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Originally Posted by MN
It's the strike that few seem to care about. These are, after all, minor league umpires, who are basically invisible unless they make a bad call.
But angry about low compensation while driving to obscure places, eating in diners and pursuing a small-percentage shot at the big leagues, minor league umps are becoming more visible as their protest becomes protracted. Twenty-five striking umpires picketed with the support of a few major league umps before a Class A game in Hagerstown, Md. this week.
Locally based minor league umpires Chris Hubler of Newtown and Alan Porter of Warminster were there.
“One of the things the owners continually fall back on is, "Well, you guys knew what you were getting into,''' said Hubler, 33. “But I didn't realize I would never have a cost-of-living increase.” Why not, the others did? Few people are guaranteed a C.O.L. raise.
“People don't realize how difficult our job really is,” said Porter, 28. “Think about how much some of these minor league franchises are worth. And nothing's coming toward us.” So, when you signed your contract, you assumed that you'd get a slice of the pie too?
Everyone loves to hate umps, but a reasonable person can understand the umps' beef far better than they could tolerate past player strikes. The top salary for a Triple-A ump is $17,000. Per diem at the top level is only $25. 5 month season
Those are the main reasons why members of the Association of Minor League Umpires are on strike against their employer, the Professional Baseball Umpire Corporation, a subsidiary of minor league baseball. None of the 220 members has crossed the picket line. The umpire union is proposing a per diem increase up to the government rate of $44, and for Triple-A umps to get a combined bump of $600 a month in salary and per diem. Their employer has offered a $100-a-month raise at each level and a $1 increase in per diem. The latter would rise to $40 at Triple A in the sixth year of a new labor agreement.
Salaries and per diems have been mostly static since 1998, the year Major League Baseball ended its umpire development program and cut the $5 million budget for it. When the minor leagues took control, salaries were sliced and frozen.
Major League Baseball's reasoning was that, with low turnover among big league umps, it was getting too few umpires from the minors to justify the investment. But Hubler points out that the minors are where everybody starts, and it usually takes seven years for an ump to reach the bigs. Yes, that is why you are referred to as trainees or apprentices.
“The reason [the owners] can get away with this is they dangle the golden carrot of Major League Baseball in front of our noses,” Hubler said. “The reality is less than five percent of us make it.” Again...is this an epiphany? When I was in pro school, the instructors told us that unless someone died in the next year or two, no one was moving up. That golden carrot is why you went to school and accepted the contract, remember? If not, you should have graciously said , "No thanks, I appreciate the knowledge, but I'll just go back to my hometown and be the best umpire there." Good Lord!
Said Double-A Reading Phillies owner Craig Stein: “It's no different from an apprentice in any business ... and the preponderance of minor league teams don't make a lot of money.” Not according to that IL crew chief!
Adds Joe Finley, an Upper Makefield resident who owns the Double-A Trenton Thunder and Class-A Lakewood BlueClaws: “The umpires I've spoken to don't see it as a typical job to feed their families. Just like players, they see it as a stepping stone....” Again...not according to that IL crew chief!
“If it becomes clear there's not going to be a resolution, I think Major League Baseball and the minor leagues would look for a permanent solution.”
Unrest with new umps?
There hasn't been a widespread outcry against the replacements, but patience is wearing thin in some places. Wednesday night Delmon Young of the Triple -A Durham (N.C.) Bulls flipped his bat into the chest of the home plate umpire after being called out on strikes.
A Triple-A manager stresses patience with the replacements but indicates one advantage is some replacements are too intimidated to toss him.
“Every time I go out there, it's like looking at a deer caught in the headlights,” the manager told “Baseball America.”
Minor League Baseball executives claim they're satisfied with the replacements' performance. To the strikers, that's laughable posturing.
“It's a blatant lie,” Hubler said. “I went to a Trenton game. It's a joke. The professionalism isn't there. They're in awe of the players.” So? Are the players supposed to be in awe of your scary talent? C'mon...there is no professional courtesy extended...even to the big boys.
“I think we're doing just fine with the replacement umps,” Finley said. “There have been some complaints, but from a fan's perspective, you can't tell the difference. It's not like these guys are from the local 7-Eleven; a lot of them are college umps.”
Meanwhile, many strikers are continuing their off-season jobs. Porter, who has a wife and 13-month-old son, has gone back to work at Asplundh Tree Co. in Willow Grove. Hubler does contract work for Yellow Book distribution and is owner-operator of a small trucking company.
In his 10th year as a minor league ump, Hubler's window of major league opportunity has passed.
“I want these guys to get what they deserve,” Hubler said. “And I don't want them to be in my situation in 10 years.” Then go to pro school and tell them how you make such a ****ty living. Few of us really believe you are concerned with the future generations.
Dan Iassogna, a major league ump at the Hagerstown rally, can relate to the strikers' dues-paying. Coming up in the minors, he often worked three jobs in the off-season.
“People don't realize what umpires go through and how little they're compensated,” he said. “The price of gas has tripled, and per diem has stayed the same.”
Here comes the big finish...Hubler's hope is that the replacements will be so bad, the people who usually berate the regulars will root for their return.
“At some point,” Hubler said, “our greatest ally is going to be our natural adversaries — players and managers.”
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