Working the Plate by Eric Gregg

[Majordave]

My tour de force through every umpire book that I can find continues with Eric Gregg's Autobiography -- Working the Plate.

It was an easy read, an entertaining read and in some ways a re-hash of other MLB umpire's biographies but in a very different way as he was only the third black umpire in MLB and the youngest black umpire. He was also the first black umpire to start and finish a career on his own timetable in that he went to umpire school, worked through the minor leagues and then was a MLB umpire for a full career unlike the first, Emmett Ashford and the first National League, Art Williams who were chosen to umpire in the Majors late in their umpiring careers and only worked MLB for a few short years each.

He candidly discusses his weight problem and all the downright mean things that were said to him about his weight and tricks pulled on him because of it as well. He realizes his value and role in the profession and doesn't present his story as having too much of an ego or chip on his shoulder about it. It was written in the middle of his career in 1990 so there isn't a final chapter, per se, regarding the circumstances of his retirement from the game.

I particularly enjoyed his chapter about the 1989 San Francisco-Oakland World Series, a four game sweep by the A's, that was temporarily interrupted by the awful San Francisco earthquake right before the start of game 3. The chapter and personal point of view from someone who was there was very interesting to me as I was watching that event on television as it occurred.

Eric came from a very poor and rough ghetto background in West Philadelphia. He had a brother who went to prison for drugs, weapons and persistent felon charges and a sister who died of a drug overdose. His childhood was marred by domestic violence between his parents. His is an amazing story considering his family background and the odds of him actually becoming a success in life.

Again, a quick and easy read and very entertaining. Some of the rehashed stories like: Batter-"Where was that pitch at?" Eric or insert umpire of your choice's name as this story/joke is used a lot: "Don't end a sentence with at, at is a preposition." Batter: "Ok, where was that pitch at, A$$HOLE!" Hardy, har, har! I have heard that one quite a bit as I am sure most of you have as well.

One story or fact of note is that Eric did not like Larry Bowa very much as a player or a manager and writes candidly about Larry's poor treatment of umpires. In Pam Postema's "You've Got to Have Balls..... she also wrote about the antics and generally poor disposition and excessively argumentative nature of Mr. Bowa and I remember that someone else has mentioned Larry Bowa in an unkind light as well. Larry gets virtually the same poor mouth treatment from umpires of the 80's/90's era that 60's and 70's umpires give to Earl Weaver and the old-timers of the 40's and 50's give to Leo Durocher. We have one high school coach, a four-time state champion in Kentucky from the Region I worked that has the same reputation as these three so I know how they feel a bit. I didn't follow Larry Bowa as a player or a manager all that much but I focused on these Larry Bowa comments and stories a little closer than normal because my final childhood baseball glove that I used from age 14 in Babe Ruth League through High School baseball and into fraternity softball in college and the Army was a Larry Bowa Model Rawlings, 13 inch outfielder's model with the "fastback", finger hole and "Basket-Web", undoubtedly my favorite glove of several gloves while growing up.......But from what they say he said and did to them.... I would have dumped his a$$ a lot quicker than they did........ go figure.

My two cents....

[Stan W.]

I'd bet its an interesting read.....its a shame he didnt update it to include the umpire resignation fiasco.......

[dumbdumb]

After reading the book about Eric you may enjoy reading about the NLRB case concerning the Old Union protesting the forming of a new New Union to the NLRB and of course Bartles final decision on the firing of the 22. Enjoy (pdf files).

https://www.nlrb.gov/case/02-RC-022142

http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-3rd-circuit/1253596.html

 

http://digitalcommons.law.villanova.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1952&context=thirdcircuit_2004

After the certification of the new union in the dispute brought before the National Labor Relations Board but prior to the arbitration case and final ruling by arbitrator Alan Symonette, there was a deal proposed below that did not work out. Symonette's final ruling was later backed up by US district court 2-1 (and later by US court of Appeals Judge Harvey Bartle, III) except for Symonette's ruling that Bartle said wrongly concluded that umpires with less than 5 years service could be dismissed at the will of the league president. Bartle therefore ordered a new hearing for Naurt, Dreckman, and Holbrook with a different arbitrator. Things were settle for those 3 before without another hearing. Some articles below and the first 10 hired during the strike. Barrett, Culbreith and O'Nora were going to be hired anyway, just a matter of time, as Springstead had always hired (not let them go) his call ups in the order he brought them up. It took Cedarstrom 10 years as a call up before an opening occurred. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear this case on appeal.

