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NIUmp50...I wouldn't say you are oversimplifying it. I would just say that A ball is not the same as AA or AAA. The biggest difference between pro and amateur baseball is that the pro guys are paid for playing. They have egos as well. One argument cannot be compared to another. Every time a manager came out to argue it could have ended in an ejection or a simple conversation. The point is, you can't say that you made it through a few games and you can handle it.
To put it a different way, my third year in the game I had 11 ejections. That was in Advanced A. My first year in AA I had 2 ejections. My second year in AA, now my fifth year in the game, I had 9 ejections. The point is, every day is a new day. The real truth behind this game is that even though you have 20 years experience you still see something new every day.
When it comes to the replacements (I have never called them scabs) I am saying that they do not receive any respect from the players and managers other than a thank you for working while the AMLU guys are on strike. They know you didn't earn that opportunity, rather you took advantage of it. Therefore, when they have a close play at the plate, they are already facing an uphill battle in trying to defend their ruling. So MiLB places an order down through the leagues resulting in greater fines and bigger suspensions to prevent the arguments from interupting the product to the fans. I am not being argumentative on this board, I am only giving you first hand knowledge of the way this thing works.
WWTB is right, there are a handfull of former MLB and MiLB guys working. But each night you have approximately 150 umpires working across the United States, the vast majority is what I am talking about. I have worked D1 and it is close to the level of A ball. But even your best D1 team would get blown away by a AA team. On your best D1 teams, Arizona State or USC, there are maybe a couple to a few kids that will ever make it to AA. And by the time they get there, they have their taste of the money and can see whether or not they realistically can make it to the show. This is the ego I am talking about. When they were in college they didn't have the same mentality. Balls and strikes, safes and outs...it is the same as A ball. But AA and AAA are different all together.
And I am not a hypocrite for not revealing WWTB's identity. I have never threatened him, I only was trying to catch his attention so that he knew I wasn't just another guy who was trying to cut him down. He makes some good points, and I relate that to the fact that he and I were once on the same track. But our lives took us to where we are today. What good will come in revealing his identity? If he wants you to know he will tell you. But I never threatened him in any way. I know the story of what happened with him and the AMLU. I don't argue it, I am also smart enough to kow there are two sides to every story. Here is a news flash, he is not working games, so maybe he has a little old school loyalty in him as well. You just can't judge a man until you walk in his shoes. If you walk in my shoes, you would have had to go to umpire school, travel for the better of ten years, and then retire. I have earned my right to comment on this situation because I know the difference of being on the road and working games as opposed to working 2-3 games a week and going home at night. I know this and so does WWTB.
As for the scab photo thing, I saw it too. I disagreed with it then and I disagree with it now. But I didn't make those decisions, the AMLU people did. From what I hear, they didn't vote on making it public. Someone decided to do it. It backfired, so they took it down. I too still have a few friends that I can get access through, but I could care a less. Those pictures may have been wrong to post, but the message was loud and clear that the guys working these games do not look the part. And in a game of perception, I don't care who you are, the majority of those guys are unqualified just by looking at them.
As I said, this is just my opinion from first hand experience. I do not agree with the decision to work as a replacement. But I know it is going to happen. I just disagree with people trying to diminish the AMLU guys for trying to remain at a poverty level of income. I am guilty of it as well when it comes to watching a MLB game and thinking "I can do that." But the problem is, after my experiences in the game, I know that I can get through 10-15 games without incident. Everyone knows I am new and I am not a full time MLB guy. But after while things change. There is more that would be expected of me. Eventually, it would catch up to me and I will be exposed as being less than qualified to be a MLB umpire. This is the same for a replacement in the minor leagues. I put the time in and got my answer. My last year in the game it was dificult to make ends meet. That was in the late 90's. Here we are in 2006, I can't imagine how the guys are doing it making what I made then. That is all. I am not looking to fight on this board. I don't call names and I don't take cheap shots. What I am writing is not biased, it is truthful. I can see that maybe through all the ballyhoo people have become more defensive rather than debative. Take it for what it is worth, an honest first hand opinion.
BA
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