Okay, that's fair...I just want it on the record that this was the first post I've made (since returning) that had been deleted. I try to stick to the topic and my retorts are usually equal to the offending remark. I say usually, because I've been known to antagonize a tad.
mj - are you in the union? If so, your remarks may be met with some skepticism. While most of us can appreciate the need to increase salaries for MiLB umpires, some of us consider a walkout to be dubious. Your professional careers will be destroyed and America has many more concerns than what an apprentice is earning. I'm certain that you find that term grating, but you are being paid to learn a craft. Yes, most of us believe that you have mastery of balls and strikes, but the WUA has a far different take on it. Like journeymen, they had to prove themselves through various tests (Rookie, Short A, Long A, AA, AAA) before they earned the right to make a good living. Too many Americans are in the same boat. They work hard for the pay they get and are underappreciated. If they walk away from their job, they can't complain that they were only fighting for what is right. Those arguments should have been made at the bargaining table a year ago. MiLB must have thought the union was asking for too much or they would have acceded.
I think that another misstep was asking for control over corrective action against managers, coaches and players. Yes, they hop around and jump levels - deal with it, you are supposed to be umpires. If the idiot crosses a line, dump his ***. You guys talk and know who is who; word gets around. This may have been a Christmas wish but it is a demand that may be best left behind.
Go get the money you need and let the league worry about administration problems. The only way you will keep the dream alive is to stay in uniform. You've worked too hard, spent so much money and sacrificed too much to abandon it now. I'm too old to worry about what a twenty year old makes; I just want to see the game. Many of the members here would love to have their youth back and dedicate themselves to your goal. Remember how special it felt when you finished school and were a chosen one.
[Edited by WhatWuzThatBlue on Feb 24th, 2006 at 07:57 PM]