quote:Originally posted by dash_riprock:
I don't think the movement policy suggested by bsb would deter new candidates very much, if at all. They know they will make jack squat money for a long time and VERY likely never make it to the bigs. But if they do, I bet all of them would have the attitude: "There's no way I'll ever be in the bottom 20."
The bottom line is, the union would ever agree to it.
I've gotta disagree with part of this Dash. Every MiLB umpire I know from Long Season A up to AAA understands that the learning curve continues once they get the call. Their own estimates are "3 to 5" years to get comfortable and "possibly" break the top half.
I agree with your assessment that the union would have major heartburn over it, but MLB has proven it is willing to break the union if necessary. If MLB really wanted such a system, they would have it, and if that meant losing half the current umpires, wel, heck, that just speeds up the process.
Matt13 is right. if you read Bruce Weber's "As the See 'em" he quotes both MiLB and MLB administrators admitting that umpires, to them, are basically just a necessary expense that needs to be controlled to have a little financial impact as possible on the leagues and the teams. They are gettting what they are willing to pay for.