp-like, coiled stance, is gripping, but the responsibilities of the job rattle around in my head, like marbles tumbling in a dryer. I've got to keep watch on the Orioles' pitcher, Erik Bedard, for a possible balk, the Sasquatch of rules violations for its difficulty to observe. (I've already missed one by Boston starter Curt Schilling, but so, too, did the rest of the crew.) I must make all calls at second base, which is over my right shoulder (including a stolen base attempt or a force play, which is the most commonly missed call by umpires), and possibly at third base if the umpire there, Brian O'Nora, leaves his post to track a ball hit to the outfield.

I must also know the rule book and the grounds rules with absolute certainty, a weakness of mine exposed during a mild argument the previous half inning with Boston right fielder J.D. Drew(who had no clue he was pleading his case to a sportswriter until I told him the next day). And one more thought -- the mother of all marbles. Being an umpire is like being a jet pilot, a skydiver or a sword swallower: You're expected to be perfect every time, and if you do screw up it's obvious to everyone. Nothing less than flawless is acceptable. I must get it right.(who had no clue he was pleading his case to a sportswriter until I told him the next day). And one more thought -- the mother of all marbles. Being an umpire is like being a jet pilot, a skydiver or a sword swallower: You're expected to be perfect every time, and if you do screw up it's obvious to everyone. Nothing less than flawless is acceptable. I must get it right.

"God knows if you don't have the mental aptitude for this, you'd ask, 'What are you doing?'" says Fieldin Culbreth, another crew member. "If you're right, nobody's coming in and patting you on the back. If there are 10 close plays and you get 10 exactly right, they're booing you anyway. The only people who will say, 'Good job' are the other three guys in the [locker] room with you. The teams aren't going to say, 'Hell of a job.' ESPN's not going to say, 'Watch this umpire!' Here's the difference: The players are trying to make a play to get onn SportsCenterSportsCenter. We're trying our damnedest to stay off it."

1. Don't blow out the knee of Baltimore shortstop Miguel Tejadaby watching the flight of a pop-up near the third base linee.

Don't laugh; it's happened. Former major leaguer Ron LeFloreflunked umpire school in 1988 for his instinctive reaction to play the ball like the outfielder he once was rather than getting into proper position..

Culbreth recalls the time that no sooner had he remarked that he had never seen Jeromy Burnitz hit a line drive than Burnitz nailed first base umpire Terry Craftin the posterior. "It went up one side of his [butt] and down the other,"" Culbrethhsays..

"Umpiring is a gift," says ump Tim Timmons, 39, who also assisted in my training, "like the hitter who has the skill to hit that 90-mph slider or the pitcher who can do things with a baseball no human being should be able to do. Those are real gifts, and so is umpiring. You can't teach instincts.""

Schilling and Bedard are throwing so well that my three innings at third base pass without incident. The best action I get is a conversation with Boston third baseman Mike Lowell about April weather, and a Manny-being-Manny moment when, as Ramirez runs to leftfield, he looks at me with wild-eyed glee and chortles, "Heeeey! Que pasa?!" I get no appeal calls on check swings by left-handed batters, an especially tricky call for umpires because the rule book is not explicit about what exactly constitutes a swing.

Says Culbreth, laughing, "Just remember, if it's David Ortiz, he didn't [swing]. Trust me. After you say he did, he'll tell you. He'll faint. If I could hit with his check swings I might have gotten drafted.""

I have the pleasure of calling a clean, no-doubt home run by Red Sox catcher Jason Varitekin the fifth, but it's during those middle innings, when I am stationed at second base, that the inner game of umpiring becomes dangerous. The second base umpire is the lead dancer of the four-man ballet. I must run into the outfield on balls hit from gap to gap with nobody on base, with the third base umpire rotating to second and the home plate ump rotating to third. "Once you leave, don't stop,"" Culbrethhinstructs.instructs.

However, in the fourth, I am positioned in the interior infield because there's a runner at first base -- "Once in, always in" is the rule with runners on -- and I make the mistake of chasing a ball hit into the right centerfield gap by the Orioles' Jay Gibbons. It's a blunder most fans would never notice, but understanding the umpires' pursuit of perfection, it rankles me. Indeed, I'm later told that umpire supervisor Marty Springstead, watching the game from the press box, exclaimed, "Uh-oh, too many umpires in the outfield."

The next batter, Kevin Millar, also drives a double into the same gap. The ball rolls to a stop at the bottom of the fence and is returned to the infield by centerfielder Wily Mo Peña. That play will prompt Drew, after the inning ends, to stop next to me on his way to the dugout..

I've tap-danced long enough for Culbreth to rescue me as he joins us from his station at first base. I haven't been this happy to see an umpire since Leslie Nielseninn The Naked Gun. Culbreth explains that the ball's in play as long as Peña chooses to play it; if the ball's wedged, Peña can raise his hand to signal a stuck ball. Then the ruling is an automatic double and two bases to any base runner.

There's more trouble in the fifth, the same kind of trouble, like the undertow of the ocean, that mostly goes unseen. Baltimore's Corey Pattersonwhistles a line drive att Culbrethh, the kind of missile that can put an umpire embarrassingly on his butt or whack him there..

"We're looking right down the line from the dugout," reliever Mike Timlinsays. "It was foul."says. "It was foul."

Culbreth gets another adventure straight out of the Umpiring 101 syllabus: a foul pop-up into a swirling wind that confuses Millar, the Orioles' first baseman. Culbreth is trying to stay out of the way of Millar, who is circling wildly, as if dizzy. Culbreth is doing his best to zig whenever Millar zags. It's a comedic and ungraceful pas de deux, the punch line coming when the ball plops on the warning track closer to Culbreth than to Millar. Second baseman Brian Robertslooks at me and we both are laughing. So, too, is Tejada, who yells, "Hey, Kevin, I can't wait to see that on bloopers!" Millar, who otherwise spends his time at first base yelling mock insults to his former Red Sox teammates as they hit, or trying to bait me into making appeal calls from second base on ridiculously meager check swings, has to laugh himself..

I remind myself of what O'Nora told me in the middle innings, when I was so eager to make a call I'd give the out signal as quickly as a fly ball thwacked into an outfielder's glove: Don't hurry. It's nothing until you call it. Even a big league outfielder might drop a ball, and you wouldn't look too sharp with your fist in the air and the ball on the ground. Slow down the game. It's exactly what the better players do as the tension builds.

It's the bottom of the ninth, and Boston's Alex Ochoa lifts a routine fly ball to centerfield. Just as I sneak a peek to watch the catch before I make sure Ochoa touches first base, Orioles centerfielder Adam Stern, fighting wind and sun, flat drops the ball. O'Nora, coolly patient, gives the no-catch call. Ochoa reaches second base. He advances to third on a groundout to second base -- my last call, an easy one -- and scores the winning run on a single by Kevin Cash through a drawn-in infield..

MLB, Union Announce New Labor Deal

10/25/2006
By Barry M. Bloom
ST. LOUIS -- Call it the golden age of the sport. Call it economic parity. Call it what you will, but call it labor peace for Major League Baseball for the next five years.

Baseball is seemingly already there. When this World Series is over, the Fall Classic will have produced seven different champions since 2000, an unprecedented run in major sports. Gross revenue has increased to $5.2 billion this season from $1.2 billion in 1992, the first year Selig took over as Commissioner. The average player salary has increased to $2.8 million this season from about $1 million in 1992. Both are records. The lack of acrimony in the talks also signaled what both sides said is a new era in labor peace. The agreement was completed two months before the Dec. 19 deadline and was marked by a virtual news blackout as the sides negotiated in private, and without rancor.

