Bad Form, MiLB umpires should have more Class

[SAump]

I use to respect the umps back in my playing days.
Then I became a fan and would give them hell half the time.
Once I became an ump, I would just sit in the stands and watch them perform.

I can't imagine ONE umpire yelling at another umpire and calling himself a PROFESSIONAL.

[BigUmp56]

Originally Posted by SAump

I use to respect the umps back in my playing days.
Then I became a fan and would give them hell half the time.
Once I became an ump, I would just sit in the stands and watch them perform.

I can't imagine ONE umpire yelling at another umpire and calling himself a PROFESSIONAL.

I believe the quote is, "Never criticize another umpire. To do so is ungentlemenly and dispicable." That being said, this goes far beyond what I consider umpire on umpire crime. These young men who have taken a stand for themselves are no doubt embroiled in what is possibly the most passionate political situation that they've ever faced. Because of this emotions are bound to run extremely high. This is their lively hood that's being threatened. I'm not trying to be an apologist for some of this behavior, but I can certainly understand where it's coming from. I wonder, if faced with a similar situation in your job, would you lash out as well?


Tim.

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by BigUmp56

I wonder, if faced with a similar situation in your job, would you lash out as well?

No, because if I walked out on my job, I would be fired. Someone would immediately be hired to take my place. That is how business works. You take a job for what amount of salary or wage is offered, and you honor that amount. If you ask for a raise and don't get it, you don't quit working and start walking around the building with signs. If you were not happy with the salary originally offered, you should not have taken the job.

[Thatballzlow]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

No, because if I walked out on my job, I would be fired. Someone would immediately be hired to take my place. That is how business works. You take a job for what amount of salary or wage is offered, and you honor that amount. If you ask for a raise and don't get it, you don't quit working and start walking around the building with signs. If you were not happy with the salary originally offered, you should not have taken the job.

Steve, as a former MiLB crew chief, I was curious if you were aware that the AMLU did not walk out on their jobs...and I'm not saying that to start an argument, by any means, but just to say that they are a federally recognized collective bargaining agent by the NLRB, i.e., union. When a contract ends and the union and management could not agree on terms, they are allowed to strike until they come up with a new agreement. I only ask this since I had a friend who crossed the AMLU picket line, who happened to be a member of the UAW. When they found out he crossed, well, let's put it this way, they haven't been as kind as I have in this post to him.

I agree, minor league umpires on strike should do informational picketing, and have no need to shout obscenities at the replacement umpires. There is no need to lower themselves when they need to take the high road in this.

Thanks for listening.

Thatballzlow

[Clint Lawson]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

No, because if I walked out on my job, I would be fired. Someone would immediately be hired to take my place. That is how business works. You take a job for what amount of salary or wage is offered, and you honor that amount. If you ask for a raise and don't get it, you don't quit working and start walking around the building with signs. If you were not happy with the salary originally offered, you should not have taken the job.

We did not walk out of our jobs. We don't have a contract.

Clint Lawson
Carolina League
[email protected]

[WhatWuzThatBlue]

Originally Posted by Clint Lawson

We did not walk out of our jobs. We don't have a contract.

Clint Lawson
Carolina League
[email protected]

When the AMLU instructed the membership not to accept Spring Training assignments, they abandoned their right to argue further.

In the other thread, I and others have told you - you don't need a contract to work! For some reason, 220 of you feel compelled to demand one. Long ago, we signed individual contracts within the BUD program. We did this because we wanted the job and chance to prove that we deserved the opportunity to move up. Yes, we agreed to bad pay, conditions and benefits - we did so because we understood our place in the game.

Even your leadership recently commented that the members are doing okay because they have other jobs to pay the bills. Maybe it is just me, but if Andy and the gang want to push the idea that thus really IS a career, they might want to rethink that strategy. PBUC knows that they have a Royal Flush and the union is bluffing. The umpiring is not bad enough to warrant an uprising. According to MiLB, six ejections were handed out in all of AA and AAA in the past two weeks. That is four less than last year at the same time.

The leagues, teams and skippers have been admonished and told to behave themselves. The best NCAA umpires will wrap up their seasons long before the playoffs begin and become available. Then the naysayers will have to watch the guys who already earned a nice paycheck take the plums.

I can't believe the photos on the AMLU site either. They crossed a line by publishing them and veiling threats. I hope they have a good understanding of the way the game of politics is played. They may consider themselves on the way up now, but some day (maybe sooner than they expect) they will be just like everyone else. It looked cold in some of those photos of the picket line. That's a shame...they may be out there longer than the know.

