Change in CPL (long-ish post)

[socalblue1]

Garth & SA hit it on the head. AMLU has zero to do with this - all PBUC & CPL. I doubt anyone here knows all the facts (Did PBUC go to CPL or the other way around? How long was this in the works?)

It would be very interesting to ask Justin Klemm for a comment and see what happens ...

[bobbybanaduck]

though most of you already know this, i'll precede this post with the disclaimer for those that do not. even though i retired from the game, i am still serving as the 1st vice president of the amlu. that being said, i can assure you that this issue with the CPL is something that has been talked about among the board members. we are still in the process of getting all of the info before we address it publicly.

what i can say is that we, meaning the minor league umpires and the amlu, had NO input whatsoever on this recent development. we were not contacted prior to the agreement, and, in fact, it caught us by surprise as we heard it second hand from graduates of the schools that had attended the pbuc evaluation course. we have fielded numerous calls from our amateur brethren voicing their concerns; which were very similar to the one voiced in the original post.

as i stated above, we are still trying to get all of the info straight before addressing it, and when we do, you can be sure that we will. what i am willing to say publicly is that many, if not all, of the umpires that worked in the CPL in seasons past supported us during our work stoppage, and we greatly appreciate that fact. if this development comes to fruition, i would hope that any doubts that these guys had about not working in our stead would be put to rest as the effects of the long arm of pbuc will be felt outside of the professional ranks for the first time.

as far as solidarity between amateur and professional umpires and the goings-on of the strike in 06, these are things that the new board has been learning from and trying to roll with. obviously there were mistakes made, and hindsight, of course, is 20/20. we can't go back and change the past, but we can strive to make things better for the future. that is the mindset of the current amlu executive board, and hopefully it will spread throughout our membership.

[mbyron]

Originally Posted by bobbybanaduck

what i can say is that we, meaning the minor league umpires and the amlu, had NO input whatsoever on this recent development....

what i am willing to say publicly is that....

You're posting behind an internet alias. You're not saying anything publicly.

Tom, isn't it?

[tcarilli]

HokieUmp has made some very good points as have others, but I would like to clarify a couple of issues. First HokieUmp wrote:

But my organization used to do the Peninsula Pilots games in Newport News, so now, another door in my umpire career has been closed, but not necessarily because of talent or lack thereof."

That is not true. While some of the umpires in his association may have worked the Peninsula Pilots in Hampton, his organization did not "do the Peninsula Pilots." The Coastal Plain League had its own separate staff of umpires, almost all of whom were on Division I staffs and large portion of those were Conference tournament umpires or NCAA regional or super regional umpires. The staff had some of the most talented DI umpires in the southeast. The game fee was $125 for two man. So a lot of very good umpires are without the ability to work the highest level amateur baseball available to them during the summer. I don't, however, think most of them will not work, so there will be a "trickle-down" effect into other levels of baseball. It will be an interesting summer in the southeast.

To my knowledge all but 1 umpire on that staff did not work minor league baseball during the strike. So, as a group, the CPL staff was extremely supportive of the AMLU. No one on the CPL staff including the umpire "supervisor" new of the deal to bring the PBUC umpires into the CPL. (In fact it was thread on this board that made the staff and its "supervisor" aware that a deal had been made.) So initially, there was some confusion and even anger by some staff umpires toward MiLB umpires for no other reason than initially there was no separation in their minds between PBUC and AMLU. Thankfully some of that has abated.

I am very thankful for the AMLU's support of the CPL staff in this issue.

[Emperor Ump]

I'm in the same boat as HokieUmp on this one, in more ways than one.

I live within 1 hr of 3 of the teams and a 4th coming soon. Many of the college guys in our association do call these games. As I'm working my 4th point of contact off to move up the ranks to be considered for college level ball and some of these CPL games. I have no asperations of going pro, but want to raise as high up the amateur ranks as possible. Now to see this opportunity slip away from me is disappointing.

[HokieUmp]

Originally Posted by tcarilli

HokieUmp has made some very good points as have others, but I would like to clarify a couple of issues. First HokieUmp wrote:

That is not true. While some of the umpires in his association may have worked the Peninsula Pilots in Hampton, his organization did not "do the Peninsula Pilots."

Whoa, big fella! Taking the word "games" after "Peninsula Pilots" changes the meaning completely!!

Anyway, thanks for that clarification on how the CPL was staffed. I didn't know that's how it worked. I've only been around for one CPL season, and the one time I went to a game, it was two guys from my association, so I translated that into "our association works the games here." My bad.

[bobbybanaduck]

Originally Posted by mbyron

You're posting behind an internet alias. You're not saying anything publicly.

Tom, isn't it?

the alias is/was used because posting on public forums is specifically addressed in the CBA as something that isn't allowed. upon my retirement i "came out" since the CBA no longer applied to me. i thought about changing my user name, but i didn't think it would really make a difference. furthermore, even if my user name read "amluvicepresidenttomclarkefrommassachusetts" it could still be considered an alias as anyone could have created an account with this name. that is why i preceded my post with the disclaimer. and finally, there is a difference in me saying something publicly on this forum, and the amlu saying something publicly to the world, which is why i said, "what I am willing to say publicly..." sorry if there was any confusion about who was speaking.

[GarthB]

Originally Posted by bobbybanaduck

the alias is/was used because posting on public forums is specifically addressed in the CBA as something that isn't allowed.

How, then, does one explain the number of MiLB umpires that have been persuaded to post at Rob Drake's site?

[socalblue1]

Originally Posted by GarthB

How, then, does one explain the number of MiLB umpires that have been persuaded to post at Rob Drake's site?

Garth,

The initial info was that it was going to be OK for the pro guys to post. As we have seen the past couple of days MLB has asked Rob to take the site down, so I guess that changed.

[GarthB]

Originally Posted by socalblue1

Garth,

The initial info was that it was going to be OK for the pro guys to post. As we have seen the past couple of days MLB has asked Rob to take the site down, so I guess that changed.

My bad. I hadn't looked at it in a couple of weeks. I didn't know it was gone.

I was confused though. A number of MiLB umpires had explained that, as Tom said, the CBA prohibited their participation in public boards. When Rob started requesting they "join" his board, I knew some were hesitant, but followed through when they saw MLB umpires posting there.

It is regrettable that it's gone. RIP.