Umpires could be fill-ins

Strike in minors could cause MWL to turn to replacements

By BDN staff

The men in blue might be fill-ins Thursday night at Pohlman Field.

With The Association of Minor League Umpires (AMLU) poised to strike, baseball's farm leagues across the country have been lining up replacement officials.

Midwest League President George Spelius said Thursday night's Beloit Snappers' season opener at Pohlman Field is likely to be played with replacements making the calls.

"It doesn't look good for a settlement," he said. "It looks like they are going to strike."

Spelius said he keeps a list of potential fill-ins in case of emergency even when the regular umpires are working.

"You always have people lined up in each city just in case," Spelius said. "It's very important in our league. In Triple A, you have four umpires so you can work with three. In Double A, you have three so you can work with two. But here, with two guys, you have to have somebody ready just in case."

Spelius said his replacement umpires for Snapper games would from the surrounding area.

"They do high school, Division 3 and Division 2 games," he said. "We have a couple you do Division 1, but we don't expect them to change their schedule and drop a Division 1 college game to accommodate us."

Not only must Spelius find umpires for games at Pohlman Field, he has 13 other cities where the MWL has franchises and replacement umpire needed to be lined up in each as well.

"There are a lot of good umpires out there," he said. "I have a list of four to six guys in each city who can fill in."

Minor league umpires are striking over compensation and medical insurance issues. They say their salaries average $15,000 at Triple-A, $12,000 at Double-A, $10,000 in full-season A-ball and $5,500 in rookie league.

Spelius, as president of the MWL, has nothing to do with negotiations concerning the strike. But he hopes it ends quickly.

The AMLU and Minor League Baseball have unsuccessfully negotiated since November 2005 for a new collective bargaining agreement. Minor League Baseball had offered a one-time $100 a month pay raise for umpires, but the AMLU claims the raise would be offset by a rising insurance deductible.

The AMLU represents about 220 umpires in 16 leagues.