2006 Minor League Baseball Umpire Strike - The Replacements

The Replacements

For the duration of the strike, PBUC management called in replacements for the 220 AMLU umpires on strike. These replacements consisted largely of retired Minor League umpires, as well as high school and college umpires. For fear of reprisals, PBUC refused to release the names of the replacements.

A number of incidents involving the replacement umpires followed. Some players, coaches, managers and AMLU representatives placed the blame on the replacements.

One of the most publicized mishaps involving the replacements occurred on April 26 during a game in Pawtucket. After striking out at the plate, a frustrated Delmon Young of Durham threw his bat at the umpire in response to what he thought was a bad call. The bat hit the umpire, bringing criticism from MiLB and earning a 50-game suspension.

In another incident, Birmingham Barons manager Chris Cron walked out in anger with his team in the 8th inning of a game against Jacksonville after the benches were vacated three separate times.

After being ejected from a game on May 1, Ottawa manager Dave Trembley declared the replacement ump’s performance as “the worst officiating ever seen in 20 years of professional baseball. an embarrassment to the international league and an embarrassment to ."

One International League player remarked, "It's definitely not professional baseball the way they're calling balls and strikes. I've been called out twice on balls that bounced in the dirt. Definitely hitters are taking a beating and so are the pitchers. I know guys on our team are throwing pitches sometimes down the middle and (they're) getting called balls. And sometimes they're 10 inches outside and they're called strikes.

Both AMLU lawyer Robert Weaver and a National League scout criticized the skills of the replacements. Weaver said of the replacement umpires' performances, “It's definitely inconsistent and it's affecting careers. Players' numbers are down. I think the league ERA is an earned run lower than it was last year."

Management within PBUC as well as MiLB, however, was supportive of the replacement umpires. Both PBUC and MiLB denied the charges made by players, managers, AMLU and coaches that the replacement umpires were unprofessional, lacking the experience and skills to manage the players and make the proper calls. Pat O'Connor, vice president of Minor League Baseball, praised the replacement umpires for their effort. He also mentioned that the replacement umpires had done quite well during the strike and would be needed again in the event that an AMLU umpire became injured or sick.