April 25, 2006
Umps On Strike
Here's the latest on the strike by minor league umpires over salary and meal money:
The 220 minor league umpires around the country are seeking higher salaries and an increase in meal money. The average salary for Triple-A umpires is $15,000, with a per diem of $25.
"And it's been the same for the last 10 years," said Scott, who worked third base in the umpire crew with Iassogna and Kulpa at the Reds-Nationals game Monday night.
Is that what the umpires are worth? I wonder if half the minor league umpires quit tomorrow, would there be a rush to fill the jobs at $15,000 a year? I would guess the supply of potential umpires is much greater than the demand for them by professional baseball. That would certainly keep salaries down.
However, there is a skill factor that needs to be taken into consideration. While there may be a large number of people willing to do the job, there may be much smaller group that's capable of doing it well. Plus, there's the cost of bringing on new employees that any business faces. It strikes me from a quality of game perspective that the minor leagues should do their best to keep the good umps around. If that means more money, it seems a raise somewhat more often than once every ten years is appropriate.
Posted by David Pinto at
05:22 PM
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How many games does the typical AAA ump do each year?
My guess is that this is part of the explanation why major league umpiring is so bad.