One day after MLB umpires "chose to resign" effective
September 2 because they were "convinced management plans to
fire as many as 20 of them during the offseason," MLBUA
General Counsel Richie Phillips said that all 231 minor
league umpires are "considering a walkout to protest working
conditions and failure by" minor league baseball to
"recognize their union," according to USA TODAY's Hal
Bodley. Phillips said that minor league umps will "walk
out" by July 23 if the Minor League Umpires Assoc. "does not
receive recognition as the exclusive collective bargaining
agent for" them (USA TODAY, 7/16).
MLB UMPS DECISION "DEVIOUS?" In N.Y., Dave Anderson
calls the umpires' move a "devious decision" and writes that
"the umpires' intention to `resign' is merely semantics.
For all practical purposes, they've called a wildcat strike
for Sept. 2" (N.Y. TIMES, 7/16). Phillips was interviewed
yesterday on Philadelphia-based Comcast SportsNet's "Daily
News Live." Phillips to MLB: "If you threaten to fire us
tomorrow, if you tell the public that we really stink, if
you continue to denigrate and humiliate us, if you're smug
and arrogant in dealing with us, then we'll show you." More
Phillips: "When we resign the positions, we'll have you pay
us $15.5 million in severance rather than allow you the
right at the end of the season to fire everybody and try to
steal the $15.5 million from us" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS,
7/16). Phillips, on MLB's risk in hiring new umps: "They
risk having 25 years of inferior umpiring ahead of them in a
game in which they will be presenting a very, very watered
down product. That's a real risk" (N.Y. TIMES, 7/16).
MAN BEHIND THE MASKED MEN: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's
Jonathan Weinbach profiles Phillips and calls him a "pied
piper of sorts for sports officials." The 58-year-old
attorney "has presided over" three MLB umpire strikes and
has "battled commissioners in sports ranging from pro
basketball to pro golf" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 7/16).
MEDIA REAX ... LET THE UMPS WALK: In DC, Thomas
Boswell: "Go on, make our day. No, make our year. Please,
quit. All of you" (WASHINGTON POST, 7/16). In Boston,
Michael Gee: "And we wonder why these masterminds have
trouble figuring out the strike zone" (BOSTON HERALD, 7/16).
In Detroit, Joe Falls writes under the header, "Umps
Arrogant In Thinking They're Bigger Than The Game" (DETROIT
NEWS, 7/16). In Dallas, Frank Luksa writes under the
header, "Umpires' Mouthpiece Makes No Sense" (DALLAS MORNING
NEWS, 7/16). ESPN's Karl Ravech, on the rift between the
umpires and MLB: "The chasm between the two makes the Grand
Canyon look like a crack in the driveway" ("Baseball
Tonight," ESPN, 7/15). ABC's Bob Jamison: "The umpires are
getting about as much support as a blown call" ("ABC Evening
News," 7/15). In Miami, Dan Le Batard: "A yawning nation
offers this rebuttal [to MLB umps]: Why wait? How about
going away right now?" (MIAMI HERALD, 7/16). USA TODAY's
Hal Bodley writes that the umps are "choking themselves. ...
Let's call off this nonsense before it's too late" (USA
TODAY, 7/16). On "Business Center," CNBC's Hampton Pearson:
"I'm not really sure that [MLB] and the commissioner's
office really want a settlement. The umpires seem to have
given them a golden opportunity where if they really want to
make a radical change. ... They've given them quite a head
start as far as an exit strategy that even the league
offices couldn't have comprehended" ("Business Center,"
7/15). A sign at Yankee Stadium during the Braves-Yankee
game last night read, "Will Umpire For Food" (TBS, 7/15).
LOSS OR A BLESSING? In Philadelphia, Edward Moran
writes several sports marketing experts say that "it could
end up being the only labor dispute that would actually
benefit baseball" (PHILA. DAILY NEWS, 7/16). ESPN
Magazine's Tim Kurkjian cautions MLB against losing the
umps, stating the game "will get worse. ... Replacing
umpires will be extremely difficult" (ESPN.com, 7/15).
