ARE THE UMPIRES OFF-BASE?

The decision by major league umpires to resign Sept. 2--hopeful that the threat will lead to meaningful negotiations and a new labor contract--carries risk for both the union and management, but more so for the umpires.

The near-unanimous support for confrontational counsel Richie Phillips on a tactic that could soon find all unemployed also masks something of an internal division between the generally more militant National League umpires and their American League brethren--as well as a measure of internal disenchantment with Phillips.

Basically, the umpires have put a gun to their own heads, and there are many in management--believing they can start over with new umpires and regain some of the control they feel they have lost--quick to say, “Thank you for saving us the bullet.”

As Sandy Alderson, a straight shooter who serves as Commissioner Bud Selig’s executive vice president for baseball operations, put it: “This is either a threat to be ignored, or an offer to be accepted.”

Responds Phillips: “That typifies the smugness and the arrogance that has led us to where we are. It exemplifies the lack of appreciation for the umpires.”

Amid baseball’s ongoing recovery from the bitter and costly labor dispute of 1994-95, there is the perception that no one has learned anything.

Why would the umpires adopt a strategy that puts their careers at risk and casts them in an even more villainous mode with a public that pays big money to see the players and not the umpires and undoubtedly believes that amateur umpires could adequately fill the void?

The bottom line, according to sources, is that the umpires saw a fight coming and chose to start it on their own time and terms.

The bargaining agreement between the umpires and the two leagues expires Dec. 31. The contract bars the umpires from striking, but they will receive $15.5 million--or up to $400,000 per umpire with 20 years experience--in severance pay by resigning.

Their union believed that management had planned to try to tempt lower-rated umpires to leave by saying they could be fired and receive nothing or resign and receive severance. The umpires opted to have severance work for them than against them, but management could decide that $15.5 million is a modest price for the opportunity to start over with a group it can control and whose job security would be based on performance rather than tenure.

“There is a strong possibility we could all be out of work in a few weeks,” an American League crew chief said. “You cannot make these threats and not support them. It’s a grave situation.”

Severance was key to the umpires’ strategy, but there are other grievances that have escalated tension.

Umpires are angry that Selig has not followed up on the code of conduct promised after the Roberto Alomar-John Hirschbeck spitting incident of two years ago and generally feel they never receive any expression of respect and appreciation from management. They are disturbed by the dismissal threats, the strike zone issue, the decision to have club officials monitor and record their pitch calls, the dispute over umpire pay in the two games between the Baltimore Orioles and Cuban national team, and the hiring of amateur umpires to serve as minor league supervisors.

There is also concern--and strong opposition among National League umpires--regarding management’s desire to create better control and uniformity by placing all umpires under Alderson’s central authority rather than separate control of the league presidents.

“An umpire is no different than a policeman or any other person,” the American League crew chief said. “He should be held accountable. The National League umpires, however, seem to have zero trust of Alderson and feel they would be giving up their autonomy. There is also concern with centralization that it would increase travel because we would be going to all 30 cities, but I’ve seen the mock schedules and they actually benefit umpires. There is less travel, more time at home, and the leagues save considerable money that could be put toward umpire salaries and pension.”

The American League crew chief cited Bruce Froemming and National League umpiring supervisor Paul Runge as militant opponents of centralization. He said that National League umpires in general, with Froemming (who did not return messages) at the forefront, have maintained a mystifying air of superiority in regard to their American League colleagues and have continued to provide Phillips--”a lot of us are frankly embarrassed by his rhetoric and posturing at times,” the crew chief said--with the core of his support.

National League umpires rejected Alderson’s request for a spring meeting on his strike zone directive and, in a March meeting of all umpires in Phoenix, also thwarted an attempt by about a dozen American League umpires, favoring the hiring of the less bombastic and noted player agent, Ron Shapiro, as their counsel, to vote by secret ballot.

Phillips was retained with a new five-year contract--and has also agreed to head a recently formed association of minor league umpires, which has yet to be recognized by minor league management and is threatening its own work stoppage.

The perception, of course, is that the umpires had demonstrated incredibly poor timing and put themselves above the game. Sources within baseball say that Selig, fed up with Phillips, is expected to come down hard on the umpires and their counsel in a statement to be released Monday.

How this plays out isn’t clear. Would Phillips be confronted with defections among major league umpires faced with the permanent loss of jobs paying, bonuses included, between $95,000 and $262,500? Would minor league umpires, given the chance to move up, hold the line in support of their big league colleagues? Can the major leagues, hiring possibly on a permanent basis, find a more capable staff of replacement umpires than they have during temporary work stoppages in the past, or will the umpires--gambling that the major leagues cannot do without them-- come up a winner in that regard?

“I don’t totally agree with the way we’ve handled this, but I do know it won’t be easy to put together a staff capable of doing what we do,” the American League crew chief said. “You can’t do it overnight, and you can’t do it with high school and college umpires.”

Don’t ask him to bet his severance check that it won’t happen, however.