[JIGGY]

Originally Posted by WhatWuzThatBlue

When the AMLU instructed the membership not to accept Spring Training assignments, they abandoned their right to argue further.

In the other thread, I and others have told you - you don't need a contract to work! For some reason, 220 of you feel compelled to demand one. Long ago, we signed individual contracts within the BUD program. We did this because we wanted the job and chance to prove that we deserved the opportunity to move up. Yes, we agreed to bad pay, conditions and benefits - we did so because we understood our place in the game.

Even your leadership recently commented that the members are doing okay because they have other jobs to pay the bills. Maybe it is just me, but if Andy and the gang want to push the idea that thus really IS a career, they might want to rethink that strategy. PBUC knows that they have a Royal Flush and the union is bluffing. The umpiring is not bad enough to warrant an uprising. According to MiLB, six ejections were handed out in all of AA and AAA in the past two weeks. That is four less than last year at the same time.

The leagues, teams and skippers have been admonished and told to behave themselves. The best NCAA umpires will wrap up their seasons long before the playoffs begin and become available. Then the naysayers will have to watch the guys who already earned a nice paycheck take the plums.

I can't believe the photos on the AMLU site either. They crossed a line by publishing them and veiling threats. I hope they have a good understanding of the way the game of politics is played. They may consider themselves on the way up now, but some day (maybe sooner than they expect) they will be just like everyone else. It looked cold in some of those photos of the picket line. That's a shame...they may be out there longer than the know.

The more you post, the more it becomes apparent that you don't have a clue what you are talking about and are simply speaking from emotion and ill will towards the AMLU umpires.

The whole point of creating the union, the whole point of going on strike, is to improve conditions for Minor League Umpires. You seem to think that because conditions are bad when they started, the AMLU umpires should just expect and deal with things being bad forever. There is no chance of the union being broken, the level of umpiring brought by the Scab umpires IS NOT ACCEPTABLE TO ANYONE IN MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL. Not the players, coaches, managers, GM's, Farm Directors, nobody! There are "gag" orders and instructions to not argue in effect across the board for that very reason. If everything were really OK, Minor League Baseball wouldn't have to handcuff the clubs that way. Only you and Fitz would really believe that a lower number of ejections directly equals better umpiring. The opposite is actually true in this case. The players and managers have commented to the fact that they are "getting away with" far more nonsense than usual.

PBUC simply does not have the means, long term, to staff the Minor League fields without the AMLU 220. Contrary to what Minor League Baseball has attempted to convey in the press, it has not been easy for many leagues to line up umpires at all, not to mention the lack of competency across the board with Scab umpires. Do you really not understand the basic business principals at work here? A union strike is exactly what is happening now. What makes you think this isn't what the AMLU intended? How is it that you see the AMLU as in a lesser bargaining position now than before the season started? As far as your statement about going to work without a contract...? You must not understand the basics here. The point of a union is to collectively bargain, not individually act. It is each individual putting the whole before himself to reap the benefits of what can be accomplished together that is so much greater than what can be accomplished individually. What happens when a scab gets a concussion? Breaks an ankle? PBUC does not (and will never) provide them even the meager benefits given the AMLU under the previous contract.

How long do you think the novelty of "I'm working pro baseball" will last before the reality of "I'm in over my head, and with nothing to show for it" kicks in? Those that are going to scab are doing it, and not necessarily to the detriment of the AMLU. If you wish to cross, do it, but your attempts at justifying why its OK to do so are misinformed and illogical. Bottom line, every man makes a decision, but what do you really stand to gain by getting in the middle of a fight that isn't yours? You can't say money. You can't say prestige or glory; you would be a scab, regardless of how you try to spin it. It boils down to stabbing another guy in the back because you want to prove you are just as good as he is. Fine. ALL UMPIRES ARE EXACTLY EQUAL. Does that remove the feeling of "I'm gonna show them!" ? What if you were just as good as any professional umpire? So what? You still just jumped in the middle of something that didn't involve you and stabbed another man in the back for having done it. No scab deserves to be on those fields. They didn't earn those positions. That is the disgusting part of the whole thing. The Scabs are making fools of themselves and acting important while doing it. Minor League Baseball didn't call any of them last season. There is a reason for that. You should be ashamed at the possibility of your words influencing another to act so foolishly.

[MrB]

Jiggy,

Has anyone seen the gag order in writing? Or has it been confirmed by any of the AMLU memebers since on of the AMLU board members recently wrote that he asked players and managers about it at a recent game and every one said that it didn't really exisit. That nothing more than "be paitient" with these guys was said. Does the AMLU have hard data to support the triple fines rumor? I am just curious.

