[PeteBooth]

[QUOTE=BlueLawyer]Just out of curiousity, what happens to the replacements/scabs when (I know, many of you think it's IF) the strike ends? Will replacement blues just walk back into their regular assignments as if they had been there all along? Will they find the guys who took THEIR places eager to give the slots back?

IMO, if the union is dissolved there will no longer be "Full Time" Umpires at the Minor league level.

Umpires will become independent contractors and the "pool" will be regional. The hours of traveling, living in shabby hotels and less than healthy meals will go away.

The umpires will get their 'lives" back, pursue other business opportunities and treat umpiring the way most of us do who umpire at the HS level as a "secondary" job or source of income. That's what the bulk of the strike is all about anyway so why would the umpires want to go back to that type of environment.

By being an independ contractor, you would not have to travel the way one did in the past. You could stay in the comfort of your own home and eat well.

The PBUC would either be be restructured or fold as well, because if you are an independent contractor you do not need the PBUC.

In order to umpire professional baseball, one would still need to attend a PRO School and get the certificate. When you receive your certificate, your name would then go into some sort of data-base similar to when we first got HS certified. Once you pass the HS test and are now certified, your name goes to the assignor who sends you an availability sheet.

In HS most start at the modified level and work their way up. I would assume (boy that's trouble) that this new system would be similar. You would start at the "A" division and work your way up.

The good part about a new system would be at the Triple A level. Just because you didn't make it to the "Show" in 2/3 yrs. would not result in an automatic dismissal from major league baseball.

Bottom Line: if the Union Folds Umpiring at the Minor league Level will become part time.

Pete Booth