Minor league Umps Reach Agreement, End Strike

By RONALD BLUM, AP Baseball Writer
May 30, 2006

Minor league umpires settled their season-long strike, ratifying a six-year contract Tuesday that calls for a $100 monthly salary increase. Umps had said their salaries previously averaged $15,000 at Triple-A, $12,000 at Double-A, $10,000 in full-season A-ball and $5,500 in rookie leagues. As part of the new deal, per diems rise $3 to $28 at Triple-A, $25 at Double-A and $23 at Class A. They will rise gradually to $40 at Triple-A in 2011, $35 at Double-A and $30 at Class A. Umpires will return to work by June 12. They had been on strike since minor league seasons began April 6. "Our goal from the beginning of these negotiations was to obtain a fair contract," Andy Roberts, president of the Association of Minor League Umpires, said in a statement. "It has been a tough struggle, but an important one for our membership. Now it's time to get back on the field. The umpires are ready to work, and we look forward to the rest of the season." Umps and the Professional Baseball Umpire Corporation agreed to a contract April 27, but umpires rejected that agreement by a 2-1 margin on May 1. The sides resumed talks last Wednesday with the assistance of a federal mediator. "Late Friday, the AMLU made a proposal to settle the strike that PBUC agreed was acceptable," management lawyer George Yund said in an e-mail Tuesday.

Tension Over Umpiring Escalates

May 8, 2006

The Birmingham Barons, Double A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, were pulled off the field by manager Chris Cron during the eighth inning of Saturday night’s game against the visiting Jacksonville Suns after the teams’ benches cleared three times. In the stands was David Wilder, director of player personnel for the White Sox. Wilder was quoted as saying he would complain to Southern League commissioner Don Mincher about the umpiring. “This has gotten out of control”, Wilder told the Birmingham News.

The events in Birmingham are just the latest in a series that have sparked comments from minor league officials about the quality of officiating being provided by replacement umpires hired to fill in for minor league baseball’s striking umpires. Following his ejection from a May 1 AAA International League game in Ottawa, Ottawa Lynx manager Dave Trembley described the umpiring as the “worst officiating I’ve ever seen in 20 years of professional baseball”, and “an embarrassment to the International League and an embarrassment to me.” Trembley was also quoted as saying that he warned International League President Randy Mobley about the replacement umpires last month. One day later, Bill Masse, manager of the AA Trenton Thunder, described the umpiring of a May 2
game with the Reading Phillies as “an absolute joke.” Masse was also quoted as saying that “Major League Baseball should be absolutely ashamed of themselves for letting this happen over freakin’ nickels.” On April 27 Tampa Bay Devil Rays prospect Delmon Young was suspended indefinitely by the International League for throwing a bat at a replacement umpire in a game the night before.

“Unfortunately for the managers, players and fans of minor league baseball, what we expected to happen is coming to pass”, said Andy Roberts, president of the striking Association of Minor League Umpires. “The replacement umpires don’t have the training and experience to work at this level of professional baseball, and it’s taking its toll.”

“We don’t condone fighting, and we certainly don’t condone anybody throwing a bat”, added Roberts, “but these incidents shouldn’t have happened. Professional umpires have the knowledge and experience to control things on the field. We also travel from city to city in every league, so a visiting team doesn’t have to worry about the effects of using home-town umpires.”

The Association of Minor League Umpires represents the approximately 220 umpires employed in 16 minor leagues across the United States and Canada. The umpires have been on strike since the start of the minor league season

Umpires Reject Contract Proposal

Tuesday, May 2, 2006

Members of the Association of Minor League Umpires (AMLU) rejected a proposed contract which would have ended their three-week old strike against minor league baseball. “The membership has spoken, and they have the final say”, said AMLU President Andy Roberts. “The negotiating committee and the leadership are ready to do what we have to do to win this struggle for the umpires.”

By a 2-to-1 margin, the umpires rejected the tentative proposal reached by negotiators for the two sides in talks facilitated by a federal mediator last week in Cincinnati. The proposed deal called for a single $100 per month salary increase for umpires, and a $2 per day increase in per diem in the 2006 season, with further increases in per diem spread over a six year contract term. Umpire pay currently starts at $1800 per month for the 2 1?2 month Rookie League season, and reaches a maximum of $3400 per month for the most senior umpire in a 5 month AAA season. Per diem ranges from $20 per day at the low levels to $25 per day at AAA. The salary and per diem have been unchanged since 1998.

Minor League baseball continues to use replacement umpires in the wake of the membership’s rejection of the proposed contract. No further negotiations are scheduled between the parties at this time. In a AAA International League game last night in Ottawa, Ottawa Lynx manager Dave Trembley spoke out about the quality of the replacement umpires after he was ejected. According to a report published in today’s Ottawa Sun, Trembley described the umpiring as the “worst officiating I’ve ever seen in 20 years of professional baseball”, and “an embarrassment to the International League and an embarrassment to me.” Trembley is also quoted as saying that he warned International League President Randy Mobley about the replacement umpires last month. Mobley is a member of minor league baseball’s negotiating committee. Lynx field coach Dallas Williams was quoted by the Sun as saying “those guys should be reffing hockey.”

Minor-League Umps Set to Reverse their Strike Call

By Pat MurrayApril 30, 2006

BUFFALO — Minor-league umpires are expected to be calling strikes rather than be on strike in the near future.

Striking minor league umpires reached a tentative agreement with management on a six-year contract and could be back by May 8 if the deal is ratified. More than 200 members of the Association of Minor League Umpires have been on strike since the start of the 2006 season.

The minor-league umps wanted an increase in their rather meager salaries. Last season, the average salary was $15,000 in Triple-A, $12,000 in Double-A, $10,000 in full-season Class A and $5,500 in short-season rookie leagues. The per-diem (meal money) was $25 in Triple-A, $22 in Double-A and $20 at all other levels.

Umpires who work in leagues that play full seasons receive health insurance for the entire year. Their lodging during the season and travel are also paid for by Minor League Baseball.

While the minor-league umpires are on strike, the minors have been using replacement umpires. The names of the umpires weren’t released to the media in an attempt to protect their identity and safety.

Pat O’Conner, chief operating officer for Minor League Baseball, said striking umpires have tried to intimidate replacement umpires through tactics such has harassing them during games and taking their pictures, putting them up on the AMLU’s Web site and identifying them as “scabs.” Some replacement umpires have even received death threats, O’Conner said.

“I am greatly disappointed,” O’Conner said. “Some of these tactics to me are beyond necessary. I hope everyone that does something illegal gets what they deserve.”

There were no major on-field disputes with the umpires until last week when Durham’s Delmon Young threw a bat that hit a replacement umpire in the chest after being called out on strikes in an International League game at Pawtucket. Young, who flung his bat end over end, said he did not intend to hit the umpire. Young, a top prospect of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays apologized Thursday after the International League suspended him indefinitely.

Buffalo manager Torey Lovullo said such an incident should never happen, replacement umps or not.

“It doesn’t matter who’s umpiring, that’s unacceptable,” Lovullo said. “Those guys (the umpires) aren’t try to do anything out of the norm, just give them the benefit of the doubt. But players get on edge, and when they do, they’re liable to do anything at any moment.”

Lovullo refrained from criticizing the umpires, although he did say there were some questionable calls when the Bisons played in Pawtucket.

“They’ve been very consistent,” he said of the replacements. “We came in with some very raw expectations, and they’ve been outstanding. For what level of baseball they’ve been umpiring they’ve given us their best effort.

“I don’t want to say anything negative about them because the games would not go on if they weren’t out here giving us their best effort as they have been.”

Jason Stein, a 31-year-old umpire in the Double-A Texas League, said he isn’t bothered so much by the quality of the umpiring. Rather, he thinks back to all of the hardships he has endured since he dropped out of college, borrowed $3,000 and went to umpiring school. “They didn’t earn the right to be here,” Stein said. “That’s what gets me.”
As of next week, it appears that the regular umpires will tell the replacements that they’re outta here.

Statement by the World Umpires Association

The World Umpires Association, which represents the major league umpires, fully supports our minor league umpire brothers and their union, the Association of Minor League Umpires, in their current struggle to protect their collective bargaining status, to achieve decent working conditions, and to obtain livable wages and realistic per diem.

As professional umpires, all of us understand the hardships of being an umpire in the minor leagues. Significant improvements in their working conditions and compensation have been overdue for more than a decade.

The minor umpires? requests are moderate and completely justified in light of the their skill and their vital role in preserving the integrity and character of professional baseball.

John Hirschbeck, President March 31, 2006

Below are Letters that were Penned by Several of the Current Minor League Umpires

March, 2006
Gentlemen,

I would like to ask you for a few minutes of your time to update or inform you on the Association of Minor League Umpires (AMLU) and our current negotiations with Minor League Baseball (MiLB) and Professional Baseball Umpire Corporation (PBUC).

As some of you may have already heard, our contract and collective bargaining agreement has expired and we have been in negotiations with MiLB/PBUC for the past three months. We are asking for better wages and living conditions for the umpires of today, and for those who will follow in our paths. To date, MiLB/PBUC and the AMLU have been unsuccessful on agreeing to a new contract. With that being said, the AMLU has made a decision not to attend spring training this year.

In a nutshell, minor league umpires have not had a pay raise in over TEN years. In fact, seven years ago there was actually a DECREASE in pay and a wage freeze put in place. Five years ago the minor league umpires formed an association and signed their first contract ever. It was believed to be a major step in the right direction, but as it turned out it gave MiLB almost deity-like power over the umpires. They have pushed us around for five years, and have treated us like dirt. It has come time for things to change, and this is the year for it to happen.

We are not asking baseball to make minor league umpires rich, but we are asking them to come up to level that will allow us to follow our career paths with affordable means - right now, the wages are not livable. The top AAA umpires currently make $14,000/season (give or take). Our per diem is $25/day at the highest level while the government allows for a MINIMUM of $40/day, with many of the MiLB cities listed closer to $50.

Some of you may be approached to either work games in spring training or even the regular season, as this has been happening recently in minor league cities throughout the country. As my fellow brothers on the field, and also as friends with whom I have had the pleasure of working with and getting to know over the past few years, I would ask that you take our situation into consideration if you are contacted. MiLB believes that they have a broad pool of talent to choose from to replace us in spring, and also in the event of a work stoppage. By agreeing to work in our stead, you would be denying us any hope of leverage in negotiations.

If you have not already read the numerous articles about our situation, you can visit the AMLU website (www.amlu.org) and view some of the articles there. Also, doing a Google search about minor league umpires and contracts or negotiations will produce a multitude of results. If, for whatever reason, you can’t find these articles and would like to read them, please feel free to contact me and I will forward them to you.

I hope this information helps and each of you better understand what we are trying to accomplish and that you will seriously consider standing behind our effort. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for umpires in the minor leagues. If we don't make a stand now, MiLB will never have to take us seriously and we will be pushed around forever.

If anyone has questions, comments, concerns or any information about contact that has been made by MLB or MiLB that they would like to share, I ask you please do not hesitate to get in touch with me, or with any of the other guys I will list at the end of this letter.

I can’t thank you all enough for taking the time to read through this and for any and all support that you can give.

Nick Nolde Escanaba, MI Carolina League

A quick note on some of the other things that we are asking for and are being steadfastly denied…

- MiLB has hired international umpires. They are now saying that they will NO LONGER PAY FOR THEM TO TRAVEL to their assignments. That means that four Australian guys and two Japanese guys that are in short season (making approximately $5,400 for the season) will have to pay out of their pockets to get here from their home, which we all know costs no less than $1,000.

- We are asking MiLB to include ALL umpires in the health plan. Currently only umpires in full season leagues are covered, meaning that in the first couple of years umpires have NO HEALTH COVERAGE unless they pay for it out of their own pocket.

- We are asking for a scaled pay increase that is heavier at the upper levels. It would give rookie umpires a whopping $300/mo raise. We’re not asking for the world, yet MiLB is UNWILLING to budge.

One last thought to ponder. MiLB stated in the rounds of negotiations, “It’s not that we don’t have the money to give you, we just don’t want to.”

If you would like to email some of the other minor league umpires, these guys have offered to answer any questions that you may have.

Darren Hyman AAA Pacific Coast League
Brent Persinger AAA International League

A Response

Frank

  They're Out - Minor league Umpires Vote to Authorize Strike

NEWYORK (AP) -- Minor league baseball umpires voted Friday to authorize their first strike since forming a union in 2000 and said Class AAA members would not serve as fill-in major league umps until there is a contract.

The minor league umps, whose five-year labor deal expired in November, had previously voted not to work spring training games. The decision whether to strike will be made by the union's officers.

"Our goal all along has been to get a fair contract without a strike, and we still hope that we can get it done," said Andy Roberts, president of the Association of Minor League Umpires. "Our members have told us loud and clear, however, that they're prepared to strike if that's what it takes to get a fair contract."

The union represents about 220 umpires in 16 leagues. Management and the union have not met since Jan. 31, when the Professional Baseball Umpire Corporation made what the union termed management's final offer.

Class AAA umpires regularly work major league games during the regular season, filling in for big league umps who are injured or on vacation.

"We have our regular crews. If somebody gets injured and they're unwilling to work, we'll find somebody willing to work," said Rob Manfred, Major League Baseball's executive vice president of labor relations.

Pat O'Conner, chief operating officer of minor league baseball's governing body, the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, did not return a telephone call seeking comment.

Roberts, an umpire with the Class AAA International League, had said the average salary for minor league umpires has remained unchanged for a decade. It is about $15,000 at Class AAA, $12,000 at Class AA, $10,000 in full-season A-ball and $5,500 in rookie leagues.

Umpires have asked for annual increases in a four-year contract. O'Conner has refused to comment publicly on negotiations.

Minor League Umpires Seek Better Conditions

``We're not trying to get rich," said Hale, the son of Jefferson County Sheriff Mike Hale. ``But given the travel, the pay, we just want it to be livable."

Umpires Turn Down $1.9M in Back Pay

By RONALD BLUM
Nov 16, 2005

Five Big League Umps Win Back Pay

01/10/2005

Five umpires' long battle to get back pay from Major League Baseball is over. The Supreme Court declined Monday to hear an appeal of a lower court ruling, largely ending nearly 5 1/2 years of litigation resulting from the resignation by 22 umpires late in the 1999 season. Gary Darling, Bill Hohn, Larry Poncino, Larry Vanover and Joe West will receive back pay for September 1999 and the 2000 and 2001 seasons. The five were rehired as part of a partial settlement of their suit in February 2002, a deal that left the issue of back pay to be decided by the courts. Six of the other umpires have been rehired by baseball. Bruce Dreckman, Sam Holbrook and Paul Nauert gave up their right to back pay when they were rehired in August 2002, and Bob Davidson, Tom Hallion and Ed Hickox will be brought back under an agreement reached last month in which they agreed to drop any claims. In May 2001, arbitrator Alan Symonette ordered baseball to rehire Darling, Hohn, Poncino, Vanover and West, as well as Drew Coble, Greg Kosc, Frank Pulli and Terry Tata. Coble, Kosc, Pulli and Tata were allowed to retire with back pay. The arbitrator's decision largely was upheld in December 2002 by U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle III. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed Bartle's decision by a 2-1 vote in February 2004. December's deal gives severance pay to Jim Evans, Dale Ford, Eric Gregg, Mark Johnson, Ken Kaiser and Larry McCoy. The only remaining suit was filed by Richie Phillips, head of the Major League Umpires Association. Umpires replaced the MLUA with a new union, the World Umpires Association, in late 1999.

