JUDGE SYMPATHIZES BUT TELLS UMPIRES TO WORK.Byline: Michael Sokolove Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia Inquirer Morning newspaper, long one of the most influential dailies in the eastern U.S. Founded in 1847 as the Pennsylvania Inquirer, it took its present name c. 1860. It was a strong supporter of the Union in the American Civil War. A federal judge in Philadelphia granted an injunction Friday prohibiting umpires from striking in the postseason - after presiding over a hearing that sounded a bit like a group-therapy session. Richie Phillips Richard G. Phillips (born c. 1940) is the former general counsel and executive director of the 52-member Major League Umpires Association (MLUA), having held those positions from 1978 to 2000. , the lawyer for the umpires' union, told Judge Edmund Ludwig how stung the umpires were by the American League's failure to immediately suspend Baltimore Orioles This article is about the contemporary American major league baseball team. For other uses, see Baltimore Oriole (disambiguation). The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland. second baseman second baseman n. Baseball The infielder who is positioned near and to the first-base side of second base. Noun 1. second baseman - (baseball) the person who plays second base second sacker Roberto Alomar ``There is a hurt, an intense hurt that I have never seen in these men,'' said Phillips, who addressed the judge while acting baseball commissioner Bud Selig Allan Huber "Bud" Selig, Jr. (born July 30, 1934 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is the Commissioner of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was previously the team owner and administrator of the Milwaukee Brewers. and the presidents of the American and National Leagues looked on. Phillips aired a variety of slights endured by umpires over the years, even relating the story of an umpire banned for life for spitting on Hall of Famer Eddie Collins - an event that occurred in 1909. And Phillips scoffed at baseball's argument that it held the umpires so dearly that the playoffs would be diminished without their presence. ``These are hollow words, your honor,'' Phillips said, adding that if baseball management truly respected umpires it wouldn't treat them so badly. Ludwig, while ruling for baseball management, made it clear he sympathized with the umpires' plight. ``To not grant the injunction would cause irreparable harm to the ballclubs,'' Ludwig said. ``. . . I agree with much of the arguments made on behalf of the umpires. I understand very much why the umpires have reacted this way. As an umpire myself, I understand their authority and dignity is at stake. These umpires are the best. In a way, it is a compliment to them to issue the restraining order restraining order: see injunction. .'' Ludwig's ruling saved baseball the embarrassment of having its most important games called by hastily summoned fill-ins. The replacement umpires lined up by management included a roofer from Nebraska and a craps craps: see dice. craps Gambling game in which each player in turn throws two dice, attempting to roll a winning combination. The term derives from a Louisiana French word, crabs, which means “losing throw. dealer in Atlantic City, N.J. But the fact that the dispute had to be resolved in U.S. District Court was yet more evidence of baseball's seeming inability to settle problems internally. The umpires were unhappy that American League president Gene Budig had suspended Alomar for only five games and had ruled that the All-Star second baseman could serve his time at the beginning of next season. His act was so vile, they argued, that Budig should have ignored the precedent of not suspending a player in the postseason. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Umpires Jim Evans, left, Al Clark and Mark Johnson s peak with reporters before Indians-Orioles game. Associated Press |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion