The AMLU's Birmingham Folly

[Carl Childress]

Originally Posted by Justme

They are apprentices. They are in the minors learning their trade. To my understanding working in the minor leagues is not meant to be the end of a career path, it’s the beginning.

Once upon a time there were career minor league umpires. You could look it up.

That all changed with the first contract with the major league umpires. Now, MiLB has a three-year clause: If you don't move up after three years, bye-bye.

Reason: They can continue to pay a pittance for their AAA umpires. If the majors have evinced an interest in an umpire, he can remain longer; but he can NEVER make a career of professional baseball unless he's in the majors.

Think about it.

[LMan]

Originally Posted by Carl Childress

Once upon a time there were career minor league umpires. You could look it up.

That all changed with the first contract with the major league umpires. Now, MiLB has a three-year clause: If you don't move up after three years, bye-bye.

Reason: They can continue to pay a pittance for their AAA umpires. If the majors have evinced an interest in an umpire, he can remain longer; but he can NEVER make a career of professional baseball unless he's in the majors.

Think about it.

...seems like that if this system is so horrid, pro-school graduates should have declined all invitations to the PBUC in droves. That would send a clear message that they weren't going to buy into the years (3, anyway)-of-poverty-for-a-01%-chance-at-the-brass-ring philosophy.

Yet the pro schools are booming business, and AFAIK PBUC has had no trouble attracting grads to the Rookie League (or whatever). This is the metric that MiLB/MLB sees: despite the rhetoric, there are plenty of replacements/scabs/whatever clamoring to fill these jobs at an acceptable (to THEIR customer, Joe Fan) level of performance. Just like there's always another AMLU member to step in when ole reliable Joe Basepath was summarily fired after 3 years because no one died at the next level and he wasn't promoted. Ambitious umpires eat their young...its what got them into the system in the first place.

No one is yet angry ENOUGH to demolish the system and start over, because a lot of umpires with years invested in the current system would be washed out, despite their miniscule chances of making the 'show'

RE: revenue, I understand your POV, Carl, but your solution has about as much chance as Steinbrenner sending all his cable-TV revenue to 'small market' teams because 'its fair.' It will never happen.

[Justme]

Originally Posted by Carl Childress

Once upon a time there were career minor league umpires. You could look it up.

That all changed with the first contract with the major league umpires. Now, MiLB has a three-year clause: If you don't move up after three years, bye-bye.

Reason: They can continue to pay a pittance for their AAA umpires. If the majors have evinced an interest in an umpire, he can remain longer; but he can NEVER make a career of professional baseball unless he's in the majors.

Think about it.

I'm sure that everything you say is correct. But they knew what they were getting into right from the start....if they didn't then they are too stupid to have the job.

I'm not against the strike.....I wish them luck, after all I'm a capitalist. It's just that I do not feel sorry for them.

An example in my life is my #3 son. He spent years chasing his NHL dream. Years of making very little money, riding on buses, staying in cheap hotels and eating fastfood. He held off getting married or even being in a serious relationship while he was out there trying to make it. He survived by working odd jobs when he wasn't playing. He understood that there wouldn't be very much money unless he worked his way into the NHL, he never complained. When the NHL went on strike he gave up and at 23 went back to college.