Bad call, Blue

Sporting News, The, August 9, 1999 by Mark Bonavita

The inspiring events surrounding the All-Star Game--including the touching moment when the players surrounded Ted Williams and Mark McGwire's assault on the Green Monster in the home run contest--must have made major league umpires jealous.

Why else would they have mined the moment by announcing a mass resignation on July 14, just one day after the game?

The resignations were designed to force baseball to immediately negotiate a new labor contract to replace the one that expires December 31. But the league called the umpires' bluff. By the time the umpires decided to rescind their resignations, 25 minor league umpires had been hired for big-league duty, and the league had accepted the resignations of 22 current umpires.

Ultimately, the strategy backfired because a faction of umpires never resigned, which has caused pandemonium within the union. The group that is opposed to umpire union chief Richie Phillips issued a statement last week, saying the mass resignation idea "was a flawed strategy that was doomed to fail. The advice to quit their jobs in order to save them made no sense."

Making things worse, the disagreement turned personal when Marcia Montague, the wife of N.L. umpire Ed Montague, who is a Phillips' supporter, sent an angry letter to Denise Hirschbeck last week, accusing her husband, A.L. umpire John Hirschbeck, of "undermining 20 years of work from an association that has reaped him so many benefits."

So far, all the umpires' decision to resign did was allow Major League Baseball to pick and choose the umpires whose resignations would be accepted, in essence the ones they wanted to fire. Entering this week, the union leadership was preparing to file unfair labor practice charges against major league owners.

While some of the majors' worst umpires appear to have lost their jobs, a few of the best also will not return--apparently for reasons unrelated to on-field efficiency. And that is unfortunate. It seems as though the umpires' moves should have been more carefully planned, so as not to endanger any jobs.

More important, they should have waited until the season was over to start this process. The decision to raise the issue during the season has detracted from the division and wild-card races and has made many fans more skeptical than ever of umpires.

There are issues that need to be resolved between the umpires and baseball, but it could have waited until November.

RELATED ARTICLE: Celebrating 3,000

Tony Gwynn and Wade Boggs are inching their way into the 3,000-hit club (both were six hits shy through last Sunday), but they have taken different paths to achieve the plateau.

Gwynn, having been slowed recently by a few injuries, will be joining the club close to the most prosperous point of his career. He batted .368 from 1993 to 1997 and has continued to hit well over .300. Conversely, Boggs has long been past his prime. Though he has been solid in the '90s, Boggs was at his best in the '80s, when he hit .358 from 1985 to 1989.

Nevertheless, Gwynn and Boggs are two of the most accomplished hitters in major league history.

HIGHEST CAREER AVERAGE

  1.    Ty Cobb         .366
T17.    Tony Gwynn      .338
T35.    Wade Boggs      .328

200-HIT SEASONS

  1.    Pete Rose         10
 T6.    Wade Boggs         7
T16.    Tony Gwynn         6

YEARS LEADING LEAGUE IN AVERAGE

  1.    Ty Cobb           12
 T2.    Tony Gwynn         8
 T8.    Wade Boggs         5

YEARS LEADING LEAGUE IN HITS

  1.    Ty Cobb            8
 T2.    Tony Gwynn         7
 T8.    Wade Boggs         5

YEARS TOPPING .300

  1.    Ty Cobb           23
 T6.    Tony Gwynn        16
T15.    Wade Boggs        14

RELATED ARTICLE: Prospect watch: Third basemen

The A's had Ben Grieve and Eric Chavez in the past two seasons to boast as two of the minors' top talents. This year, Oakland prospect Adam Piatt, 23, is following their lead. Piatt, an eighth-round pick out of Mississippi State in 1997, was an average prospect going into this season, mainly because of his weak defense. His offense always has been a strong point.

Though Piatt's defense still needs work, this season's offensive outburst--a .341 average with 36 doubles, 34 homers and 110 RBIs through July 30--has inflated his prospect status. Because Chavez likely is Oakland's third baseman of the future, the team may need to try Platt in the outfield or at designated hitter.

OTHER THIRD BASE PROSPECTS

Player (Age), Team              Level       Avg.     2B

Sean Burroughs (18), S.D.       A          .330      24
Michael Cuddyer (20), Min.      A          .296      17
Drew Henson (19), NYY           A          .271      12
Aramis Ramirez (21), Pit.       AAA        .348      26
Wilton Veras (21), Bos.         AA         .302      17
                                Majors     .325       0

Player (Age), Team              3B       HR     RBI      SB

Sean Burroughs (18), S.D.       2         4      57      14
Michael Cuddyer (20), Min.      3        11      55      13
Drew Henson (19), NYY           0        13      36       3
Aramis Ramirez (21), Pit.       0        18      56       4
Wilton Veras (21), Bos.         2         9      58       4
                                0         2       5       0