Fan Pleads Guilty to Attacking Ump

By Carrie Muskat
12/04/2003

CHICAGO -- The fan who attacked an umpire at a Chicago White Sox game this year pleaded guilty Thursday and was sentenced to up to 180 days of jail time and 30 months' probation. Eric Dybas pleaded guilty to a charge of aggravated battery in a public way during a hearing before Cook County Judge Joseph Kazmierski. Dybas, 25, of Bolingbrook, could have been sentenced to up to five years in prison. The incident occurred April 15 when Dybas charged onto the field during a White Sox home game against the Kansas City Royals and tried to tackle umpire Laz Diaz. Dybas was overpowered by Royals players before he could hurt the umpire. "It sends a message that running on the field of play is not 'I'll pay my fine and be home at night' type of thing. There are penalties," said Scott Reifert, White Sox director of public relations. "We think today's ruling is fair and it shows how embarrassing the (William) Ligue ruling was," Reifert said. Ligue Jr., got 30 months' probation when Judge Leo Holt sentenced him in August for the September 2002 attack that resulted in permanent hearing damage to Royals coach Tom Gamboa. Assistant State's Atty. Rich Keating called Dybas' sentence a fair one. "It not only sends a message to other would-be field charges but adequately addresses the incident itself," Keating said.

Commissioner's Statement on Drug Testing

11/13/2003
Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig issued the following statement today regarding the announcement that drug testing for Major League Baseball players will begin next season:

Program Testing for Major Leaguers for Steroids to Commence in 2004

QuesTec 'Not Going Away'

By John Schlegel, 11/11/2003
PHOENIX -- Sandy Alderson has a simple statement about the future of QuesTec, the computerized system Major League Baseball used to evaluate umpires this season.  "It's not going away," Alderson said Tuesday while taking a break from the GM meetings at the Arizona Biltmore.

Umpires Say System Has Them Alter Calls

By MURRAY CHASS
May 29, 2003
Throughout baseball history, pitchers and hitters have adjusted daily to the strike zone idiosyncrasies of the home plate umpire. Now umpires are adjusting, too, depending on the site of the game, and they say their adjustments can influence the outcome of games.

The QuesTec system, which the World Umpires Association has challenged in a grievance that is scheduled to be heard in July, has come under public scrutiny since last Saturday night, when e Arizona pitcher Curt Schilling took a bat to one of the cameras through which the system operates at the Diamondbacks' Bank One Ballpark. His earned run average this season is 4.39 in six starts at home and 1.96 in three starts on the road.

Umpires Want Computerized Overseer Out

By MURRAY CHASS

The umpires union called yesterday for Major League Baseball to end its association with the company whose pitch-tracking system baseball officials use to monitor and evaluate umpires.

"Their presence is an embarrassment to the game of baseball," the World Umpires Association said in a seven-page statement, referring to QuesTec Inc. and its key official, Edward Plumacher.

The union will very likely escalate its protests of the use of the QuesTec system when postseason umpiring assignments are made.

Product From Company With Checkered Past Monitors Umpires

By MURRAY CHASS and PATRICK McGEEHAN

The key official of the company that provides the computer technology that Major League Baseball uses to monitor and evaluate its umpires has been disciplined by two stock exchanges and the New York State attorney general's office, and the company itself has twice been fined by the attorney general's office.

Sandy Alderson, executive vice president for baseball operations in the commissioner's office, acknowledged that baseball did not investigate and was not aware of the background of Edward Plumacher and the company he is affiliated with, QuesTec Inc.

The company's S.E.C. filing a year ago said he oversees QuesTec's daily technical operations, sets up and coordinates new product installations and "attends to all of the company's financial and accounting functions."  QuesTec's technology has also been used for television coverage of baseball, tennis and golf.

3 Umpires Regain Jobs; Arbitration Filed Against Owners

August 15, 2002 
NEW YORK (AP) -- Three more of the 22 umpires who lost their jobs during a failed mass resignation in 1999 were rehired.

Umpires Use Engineers to Challenge Computer System

July 29, 2002 
COCOA, Fla. (AP) -- Upset that baseball is using a new computer system to track ball-and-strike calls, the sport's umpires have hired physicists and engineers to examine its accuracy.

Robert Kemp Adair, a Sterling Professor Emeritus at Yale who wrote the book The Physics of Baseball, was among those on the panel announced Monday by the World Umpires Association.

Owners Agree to Rehire 5 of 22 Ousted Umpires

February 26, 2002 
NEW YORK (AP) -- Baseball owners have agreed to rehire five of the 22 umpires who lost their jobs in a failed mass resignation three years ago and to allow four more of the umps to retire with back pay and benefits.

Cameras Catch Umps in Action

By T.J.Quinn
7/18/01
Before last night's game between the Mets and Blue Jays, veteran umpire Jerry Crawford was sitting in the umpires' clubhouse holding a white compact disc with his name on the label. If he had a computer, he would have been able to plop in the disc and watch an analysis of every pitch he called from behind the plate the night before.

"We just completed parts of the manual involving conduct, performance. . . I would consider us behind schedule on all of this," Smith said.

Umpires File Grievance Over Pitch Counts

July 15, 2001
NEW YORK -- Baseball umpires filed a grievance to keep the commissioner's office from pressuring them to call more strikes and reduce pitches, saying management's move "threatens the integrity of the game."
The grievance, filed late Saturday, says the commissioner's office violated the umpires' new labor contract by keeping track of the average number of pitches in games worked behind the plate by each umpire and ranking each umpire in that category.
"If you have good pitchers pitching, there will be fewer pitches thrown, but if the pitchers are struggling, we can't control that," umpire Randy Marsh said. "If the pitch is a strike, it's a strike, and if it's a ball, it's a ball."
Larry Gibson, a lawyer for the umpires, notified baseball of the grievance in a three-page letter he faxed Saturday to the commissioner's office.
"The union has learned that the office of the commissioner believes the average to be around 285 pitches in a nine-inning game," Gibson and Joel Smith, another union lawyer, wrote in the letter. "Umpires are being told that this number is too high and to 'bring your pitch count down' . . . to 270 pitches a game."
Gibson and Smith wrote that umps have been told to "call more strikes," "be aggressive" and to "hunt for strikes."
"The pitch count, whether or not it is coupled with a direct instruction to call more strikes, interferes with an umpires' duty to exercise independent judgment on each pitch," the letter said. "Pitch count pressure threatens the integrity of the game, in that it brings on to the playing field improper influence on umpire performance."
The labor contract calls for the sides to meet on the issue. If they can't resolve it, the case would go to an arbitrator selected from a list provided by the American Arbitration Association.
"This is the first I've heard of it," Sandy Alderson, executive vice president of baseball operations in the commissioner's office, said Sunday when told of the grievance by a reporter.
"I'm sure we'll meet with the union to discuss it. I think this has been taken way out of context by the union. I'm surprised they haven't attempted to discuss this matter with us privately and have resorted to this more public approach."
Baseball and its umpires have been at odds for more than two decades and just last month, umpire Al Clark was terminated for charging plane tickets for his wife to a credit card paid for by the commissioner's office.
Larry Barnett, one of baseball's umpire supervisors, retired July 6, partly because of the pitch-count pressure.
"I just didn't feel I could go that direction," said Barnett, whose retirement was first reported by The New York Times on its website Sunday night.
A major league umpire from 1969-99, Barnett became a supervisor two years ago. He said his retirement could not be directly attributed to pitch-count pressure but that but to "a bunch of things" but also said he felt uncomfortable with the decision to push for more strikes, especially when he had to call a young umpire about it.
"I never even thought about it in all the games I umpired," Barnett said. "If you have two very good pitchers, this is my opinion, you might get a low pitch count. If you make four or five pitching changes, you might get a high pitch count."
Commissioner Bud Selig has been concerned about the lengthening time in takes to play games in recent years and has pushed, with little success, for the pace to speed up. The average time of nine-inning games this year is 2 hours, 55 minutes, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, down just two minutes from last year.
Gibson blamed slow games on the 2:05 allowed between innings for television commercials, a time increased to 2:25 for nationally televised games.
"Is an umpire to catch up on his average going from one game to the next and is he to keep that average in mind when making a judgment as to whether a particular pitch is a strike or a ball?" the letter said.
Rob Manfred, baseball's executive vice president for labor relations, declined comment.
"We ought to be able to resolve this," Gibson said Sunday. "We understand there's actually a chart they developed that ranked all the umpires by pitch count over eight games. We want to see it. We hope in the future, it doesn't get created again."