[Kaliix]

WWTB stated "By the way, how come the AMLU guys are calling the recent pro school graduates 'scabs'?"

I believe the term recent to subjective and could mean any pro-school grads from 2005 or 2004. You might be able to stretch it to 2003 depending on how one defines recent.

A couple of questions:
1) How can you guys (you being AMLU members) be on strike? You don't have a contract. Therefore, you don't have a job. You were offered a contract and refused it. It seems to me like you guys quit...

2) If you don't have a contract, refused the last contract you were offered, and essentially quit, how are the umpires who are filling the positions you left open scabs?

Originally Posted by JIGGY

The more you post, the more it becomes apparent that you don't have a clue what you are talking about and are simply speaking from emotion and ill will towards the AMLU umpires.

The whole point of creating the union, the whole point of going on strike, is to improve conditions for Minor League Umpires. You seem to think that because conditions are bad when they started, the AMLU umpires should just expect and deal with things being bad forever. There is no chance of the union being broken, the level of umpiring brought by the Scab umpires IS NOT ACCEPTABLE TO ANYONE IN MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL. Not the players, coaches, managers, GM's, Farm Directors, nobody! There are "gag" orders and instructions to not argue in effect across the board for that very reason. If everything were really OK, Minor League Baseball wouldn't have to handcuff the clubs that way. Only you and Fitz would really believe that a lower number of ejections directly equals better umpiring. The opposite is actually true in this case. The players and managers have commented to the fact that they are "getting away with" far more nonsense than usual.

PBUC simply does not have the means, long term, to staff the Minor League fields without the AMLU 220. Contrary to what Minor League Baseball has attempted to convey in the press, it has not been easy for many leagues to line up umpires at all, not to mention the lack of competency across the board with Scab umpires. Do you really not understand the basic business principals at work here? A union strike is exactly what is happening now. What makes you think this isn't what the AMLU intended? How is it that you see the AMLU as in a lesser bargaining position now than before the season started? As far as your statement about going to work without a contract...? You must not understand the basics here. The point of a union is to collectively bargain, not individually act. It is each individual putting the whole before himself to reap the benefits of what can be accomplished together that is so much greater than what can be accomplished individually. What happens when a scab gets a concussion? Breaks an ankle? PBUC does not (and will never) provide them even the meager benefits given the AMLU under the previous contract.

How long do you think the novelty of "I'm working pro baseball" will last before the reality of "I'm in over my head, and with nothing to show for it" kicks in? Those that are going to scab are doing it, and not necessarily to the detriment of the AMLU. If you wish to cross, do it, but your attempts at justifying why its OK to do so are misinformed and illogical. Bottom line, every man makes a decision, but what do you really stand to gain by getting in the middle of a fight that isn't yours? You can't say money. You can't say prestige or glory; you would be a scab, regardless of how you try to spin it. It boils down to stabbing another guy in the back because you want to prove you are just as good as he is. Fine. ALL UMPIRES ARE EXACTLY EQUAL. Does that remove the feeling of "I'm gonna show them!" ? What if you were just as good as any professional umpire? So what? You still just jumped in the middle of something that didn't involve you and stabbed another man in the back for having done it. No scab deserves to be on those fields. They didn't earn those positions. That is the disgusting part of the whole thing. The Scabs are making fools of themselves and acting important while doing it. Minor League Baseball didn't call any of them last season. There is a reason for that. You should be ashamed at the possibility of your words influencing another to act so foolishly.

[SAump]

Emotions is the key to this whole dynamic.

I think everyone who reads this board sympathizes with the MiLB guys. Our hearts go out to them for trying to improve the lives of those who come afterward. Now THEY must get together and put their HEADS on tight.

Many others have written very lengthy threads about understanding the REALITY of the entire situation. People who are much older and wiser have voiced their opinions about the state of affairs between PBUC and AMLU.

Does AMLU think they have a right to STOP the game? I can easily believe that each minor league team has several bull-pen catchers with NO shot at making it up a level. If your place is in management and the GAME MUST GO ON, do you not ask them to call balls and strikes? Management can easily fill the 230 SPOTS with ex-D1 pitchers and catchers. They may not know the rules, but they can call ball/strike or safe/out. I'm sure there would be a long line of other candidates, as well. I am sure they would ALL love the opportunity to eject a COACH from a ballgame.

I suggest the AMLU members start breaking their game plan down. I hope they are not looking for any late inning MAGIC. It looks like they will have to manufacture more than a single run to win this GAME. They are up against one hell of an organiztion.

Best wishes,

[SAump]

I'm sure most of it is meant to be constructive criticism.

Just don't get near UMP and yell, that means you LOST IT.