More Than a Third of Umpires Staying

More than two-thirds of American League umpires probably will stay on the job rather than resign, though nearly all NL umps still plan to quit.

Baseball hired 10 more replacement umps from the minors even though four more AL umpires withdrew their resignations Friday.

So far, 12 of 32 AL umps have changed their mind about quitting, and 11 never quit in the first place, according to a count by the Associated Press. In the National League, 33 of 36 umpires have resigned, effective Sept. 2.

“This is not one or two. This is a big group out there now who have rescinded their resignations,” said Mike Reilly, one of the AL umpires who withdrew Friday.

“My decision was based on my family and what I can do best to support them. I have four kids, 12 to 7.”

After Friday’s reversals, 26 of the 68 major league umpires now say they’re staying, more than one-third.

The replacements, now totaling 20, are from triple A and will be added to the major league staff on a permanent basis starting Sept. 1.

In addition to Reilly, Rick Reed, Tim Tschida and Larry Young also withdrew their resignations Friday, according to several management officials who spoke on the condition they not be identified.

“In light of the difficulties of the last week, we have simply decided to honor the present terms of our contract,” Reed, Tschida, Young and Al Clark said in a joint statement after their game in Chicago. Clark withdrew his resignation Thursday.

Umpires union head Richie Phillips said, “There’s a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff going on.”

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Where Umpires Stand

Resignations take effect Sept. 2 (nu-non union; x-resigned, withdrew, then resigned again):

RESIGNED (42)

AL (9)--x-Drew Coble, Jim Evans, Dale Ford, Rich Garcia, Ed Hickox, Mark Johnson, Ken Kaiser, x-Greg Kosc, Larry McCoy.

NL (33)--Greg Bonin, Jerry Crawford, Kerwin Danley, Gary Darling, Bob Davidson, Gerry Davis, Dana DeMuth, Bruce Dreckman, Bruce Froemming, Brian Gorman, Eric Gregg, Tom Hallion, Angel Hernandez, Bill Hohn, Sam Holbrook, Jeff Kellogg, Jerry Layne, Randy Marsh, Jerry Meals, Ed Montague, Paul Nauert, Larry Poncino, Frank Pulli, Ed Rapuano, Charles Relaford, Rich Rieker, Steve Rippley, Paul Schreiber, Terry Tata, Larry Vanover, Joe West, Charlie Williams, Mike Winters.

WITHDREW RESIGNATIONS (14)

AL (12)--Larry Barnett, Gary Cederstrom, Al Clark, Jim Joyce, Chuck Meriwether, Dave Phillips, Mike Reilly, Rick Reed, Rocky Roe, Dale Scott, Tim Tschida, Larry Young.

NL (2)--Wally Bell, Jeff Nelson.

NEVER RESIGNED (12)

AL (11)--Joe Brinkman, nu-Derryl Cousins, Terry Craft, Ted Hendry, John Hirschbeck, Tim McClelland, Jim McKean, Durwood Merrill, Dan Morrison, nu-John Shulock, Tim Welke.

NL (1)--Mark Hirschbeck.

NEW HIRES (20)

AL (12)--Ted Barrett, Eric Cooper, Fieldin Culbreth, Laz Diaz, Mike DiMuro, Doug Eddings, Mike Everitt, Marty Foster, Bill Miller, Brian O’Nora, Jim Reynolds, Bill Welke.

NL (8)--C.B. Bucknor, Phil Cuzzi, Greg Gibson, Marvin Hudson, Ron Kulpa, Brian Runge, Mark Wegner, Hunter Wendelstedt.