Arbitrator Orders Rehiring of Nine Umps

May 11, 2001
NEW YORK – Nine of the 22 umpires terminated by baseball two years ago following a failed mass resignation were given their jobs back Friday by an arbitrator.  Major league baseball was ordered to rehire Drew Coble, Gary Darling, Bill Hohn, Greg Kosc, Larry Poncino, Larry Vanover and Joe West.

 New Strike Zone Hasn't Taken Long to Make Impact

May 01, 2001
NEW YORK (AP) -- David Justice kept flailing away at the plate, striking out four times against Boston before hitting a game-winning home run.  After 11 years in the major leagues, he was trying to adjust to a new strike zone.

Big-League Umps Practice Calling Higher Strike Zone

1/24/2001
CHANDLER, Ariz. (AP) - Salaries aren't the only thing going up in baseball. Major league baseball officials insist the strike zone will be rising, too.

For years, anything above the belt has been considered a ball.  But the higher zone will be enforced in the coming season, the umpires said. "What you see right here now, that's the way it's going to be. Make no mistake about it,'' said Al Clark, a big-league umpire for 25 years. Sandy Alderson, vice president for baseball operations in the commissioner's office, oversaw the session, believed to be the first in which all big league umps were gathered in the same location. The idea is simply to enforce the rules as written, Alderson said. "I think the conventional wisdom is it will take some offense out and it will speed up the game a little bit,'' he said, ``but I'm not really concerned about those elements as much as I am getting us back to more of an adherence of the rules.'' Pitching machines were set to make sure the ball would fly in above the belt to give the umps some practice. Wednesday's meeting was evidence that baseball means business this time. "It's a different approach from just sending out a memo and expecting it to happen,'' Alderson said. When the commissioner's office took charge of overseeing umpires from both leagues, it pledged to spend money to make sure the games were called consistently and by the rules. The plan to enforce a bigger strike zone was introduced to umpire crew chiefs and to skeptical managers at baseball's winter meetings in December. After Wednesday's demonstration and practice session, the umpires went back into a closed session to discuss what needs to be done to be ready for the change on opening day. "We already have a couple of things planned,'' Alderson said. "We're going to send a team of four or five staff and umpires around to meet with managers and coaches just after spring training opens for pitchers and catchers to explain everything to them and maybe have a demonstration.'' Umpires also will be assigned to each club a few days before spring training games begin to work batting practice and intersquad games. "I think the umpires are going to be more or less ready to go by the time we get to the beginning of the season,'' Alderson said, ``and my guess is that hitters will be also - except that when we get in the heat of battle, their reaction level will be a little more intense.'' To make sure the umpires don't backslide into old habits, the commissioner's office plans to install pitch track machines, accurate within a half-inch, in five or six ballparks. Clark said the hitters had better realize in spring training that the higher strike zone will be a reality, and begin practicing accordingly. "You see 68 umpires here, and 68 umpires are on the same page,'' he said. ``If they're going to fight us, they're fighting city hall.''
Copyright 2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved

Talk About a Revolution: Baseball by the Book

Ken Rosenthal, The Sporting News, November 7, 2000
AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. -- Major-league baseball is prepared to take a radical step that will dramatically transform the way the game is played next season. How? By following its own rulebook.

The high strike is back, according to Sandy Alderson, MLB's executive vice president of baseball operations.  In fact, the entire strike zone is back, not that it ever went anywhere, except in the minds of umpires.

"I'll believe it when I see it," one executive after another said Tuesday at the general managers' meetings.  Who could blame them for being skeptical?

The NFL is the "No Fun League," enforcing every petty rule imaginable. MLB has turned into a veritable frat house, operating under the motto, "Maybe later, Brother."

Maybe later the commissioner's office will enforce the time-of-game procedures that were introduced in 1998.  Maybe later it will enforce the strike zone as it is specified in the rulebook.

Alderson vowed action on both fronts Tuesday. He made so much sense, he should be commissioner, but that's a story for another day.

"It's been the view of people for a long time that the strike zone as it's being defined in the rulebook was being interpreted by individual umpires in a variety of ways," Alderson said.

"We're trying not only to bring some uniformity to the interpretation, but go back to the rulebook and eliminate a lot of the interpretation itself."  And what does the rulebook say?  

One, that an inside or outside pitch is a strike if any part of the ball crosses any part of home plate. Two, that any low pitch is a strike if it crosses the lowest part of the knee.  Three, that any high pitch is a strike if it crosses the midpoint between he top of the pants and the shoulders.

None of that is so confusing, but in recent seasons, umpires have rarely called strikes on pitches above the belt, while extending the zone several inches outside.

Hitters have taken advantage by "diving" over the plate for outside pitches, and heaven help the pitcher who tries to adjust by working inside.

Ask Pedro Martinez -- hitters are offended by any pitch thrown within six inches of their supplement-enhanced bodies, even while wearing more protective armor than medieval knights.

The issue of protective gear also will be addressed at these GM meetings. But to Alderson, calling the strike zone properly would lead to a "self-correction" on a number of levels.

"Games would be quicker," said Blue Jays assistant general manager and former Cy Young winner Dave Stewart. "Runs would go down."  That is, if the zone is enforced.

"Even though we have a new group of umpires, the umpires in the past have made it very, very clear that they're going to run the game like they want to run it," Stewart said.

"Maybe they can get done what they've been instructed to do, but. . . . most guys are not used to calling the high strike. It just never gets done."

Alderson, however, said that he already has met with the umpires' leadership, pointing out that the umpires were more committed and less confrontational last season at MLB's request.

The actual umpiring wasn't much better, but the level of cooperation has indeed improved now that the umpires have formed their new union and reached a new collective-bargaining agreement with MLB. The time finally is right for change.

Twenty-two umpires and five substitutes currently are receiving new training in Scottsdale, Ariz. All 68 umpires will receive the training in January.

The sessions cover all facets of umpiring. And for those who still don't get it, a computerized strike-zone measuring system illuminates the proper calls on balls and strikes.

Devil Rays manager Larry Rothschild said he actually enjoyed the distinctions in umpires' zones, believing that veteran hitters earned an advantage by learning each umpire's tendencies.

Rothschild, however, said that he, too, grew upset when the lack of uniformity grew "out of control."

Rather than consistency, MLB had anarchy. Now, it's going back to the future.  "We're committed to enforcement," Alderson said. "This isn't like the balk rule back in 1978 or whatever. When we set out to accomplish something, we're going to follow it up."  Only in baseball could the rulebook qualify as a radical document.  Let the revolution begin!

Umps to Call High Strikes Again

Major League Umps Ratify Contract; Minor League Umps Form Union

By RONALD BLUM
September 15, 2000 NEW YORK (AP) -- Major league umpires ratified their new labor contract and minor league umps approved forming a union of their own. Major league umps who are members of the new union, the World Umpires Association, participated in the mail ballot, and 42 of 44 eligible members voted, WUA lawyer Larry Gibson said Thursday. Votes were counted by Edward J. Angeletti, a retired Maryland Circuit Court Judge. There are about 90 major league umpires, but many did not join the new union and remain loyal to Richie Phillips' Major League Umpires Association. Nevertheless, the deal covers all major league umps. The union's executive board and team owners must also approve the agreement, which calls for umpires' pay to rise from $95,000- $282,500 in 1999 to $104,704-$324,545 this year, depending on seniority. In 2004, the final season of the five-year deal, the range will be $108,716-$404,705. Also Thursday, minor league umpires said they voted 187-10 to form a union to negotiate with the governing body of the minor leagues. The umps approved the union in a secret mail vote conducted by the National Labor Relations Board's Baltimore office, which counted the ballots Monday. The outcome of the election confirms that minor league umpires need to have a voice in a system where they take on considerable personal risks and hardships in the hope of becoming a major league umpire,'' said Beth Saindon, a lawyer for the Association of Minor League Umpires. She said the average salary for umps is $15,000 at Triple-A, $12,000 at Double-A, $10,000 at full-season A-ball and $5,500 at rookie leagues and short-season A-leagues. Minor league umps have a health plan but no pension benefits. The union will negotiate with Professional Baseball Umpire Corp., an affiliate of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, the governing body of the minor leagues. The NABPL has until Monday to file objections to the election. ``We didn't feel and still don't feel a union is necessary,'' NAPBL spokesman Jim Ferguson said. ``Now that they've voted, as we said all along, we'll deal with them in good faith.''

Wichita State Wants Umpires Added to Lawsuit

University is being sued because pitcher Ben Christensen hit Evansville player in the head with a warm-up pitch July 23, 2000
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) -Wichita State wants three umpires to be added to a lawsuit against the school that arose when a pitcher hit a visiting baseball player in the head with a warm-up pitch. Second baseman Anthony Molina of the University of Evansville suffered eye injuries when hit by a ball thrown by Ben Christensen as Molina stood near the on-deck circle just before the start of a game with the Shockers on April 23, 1999. Molina sued Wichita State and Christensen, seeking $75,000 in damages. The university now wants the three umpires who were working the game to share responsibility. The school submitted a motion last week to include the three umpires as defendants, saying they failed to enforce the rules. Before the game, Molina had walked behind and to the right side of home plate, closer to the Wichita State's on-deck circle than to Evansville's. Under Rule 5, Section 2-e, if that happens "the umpire first should warn the offender(s) and if the violators do not immediately move away the individual(s) shall be ejected from the game." Home plate umpire Gary Mitchell didn't do either and Christensen threw a pitch at Molina. Christensen said the pitch was just meant as warning, but Molina wasn't looking and was hit, causing a skull fracture and lingering vision problems. The lawsuit includes three charges against Christensen - battery, negligence and "willful, wanton and reckless negligence" - and one count of negligence against the university. Mitchell declined to comment at the university's request, as did Missouri Valley Conference associate commissioner Joe Mitch, and Jim Schaus, the school's athletic director. The other umpires were Charlie Larca of Jordan, Minn., and Steve Govero of Springfield, Mo. Mitch Margo, the legal counsel for the MVC, said he was still trying to determine whether the conference or the NCAA has a contractual obligation to represent the umpires. The motion to include the umpires will be heard in Sedgwick County District Court on Aug. 4. It may push back the date for the trial, now scheduled for Nov. 29. "I hope this gets resolved," Margo said. "It's an unfortunate situation that I wish never happened." Christensen, who was warming up on the pitching mound, was ejected from the game and then suspended for the rest of the season. He had a 21-1 record in three seasons at Wichita State and was a first-round draft choice of the Chicago Cubs. Molina has undergone three operations but returned to play for Evansville last season, hitting .280 in 20 games. His lawsuit claiming battery and negligence seeks more than $75,000 from each defendant. In November, Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston declined to bring criminal charges against Christensen..

Umpires Pass on MLB's ProposalUmpires Pass on MLB's Proposal

NEW YORK (AP) 07/31/00 — Richie Phillips' Major League Umpires Association let a Monday deadline pass on a deal that would have rehired 10 of the 22 umpires baseball got rid of last September.

The MLUA has filed a grievance, hoping arbitrator Alan Symonette will force baseball to rehire the 22, let go after the union's mass resignation plan failed. Baseball claims it accepted the umpires' resignations, while the umps claim they withdrew their resignations and were illegally fired.

During the offseason, umpires voted out the MLUA and replaced it with a new union, the World Umpires Association. During negotiations for a new labor contract with baseball, the WUA said two weeks ago that it had tentatively agreed with the commissioner's office that 10 umpires would be rehired.

But under federal law, agreement from both unions was needed, and the MLUA rejected the deal, saying it would rather take a chance with the grievance and get all or none of the 22 rehired.

Umps' Rehiring Comes with Conditions

Associated Press - Thursday, July 20
NEW YORK -- Baseball has offered to rehire 10 of the 22 umpires it let go last September but only as part of a new labor contract and only if the umps' old union agrees to settle its grievance.

The offer has tentatively been agreed to by the new union, the World Umpires Association, two lawyers familiar with the talks said Thursday on the condition they not be identified. But the old union, Richie Phillips' Major League Umpires Association, said it hasn't been contacted by baseball or the new union. MLUA lawyer Pat Campbell said the offer falls far short of what his side wants."There may be some discussions between the WUA and baseball," Campbell said, "but we don't bless them, we don't condone them, we're not parties to them. We've been asked to participate and we haven't gone. No offer has been made to us. If that's the offer, they can save it because that offer does not reflect the realities of the case."The MLUA filed a grievance to regain the jobs of the 22. The case, being heard by arbitrator Alan Symonette, was to have resumed this week but was postponed until Aug. 28 or 29 because former AL official Derek Irwin was unavailable to testify. Negotiators for the new union and baseball met for three days this week and are scheduled to resume talks next week. The 10 umpires who would be rehired under the offer, according to the lawyers, would be Gary Darling, Bob Davidson, Bruce Dreckman, Jim Evans, Tom Hallion, Ed Hickox, Bill Hohn, Sam Holbrook, Paul Nauert and Larry Vanover.Six of the 22 umpires, all over 55, would retire under the plan: Dale Ford, Rich Garcia, Ken Kaiser, Larry McCoy, Frank Pulli, Terry Tata. The remaining six would be given buyouts, either in a lump sum, or an annuity: Drew Coble, Eric Gregg, Mark Johnson, Greg Kosc, Larry Poncino and Joe West. Sandy Alderson, the executive vice president who is heading negotiations for baseball, wouldn't say owners and the new union had a tentative agreement on the fate of the 22, let go when baseball accepted their resignations, handed in as part of a mass resignation plan by the old union that failed."I don't think it's a secret we have had discussions the last few weeks on the 22 and a possible settlement of their arbitration case," Alderson said. "The status of the 22 is inextricably related to successfully concluding a collective bargaining agreement. To suggest we are that close is misleading. I think there are significant aspects of the proposal on the 22 that remain undecided."Baseball said it merely accepted the resignations of the 22, while the MLUA says the umps should have been allowed to withdraw their resignations and were illegally fired.

Baseball Offers to Rehire 10 of 22 as Part of Overall Settlement

07/20/00
By RONALD BLUM AP Sports Writer NEW YORK (AP) Baseball has offered to rehire 10 of the 22 umpires it let go last September but only as part of a new labor contract and only if the umps' old union agrees to settle its grievance. The offer has tentatively been agreed to by the new union, the World Umpires Association, two lawyers familiar with the talks said Thursday on the condition they not be identified. But the old union, Richie Phillips' Major League Umpires Association, said it hasn't been contacted by baseball or the new union. MLUA lawyer Pat Campbell said the offer falls far short of what his side wants. ``There may be some discussions between the WUA and baseball,'' Campbell said, ``but we don't bless them, we don't condone them, we're not parties to them. We've been asked to participate and we haven't gone. No offer has been made to us. If that's the offer, they can save it because that offer does not reflect the realities of the case.'' The MLUA filed a grievance to regain the jobs of the 22. The case, being heard by arbitrator Alan Symonette, was to have resumed this week but was postponed until Aug. 28 or 29 because former AL official Derek Irwin was unavailable to testify. Negotiators for the new union and baseball met for three days this week and are scheduled to resume talks next week.  The 10 umpires who would be rehired under the offer, according to the lawyers, would be Gary Darling, Bob Davidson, Bruce Dreckman, Jim Evans, Tom Hallion, Ed Hickox, Bill Hohn, Sam Holbrook, Paul Nauert and Larry Vanover. Six of the 22 umpires, all over 55, would retire under the plan: Dale Ford, Rich Garcia, Ken Kaiser, Larry McCoy, Frank Pulli, Terry Tata. The remaining six would be given buyouts, either in a lump sum, or an annuity: Drew Coble, Eric Gregg, Mark Johnson, Greg Kosc, Larry Poncino and Joe West. Sandy Alderson, the executive vice president who is heading negotiations for baseball, wouldn't say owners and the new union had a tentative agreement on the fate of the 22, let go when baseball accepted their resignations, handed in as part of a mass resignation plan by the old union that failed. ``I don't think it's a secret we have had discussions the last few weeks on the 22 and a possible settlement of their arbitration case,'' Alderson said. ``The status of the 22 is inextricably related to successfully concluding a collective bargaining agreement. To suggest we are that close is misleading. I think there are significant aspects of the proposal on the 22 that remain undecided.'' Baseball said it merely accepted the resignations of the 22, while the MLUA says the umps should have been allowed to withdraw their resignations and were illegally fired.

Umpires Unite, Sign Declaration of Togetherness

By Hal Bodley 
06/29/00
Major and minor league umpires, fearful of management's attempt to seize more control over them, signed a joint statement of principles Wednesday.

The action gives the major league umps unconditional support from the 187 umpires in the minors for the present contract negotiating strategy.

"This is a historic event," World Umpires Association President John Hirschbeck said. "This is the first time professional umpires at all levels, from the rookie leagues to the majors, have come together with a common statement."

Rob Manfred, baseball's chief negotiator, said umpires stating their views "in a public proclamation makes them no more likely to be accepted. They've expressed their views across the table, and they're inconsistent with the terms of the collective bargaining agreement of every official in professional sports."

Meanwhile, Hirschbeck said umpires won't ask for a strike vote by Friday, the deadline for such an action. The sides negotiated Tuesday. Three more days of talks are scheduled for next week, beginning Wednesday.

"Through good-faith negotiations I'm hopeful we'll reach an agreement that recognizes the independence, neutrality and professionalism of umpires is essential to the integrity of baseball," Hirschbeck said.

Hirschbeck said all 68 major league umpires and 83% of those in the minors endorsed the agreement. "We're not looking for something where umpires aren't evaluated," he said. "We would like training, evaluation, but a fair system when it comes to termination and discipline. Baseball wants total control."

New Umpire's Union Cleared to Negotiate

February 24, 2000 
NEW YORK -- Richie Phillips' last appeal was rejected today by the National Labor Relations Board, clearing the way for the new umpires' union to start negotiations with owners. Insurgent umpires, angry with Phillips' failed mass resignation strategy last summer, voted 57-35 in November to replace the Major League Umpires Association with a new union. The MLUA contested the results, first with the NLRB's New York office, then with the five-man labor board in Washington. Today's decision certified the new union and cannot be appealed. The new union, called the World Umpires Association, hopes to start negotiations quickly on a new collective bargaining agreement, replacing the one that expired Dec. 31. Negotiations were delayed because the WUA could not officially represent umpires until it was officially certified. The MLUA filed objections to the election, claiming owners and the new union illegally conspired to defeat the MLUA. Those objections were rejected Jan. 21 by hearing officer David E. Leach III. The NLRB adopted Leach's report today in a three-paragraph decision signed by chairman John C. Truesdale and board members Sarah M. Fox and Peter J. Hurtgen. Owners want to merge the umpires from both leagues into one staff and make other changes as part of the elimination of American and National league presidents and offices. Phillips, who has headed the MLUA since 1978, had intended to resist that. While he had heavy support among NL umpires, the new union's board has heavy support in the AL. Umpires split into factions last July when Phillips called for a mass resignation plan designed to force an early start to labor talks. Most AL umps either quickly withdrew their resignations or failed to resign, causing the strategy to collapse. By then, owners had hired 25 new umps from the minor leagues and got rid of 22. The labor board's ruling came as the MLUA's grievance to regain the jobs of the 22 resumed in Philadelphia. Under federal labor law, the old union will remain in charge of the grievance.

NLRB rules against Phillips

By RONALD BLUM
January 21, 2000
Richie Phillips and the Major League Umpires Association lost again today when a National Labor Relations Board hearing officer decided there were no grounds to overturn the election that kicked them out in November. Umpires, many angry at a failed mass resignation plan that backfired in July and cost 22 of them their jobs, voted 57-35 in November to form a new union. Phillips and the MLUA appealed, claiming the new union was helped illegally by owners during the election, but the appeal was rejected today by NLRB hearing officer David E. Leach III, who heard three days of testimony this month. The MLUA has two weeks to appeal Leach's decision to the five-member NLRB in Washington. Because of the appeal, bargaining for a labor contract to replace the one that expired Dec. 31 has been virtually nonexistent. "Today's NLRB decision removes any doubt that major league umpires will be represented by our new union,'' said American League umpire John Hirschbeck, one of the leaders of the insurgents. "We now have the opportunity to move forward in the best interests of all umpires, the game of baseball and the public,'' Hirschbeck said. "The only result from an appeal would be to delay the inevitable and to slow down bargaining for a new contact.''  The MLUA was not sure if it would appeal again. "If after we read the opinion, we conclude there are grounds to appeal, then we'll appeal,'' said MLUA lawyer Pat Campbell, who had not yet read Leach's decision. The new union called for an end to the infighting.  "It's time now for Richie Phillips to yield to the will of a clear majority of the umpires and step aside,'' said Ron Shapiro, a lawyer and agent who has advised the insurgents. ``An appeal would only delay the inevitable now.'' Leach overruled the four objections filed by the old union, saying they either were irrelevant or were not supported by evidence, and recommended that Daniel Silverman, the NLRB's New York regional director, certify the new union. "It has been asserted that the employer is blatantly anti-Phillips and anti-MLUA, but the record is silent in this regard,'' Leach wrote in his 35-page report. Phillips has led the MLUA to tremendous gains. When he became its negotiator in 1978, rookie umpires made $17,500 and the most senior umps got $40,000. In the contract that just expired, they made at least $95,000 each and could earn up to $282,500 apiece, including bonuses. Many AL umps became increasingly uncomfortable with Phillips in recent years and some voted against renewing his contract before last season. Worried about baseball's plan to merge the AL and NL umpiring staffs, Phillips and MLUA president Jerry Crawford called for mass resignations in July. They said they were angry over the umpires' working conditions, and many umps said they wanted to force an early start to labor negotiations. The strategy collapsed when most AL umps either didn't resign or quickly withdrew their resignations. Owners then hired 25 new umps from the minor leagues and accepted the resignations of the 22, effective Sept. 2. That's when the insurgents, led primarily by AL umps, began organizing the new union, the Major League Umpires Independent Organizing Committee. Phillips and the MLUA claimed the new union illegally tried to win votes by saying it could get a better deal with owners than the MLUA and that management employees told umpires to vote for the new union. It also said the failure to pay $20,000 postseason bonuses to the 22 illegally influenced the election. "The employer's position, while harsh, is certainly a matter for interpretation of the contractual language,'' Leach wrote. Meanwhile, Phillips testified Thursday for a third straight day in Philadelphia before arbitrator Alan Symonette, who is hearing the MLUA's grievance trying to gain back the 22 jobs. Phillips has not yet completed his cross examination, and Symonette was uncertain when the case would resume.  Crawford is the only witness to complete his testimony.

Phillips Testifies in Umpires' Grievance

January 18, 2000
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Richie Phillips, head of the overturned Major League Umpires Association, planned a second day on the witness stand, testifying on behalf of 22 umpires who lost their jobs in September.