http://www.nytimes.c...red.html?src=pm

http://www.freerepub...ws/591523/posts

 

http://lubbockonline...S0432.001.shtml

I assume everyone knows that Garcia and Pulli were put on probation for gambling violations, but not for betting on baseball.

http://www.majorwage...could-true.html

Everyone thought those summit meetings this past year were a great thing to have. Guess they missed this one back in 96---summit meetings ain't new

http://articles.chic...ming-eric-gregg

Don't wear them sunglasses

http://articles.chic...res-association

Salary in 1999 75k to 225k

http://articles.sfga...john-hirschbeck

In 1995 the player minimum was $109,000 for someone who rode the pine and never had to play an inning. A 25 year veteran umpire was making $175,000 base pay or 60% more than a player riding the pine and a rookie umpire made $60,000 or 40% less than a player riding the pine. Now, a 25 year veteran umpire makes 10% less and a rookie makes 70% less than a player riding the pine for the $411,000 minimum. If the umpires were still making the old percentage, the 25 year veteran would be making $657,000 or 60% more than the $411,000 player minimum and the rookie would be making $250,000 or 40% less than the player riding the pine and not having to play at all.

http://articles.chic...res-association

http://articles.sfga...a-texas-rangers

Here is the 1991 contract discussion

http://articles.chic...res-association

Here is the 1987 contract article

http://www.nytimes.c...act.html?src=pm

Helped start the union with Barlick I believe

http://articles.chic...res-association

And they say the umpires are more aggressive now.

http://articles.chic...res-association

Nixon rules umpires deserve 40% pay increase since LCS is increased 40% from a 5 game series to a 7 game series.

http://articles.chic...marc-buoniconti

Drug testing?

http://articles.chic...ation-san-diego

Richie P in the news back in 85-show me the money.

http://articles.chic...res-association

Here's those heat maps. This time with the strike zones back in a 2010 article

http://www.fangraphs...pire-heat-maps/

Feature-Back In The Game

1. The various defendants are the National League of Professional ...

http://sportsillustr.../01/umpires_ap/


http://www.nytimes.c...nch.html?src=pm

MLB basically telling umps to call more strikes whether the pitches are strikes or not. Isn't that what brought about Zone Evaluator to start with, umpires calling strikes that were not strikes.

World Umpires Assoc. pitch count grievance


http://www.si.com/vault/1979/04/16/823545/theyre-out-as-the-umps-beat-the-pavement-to-get-higher-pay-the-majors-brought-in-the-likes-of-forklift-salesmen-to-make-the-calls

Go to "Google books" not amazon books, and look up the book "Uppity" by former NL President Bill White. There is a section to read about the umpires in the review. Pam Postema received $300,000k as settlement in her suit. The attorney said it would cost 600,000 to fight so they gave her a settlement of 300,000k. That's about 25k a year for her time in the minor leagues.

 

from an article about Mike Dimuro's time in the Japanese League

 

"The first non-Japanese umpire to ever work in the Japanese League, American Mike DiMuro, lasted only 3 months into the 1997 season before he quit. DeMuro was berated by a pitcher for calling an obvious balk and punched in the chest by a batter who had been ejected from the game. The batter was given a "letter" of reprimand. After that incident DiMuro told the Washington Post "What will the next guy be allowed to do if I call a strike--take a bat to my head"

 

old SI article about 79

 

http://www.si.com/vault/1979/08/20/823884/odd-man-out-on-the-diamond-veteran-umpires-have-made-life-unhappy-for-the-rookies-who-crossed-the-picket-lines-last-spring-and-then-went-to-work

 

And here are the Major League Rules--no not OBR rules on the field but the Major League Constitution, Professional Baseball Agreement and the Major League Rules.

 

http://bizofbaseball.com/docs/MajorLeagueRules-2008.pdf

 

not umpire rules, but player rules below

 

http://www.thecubreporter.com/book/export/html/3506

new contract signed in 12/2004 for 2005-2009   87k-357k for senior umpire with 27 years experience. there have been 2 more contracts-2010-2014 and 2014-2019 with very little salary benefit information. this is the last one with some concrete numbers. beginning salary now 135,000 or more in 2016. obviously bottom of scale worked on since 2009.

http://lubbockonline.com/stories/122504/pro_122504047.shtml#.WBfmzVtvmWU

old article with Brinkman's crew in 1988.

http://articles.latimes.com/1988-06-12/sports/sp-7056_1_major-league-umpire

old article on Terry Craft

http://www.heraldtribune.com/news/20020711/major-league-baseball-after-four-months-umpire-terry-craft-ready-to-return

https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-1999-07-28-9907280151-story.html