Baseball Strikes Back at Umpires

Taking a proactive stance in the simmering labor dispute with its bickering umpires, major league baseball hired 10 minor league umps Thursday to take their place in September.

Commissioner Bud Selig and his top officials hired the triple-A replacements, who had been working as vacation fill-ins, in their first response to the major league umpires’ attempts to force management to the bargaining table by submitting their resignations.

The fill-ins were told that they will be added to major league staffs permanently--five each in the National and American leagues--starting Sept. 1, a day before the resignations take effect.

The major league umpires are said to have split into two camps--either for or against union head Richie Phillips, whose often confrontational style is said to have received less support from American League umpires than their National League colleagues.

According to a count by the Associated Press, 33 of the 36 National League umpires plan to quit, but only about half of the American League’s 32 umpires plan to walk out.

That would jibe with a report in Thursday’s editions of The Times that 15 to 20 of the 66 union members--two umpires do not belong to the union--have either rescinded their resignations or not submitted one in opposition to a strategy devised by Phillips.

Still, National League umpire Bruce Froemming told the Associated Press, “I think there’s a lot more solidarity than there was two or three days ago” after 51 major league umpires participated in a conference call Thursday morning to discuss their position.

Umpires on each side are pressuring their colleagues.

“A lot of this is all posturing, negotiating tactics,” said American League umpire Tim McClelland, who hasn’t quit yet but said he plans to. “You have to take it with a grain of salt.”

Others, however, are outspoken in their belief that Phillips is leading them down the wrong path and should be replaced.

“I am adamantly opposed to this kind of leadership,” said American League umpire Dave Phillips, who is no relation to the union head. “There are times when you pull out your gun, your mortar and go winner-take-all. But communication and negotiation are the most important ingredients we need.”

Richie Phillips is not surprised that opposition to him is split along league affiliations. An American League faction has opposed him, he said, since before the 1995 lockout.

“They do not like me personally, do not like my style and believe I’m too controversial a lawyer,” he told the AP. “The media is providing them with a forum.

“Fifty-five guys say Richie Phillips is the greatest thing that ever happened to officiating in any sport and has won battle after battle after battle for us since 1978.”

The decision to hire the new umpires came after nearly every top baseball official met with Selig in Milwaukee. The group included National League President Len Coleman, American League President Gene Budig, chief operating officer Paul Beeston, executive vice president Sandy Alderson and five lawyers.

Though baseball did not announce the hirings, they were confirmed by Richie Phillips and several baseball officials. Selig declined comment, saying he would discuss the umpires at another time.