Umpires Claim Baseball Tried to Bust Them

January 5, 2000
NEW YORK -- Baseball commissioner Bud Selig and other top leaders of the sport encouraged a group of insurgent umpires to break off from their union and form a new one, Richie Phillips claimed Wednesday during a federal hearing.

Citing telephone records of calls between Selig's office and insurgent leader John Hirschbeck, Phillips and the Major League Umpires Association tried to convince a National Labor Relations Board hearing that owners illegally conspired with the anti-Phillips faction. Phillips' union is trying to convince a hearing officer to overturn the election it lost 57-35 to the insurgents in November. The hearing officer, David L. Leach III, refused to let Phillips question baseball lawyer Frank Coonelly or an organizer of the insurgent Major League Umpires Independent Organizing Committee about conversations between the two.Phillips said the questioning was crucial to support testimony earlier in the day by Drew Coble, among the 22 umps who lost their jobs in September. Coble said he was told Selig had promised he could have his job back if he dropped his support for Phillips. Phillips, who has led the umpires since 1978, said the insurgents "were used by Bud Selig and baseball as a vehicle to break the union and to send a message to others in baseball."Phillips cited telephone records that showed six telephone calls on July 22 between Selig's Milwaukee office and Hirschbeck's home. Phillips said there was a meeting that day in Selig's office of the nine top executives in baseball, including both league presidents. He claimed they talked about how to break the union. Larry Poncino, an NL umpire, testified that he was told by Hirschbeck's brother, Mark, that the insurgents could have a labor contract within 72 hours if Phillips was ousted or his union dismantled. Poncino said Mark Hirschbeck, an NL ump, said in late September that with Phillips out of the picture, the umpires could get improved severance benefits and larger work crews, among other contract improvements. Poncino said he asked Mark Hirschbeck how he learned about the possible contract improvements and Hirschbeck wouldn't say. Poncino later asked him if he would repeat the allegations at an arbitration hearing in Philadelphia. The MLUA filed a grievance attempting to regain the jobs of the 22."He told me he would have to deny that the conversation ever existed," Poncino said. Confronted with his own resignation letter, Poncino said he signed it because he thought all umpires were signing similar letters. Instead, a majority of AL umps either didn't resign or quickly withdrew their resignations, causing the MLUA's strategy to collapse. The MLUA rested its case, and the insurgents planned to call one or two witnesses Thursday. Owners weren't sure whether they would call any witnesses. Copyright 2000 Associated Press

Deposed Umpires' Union Files Objections With NLRB

Umps Form New Union; Phillips Ousted

December 1, 1999
By RONALD BLUM

NEW YORK (AP) - Richie Phillips' 21-year reign as head of baseball's umpires is over. Just like 22 members of his union, he's out of a job. In a landslide vote, major league umpires formed a new union Tuesday that includes dissident AL umpires on its board.

The National Labor Relations Board announced the results of a mail ballot, with 57 umpires voting for the Major League Umpires Independent Organizing Committee and 35 voting to retain the Major League Umpires Association. One vote was voided because an umpire, whom the NLRB did not identify, signed the ballot, which must be secret.

"Today is a statement by all umpires that it's time for a change,'' said AL umpire John Hirschbeck, who helped lead the dissidents who overthrew Phillips. "We want a union that is run by umpires and advised by attorneys.'' Under federal law, a majority determined the result of the election. Dan Silverman, director the NLRB's New York region, will certify the election as official unless an objection is filed by Dec. 7.

Phillips was in New York, but didn't go to the NLRB for the vote count and was not available for comment, according to his staff in Philadelphia. His side was represented by NL umpire Jerry Crawford, the union president, and lawyer Pat Campbell. "The other union won. I'm upset,'' said Crawford, who added that it was likely Phillips' union would file objections.

Joel Smith, a lawyer for the dissidents, said the law allows objections to be filed by a party claiming there was illegal conduct that affected the outcome. Silverman would determine whether to reject the objection or call a hearing before one of his aides. Hirschbeck said that if Phillips had attended, he would have told him: "It's time for us to move on. Thank you for what you've done for us in our careers. Now it's time for major league umpires to move in a new direction.'' When the umpires splintered into factions in July, Phillips had the support of approximately 41 of the then-68 umpires. At least six of those umpires defected, more if any of the 25 newly hired umpires supported Phillips' union.

In the weeks leading up to the election, most AL umpires appeared to support the dissidents, who were organized by Hirschbeck, Joe Brinkman and Dave Phillips - who is not related to Richie Phillips. The dissidents accused Phillips of being autocratic and responsive only to the union board, heavily influenced by senior NL umpires. Most NL umpires backed Richie Phillips and Crawford, who sat with his elbows on the table Tuesday, clasping his hands, fidgeting, as the votes were counted. Brinkman said it would take about one year for a new union to gain support of all umpires. "I think they'll come back,'' Brinkman said. "It's just a matter of time. It's a healing process.''

Phillips and Crawford hoped to force owners into an early start to negotiations for a new labor contract when they launched their mass resignation strategy July 14. But when many AL umpires either refused to resign or quickly withdrew the resignations, the union cracked.

Owners hired 25 new umps from the minors leagues and accepted the resignations of the 22. Phillips' union filed a grievance to regain those jobs, and arbitrator Alan Symonette last week rejected the owners' motion to dismiss the case, scheduled for argument Dec. 13-16.
"Richie Phillips is very, very, very concerned about the 22 guys,'' Crawford said. "He's been pretty much out of the daily operation of the union. I don't think it was a strong indictment of Richie. They won. I guess they had a stronger campaign than we had.''

Umpires Pay Big Bucks

If it wasn't bad enough that the umpires' lead negotiator lost 22 umpires their jobs, it turns out the umps are paying him through the nose to do it. According to a form filed with the U.S. Department of Labor, the union's costs in 1998 came to an average of $5,756 for each of the 66 members of the union. For comparison's sake, the players only pay their union $4,575 for an entire season. That means the umpires are charged more than 25% more than the players, but the top players make 500% more money than the top umpires. But hey, the union has been such a big help, the money is worth it, right? But hold on a second, it gets worse. Annual union dues are only $500 per umpire, plus a $1,000 initiation fee, but umpires had to pay their union $351,922 in special assessments last year. So where's that money going? Where do you think? The bulk of it went right to their legal team, headed by Richie Phillips. The union lists no employees, but paid $406,293 last year in professional fees. And most umpires don't even know the details. "I've asked for the records. I've asked, in written form, for the expenditures, but have received no response," said AL umpire Dave Phillips, one of the umps opposed to the union leadership. "If you're one of Richie's guys, in his comfort zone, you get that information. If you're not, you get absolutely zero. That's one of the big, big issues." Richie Phillips and his staff, of course, don't think they've done anything wrong. "The major league umpires have other professionals, including accountants who prepare tax returns. There are other expenses of the Major League Umpires Association in addition to attorney fees." Yeah, like all the stamps necessary to mail resignations to Bud Selig. And it gets even worse. The $406,293 the union paid in professional fees last year is likely to be much higher this year, especially since they had to hire New York labor law firm Cohen, Weiss and Simon to try to drag their own butts out of the mess that they paid Phillips so much to get them into.© 1999 Jerk of the Week MLB to Fire Four Evaluators

Baseball plans to fire four employees responsible for evaluating umpires as a part of a reorganization designed to rein in umps, two senior baseball officials said Wednesday. The four employees, all former umpires, will be let go at the end of the season. They include Paul Runge, the National League's executive director of umpires and a former president of the umpire's union, and three evaluators: Jim Quick and Harry Wendelstedt of the NL and Don Denkinger of the American League. While the firings weren't announced, they were confirmed by two high-ranking baseball officials who spoke on the condition they not be identified. Surviving the purge for now are Marty Springstead, the AL's executive director of umpiring; Phil Janssen, the AL coordinator of umpire operations; and Tom Lepperd, the NL umpire supervisor.

The Sports NewsStand

Page back / Back to top