Quote:
Originally Posted by Steven Tyler
And you know this because? I would guess if it his is turn in the rotation to work the plate and his brother is pitching, he will be working the plate.
I would think his integrity would suffice in this case as it does in all the games that he calls.
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I know this because it is a fact. He is prohibited from umpiring the plate when his brother pitches. Randy Wolf pitched for the Padres last year, and it was brought up and discussed on TV, radio, fan forums and in Wikipedia. Only Wiki is wrong (in Randy's profile), because it says he can't work any of his games, but I have seen Jim Wolf on the bases while Randy was on the mound. He just can't call his pitches.
In my association, we are not allowed to work games where one of our children is participating. Several umpires face this dilemma every year.
Integrity has little to do with the decision. They just don't want to take the chance, both in MLB and amateur associations alike.
Here is what is written at Wikipedia for Jim Wolf's profile:
"He is the brother of Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Randy Wolf, which has caused players to accuse him of having a conflict of interest. In September 2003, Florida Marlins catcher Ivan Rodriguez accused him of skewing calls against the Marlins during one late-season series to help the Philadelphia Phillies, his brother's team at the time, beat the Marlins for the wild card. Pitcher Mark Redman also inferred the same but stopped short of fully accusing him. The Marlins won the wild card that year and went on to win the World Series.
If Wolf is ever umpiring a game that his brother pitches, he does not call balls and strikes, although MLB generally avoids assigning him to Randy's games."