Rose Isn’t the First Manager to Be Suspended for Run-In With Pallone

Pete Rose isn’t the first person in baseball to run afoul of umpire Dave Pallone, and he isn’t the first to be suspended for it, either.

Pallone has been in heated disputes with at least one other manager who was suspended, two players and even his fellow umpires.

Pallone’s career as a major league umpire began in 1979 when he moved up from the minor leagues to work during the 7-week umpire’s strike.

When the strike ended, Pallone and some of the others who worked during the strike were kept on as major league umpires but were ignored by many of their colleagues and were occasionally not supported by other umpires during arguments with players.

Richie Phillips, executive director of the Major League Umpires’ Assn., said Monday that Pallone “is still not a member of the union” but that “he’s an umpire and the union has to protect him.”

Gene Michael, former manager of the Chicago Cubs, was suspended for three days in 1986 for bumping Pallone during an argument.

Michael, who did not appeal the suspension, denied bumping Pallone during the dispute about a close play at first base but said he did turn the umpire’s cap around to keep from getting hit in the face by the bill.

Pallone was also involved in a feud with Cincinnati shortstop Dave Concepcion for about five years, stemming from an incident during which Concepcion spit in Pallone’s face.

After the spitting incident, Pallone was quoted in a San Francisco newspaper as saying that he intentionally did things on the field to disrupt Concepcion’s play, including standing in Concepcion’s line of vision on the field.

In May 1986, Montreal Expos reliever Jeff Reardon said that during an argument with Pallone, the umpire told him he would “bury” Reardon for the rest of the season. Pallone denied the accusation.