THE FIRM OF WOLF & WOLF BROTHERS JIM, RANDY MAKE MAJOR LEAGUES FAMILY BUSINESS.

Byline: Matthew Kredell Staff Writer

As children, 7-year-old Randy and 14-year-old Jim Wolf played Wiffle Ball against the garage of their parents' West Hills home. It was a brotherly competition that Jim won every time. Most younger brothers would expect it. But not Randy.

``It was funny because I would just get so bitter that he would beat me every time,'' Randy said. ``I couldn't understand why. I guess that's my stubbornness. But at the same time, I'm glad he didn't take it easy on me.''

Randy was a self-described fireball. He couldn't stand losing. When a new Nintendo game came out and the kids were trying to advance through the levels, if Jim lost, he would calmly start over. When Randy lost, he threw the controller and kicked things around the living room.

Throughout high school at El Camino Real in Woodland Hills, Randy was intense and Jim was calm and laid back. Each loved baseball and dreamed of making the big leagues. Both did, in ways that perfectly matched their different personalities.

The little fireball is now throwing heat as a pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies. Jim is crouching behind the plate, not as the catcher he played at El Camino Real and Pierce College, but as an umpire.

The Wolfs are the first umpire-pitcher brother combination in major- league history. It's only the second time there has been an umpire-player brother combination. In 1972, Bill Haller worked a game his brother Tom, a catcher for the Detroit Tigers, was playing.

``It's amazing to me, just the fact that our dreams have come true in different ways than we thought,'' said Randy, who was a second-round pick by the Phillies out of Pepperdine University. ``I always thought the odds were against me to make it as a ballplayer. The odds were even more against him as an umpire.''

Randy, who will be 25 next month, and Jim made it to the majors the same year. Randy was called up by the Phillies and plugged into the starting rotation early in the 1999 season. Jim, an umpire with the Triple-A Pacific Coast League in the minors, did his first major-league game in September of that year in San Francisco ... against the Phillies.

``He called me one day and said, 'Hey, are you guys going to be in San Francisco?' '' Randy said. ``Of course, he already knew the answer. I said yes and he said, 'Me too.' ''

The brothers made their mark on history that day and commemorated it with a photograph of the two standing in uniform together on the field. The photo now sits in the house of their mom, Judy.

Randy didn't play in the game. He had pitched the day before.

On April 18 of this year, Randy started the second half of a doubleheader against the Cubs. Jim was scheduled to umpire behind the plate but was moved to third base by the league in order to avoid any added attention.

Thanks to the rigorous schedule, Randy and Jim don't get to keep in touch as much as they would like during the season. Randy didn't even know Jim was umpiring the game until he heard TV commentators discussing it during the first half of the doubleheader.

``We made eye contact when he came out and it was kind of cool,'' Jim said. ``But once play started, it was like Randy who?''

It was a historic and controversial moment. Some questioned if it was fair to have Jim umpire a game his brother pitched. Chicago manager Don Baylor said he thought it wasn't.

``It's sad, the thought of an umpire compromising his integrity for anybody,'' Jim said. ``People out there have no trust, no respect in the professionalism of officiating. If I were hitting and Randy pitching, would he throw it right down the middle or would I purposefully swing and miss?''

Randy and the Phillies lost the game 5-3.

Ralph Nelson, baseball's vice president of umpiring, said he knew Randy and Jim were brothers but didn't give it much thought before Jim umpired Randy's game. The surrounding hoopla forced him to take notice.

``Jim Wolf is a young, talented guy with a lot on the line,'' Nelson said. ``I don't question his integrity for a second. There's going to come a point where this young man is going to be a full-time umpire. I don't think it will be possible to keep Jim from umpiring Randy's games.''

However, to avoid unnecessary distractions, Nelson responded by trying to keep the brothers from meeting the rest of the year. Originally scheduled to do Philadelphia's two-game series at Montreal today and Thursday, Jim was switched to another series.

The compromise keeps Jim from umpiring behind the plate in any game Randy starts. But an interesting twist developed recently as Randy - who is 5-9 with a 4.82 earned-run average and 103 strikeouts in 99 innings - was briefly demoted to the bullpen before the All-Star break.

He was inserted back into the rotation after the break and, on Monday, allowed three runs in six solid innings but didn't get a decision against the New York Yankees. It was a good step after a horrid June in which Randy went 0-5 with a 7.70 ERA.

``Nobody expected us to be in a pennant race and now that we are, some people were kind of panicking (over his tough month),'' Randy said of the Phillies, who are battling the Braves for first place in the National League East. ``I'll be OK. Winning in this league is all about going in with the right attitude.''

It is unclear what would happen if Randy came in to relieve with Jim behind the plate. But Jim said he wouldn't mind if he has to call balls and strikes on his brother.

``If people want to make a big deal of it, that's their prerogative,'' he said. ``A ball is a ball if it is a ball, a strike if it is a strike. It doesn't matter who's throwing it.''

Jim is a part-time major-league umpire who fills in when full-time umps are hurt or taking a break. He was up and down earlier this season but has been told he will stay in the majors the rest of the year, filling in for an umpire who had knee surgery.

``He's been doing a great job,'' said Randy Marsh, Jim's crew chief who has umpired in the major leagues for 28 years. ``He's open-minded and asks for anything we can say to help him improve. He's welcome with me anytime.''

Marsh also stressed Jim's calmness. He has yet to throw out a player or coach.

Jim hopes to impress and earn a full-time spot in the future, but only 68 positions are available. He is one of five part-time umpires baseball has used regularly this year. A few umpires are expected to retire soon, and Wolf will be one of the first considered for any openings.

There is a big difference between being a minor-league umpire and a major-league ump. Triple-A umpires earn $15,000 a year for about six months' work. The major-league minimum for a full-time umpire is $104,704.

If he stays in the majors the rest of the year, as expected, Jim will work between 100 and 120 games. He worked 29 major-league games in 2000 and eight in 1999, and he earns about $500 a game with $300 per diem for expenses. If all goes well, he might not have to work an offseason job for the first time. Last year he worked as a limousine driver.

Jim started umpiring at West Hills Baseball to earn extra money while going to Pierce. Afterward, he was working at Bally's Total Fitness but wasn't enjoying it. A friend told him about an umpire school in Florida and he decided to give it a try. He graduated into umpire development and earned one of 12 spots available to rookie umpires in the minor leagues.

He spent six years in the minors before getting the fateful call to meet up with his brother in San Francisco. It hasn't yet sunk in that they are a part of baseball history.

``Someday,'' Jim said, ``we'll probably be on a Trivial Pursuit card.''

CAPTION(S):

5 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) JIM WOLF

The elder Wolf, 31, is a part-time major-league umpire but is in line for a full-time position.

(2 -- color) no caption (Jim Wolf and Randy Wolf)

(3 -- color) RANDY WOLF

The younger wolf, 24, is in his third season in the Philadelphia Phillies' pitching rotation.

(4 -- color) Jim Wolf, left, and brother randy in the late '70s.

(5) It took Jim Wolf six years of umpiring in the minors before he was called up in 1999, the same year brother Randy made the big leagues.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer