| | Associated Press
CINCINNATI -- Lost umpires' equipment resulted in a frenzied
shopping trip, a police escort and a 27-minute delay to the start
of the Los Angeles Dodgers-Cincinnati Reds game on Friday night.
When the umpires arrived from Montreal on Friday, they learned
that their equipment had accidentally been sent to New York.
The Reds loaned shin guards, chest protector, a mask and some
other items, but a few of the essentials -- a brush to clean home
plate, a ball and strike indicator for home plate umpire C.B.
Bucknor -- were missing.
Reds clubhouse manager Rick Stowe and an attendant got in a car
and headed for a downtown sporting goods store, only to find it
closed. With game time approaching, they took off for another store
on the west side of town.
"We started filling a shopping cart," Stowe said, between
trips to the umpires' room shortly before the first pitch. "We got
a brush, indicator, long johns, turtle necks, rain suits. We just
started pulling stuff off the shelves."
After charging a bill that came to over $600, they ran into another problem as they headed back to the stadium -- traffic was backed up and the first pitch was only 15 minutes
away. They flagged down a police car and got an escort to the stadium.
The first pitch was delayed from 7:05 p.m. ET to 7:32. When
the umpires took the field, they were wearing the recently
purchased black rain jackets and pants. The temperature was 42
degrees and a day-long drizzle had just ended.
Until this year, umpires' equipment was shipped by Pilot Air
Freight Corp., a company controlled by Richie Phillips. Umpires
voted during the offseason to replace Phillips' Major League
Umpires Association with a new union, the World Umpires
Association. | |
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