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Originally Posted by MrB
Just ran across this.
Wichita umpires for hire
Minor league strike has Wranglers and other teams looking long and hard for replacements.
BY JOANNA CHADWICK
The Wichita Eagle
When minor-league baseball umpires announced late last week that they would strike to start the season, Texas League president Tom Kayser started scrambling for replacements.
Josh Schepis, a college umpire, started receiving phone calls.
He's already contracted to umpire some Wranglers games and has been in contact with other teams, including the Springfield Cardinals. Most teams are trying to fill their crews with local umps for games beginning April 6.
But Schepis isn't doing this as a way to break into the majors.
"No way it's a break for us," said Schepis, who umpires games in the Missouri Valley and Mid-Continent conferences while also doing nonconference games in the Big 12 and SEC.
"They don't get paid jack (in the minors).... I'm doing NBC baseball a favor. We know those people down there; we work close with them during the (NBC World Series).
"It's a pain. I don't want to umpire the two nights I do have off. There's nothing to gain from this, except a little bit of cash."
Cash is what the minor-league umpires are looking for.
Umpires average between $12,000-$15,000 in Double-A and Triple-A.
The starting salary for a first-year umpire in the Rookie League in 2005 was $1,800 per month, $100 less than it was in 1997, said Brian Kennedy, a Double-A umpire who is on the board of directors with the Association of Minor League Umpires. Insurance deductibles also increased by $500.
Of the 222 umpires in the minor leagues, 91 percent voted for the strike, Kennedy said.
"This (strike) is something we've got to do," said Todd Tichenor, a Triple-A umpire who lives in Holcomb. "There's a dozen of us who are close to the big leagues. Could this (strike) possibly hurt me? Yes, but that's just looking at me. As a union, we're one big family."
Umpires in the major leagues come directly from the minors.
Regardless of where the negotiations stand or whether the umpires will see pay increases, Kayser's primary concern is staffing the games.
Is it a headache?
"I really can't tell you," he said. "I'm preparing for whatever eventuality might arise.
"The only thing I'm willing to tell you is we're going to have games, we're not going to miss any games, and we'll have umpires on the field."
The Texas League uses four three-man crews but likely will have to find many more than that to fill in.
The replacements aren't being offered much to fill in for the minor leagues.
Schepis said he was originally offered $90 per game, which is $110 less than he gets for working Division I games. Kennedy said he earns about $83 a game in Double-A.
But Schepis said that he has been offered more since.
That, he thinks, should make everyone happy. Even those who might call him a scab for being a replacement.
"The minor-league guys I've talked to feel that's helping them, because (the minor league's) cost to hold out longer is going to go up," Schepis said.
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