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Tuesday, September 5
 
Minimum salary jumps to $104,704 in new deal
Associated Press

NEW YORK -- Umpires will get raises of 10.2 percent to 14.9 percent this year under their new five-year contract, boosting the minimum salary this season to $104,704 and the maximum to $324,545.

In 2004, the contract's final season, the minimum will be $108,716, up 14.4 percent from the $95,000 minimum in 1999, the final year of the old contract.

The maximum in 2004 -- earned by a crew chief who has worked 25 or more seasons and is selected for both the first round of the playoffs and the World Series -- will be $404,705, up 43.3 percent from the $282,500 maximum last year.

Figures are detailed in the new labor contract agreed to last Thursday between baseball owners and the new umpires' union, a deal that must be ratified by both sides.

It replaces the contract that expired Dec. 31, which provided raises ranging from 25 percent to 37.5 percent for the contract that expires after the 1994 season. Raises for this season are retroactive to January.

As part of the new contract:

  • All major league umpires will be given cars for the first time by the commissioner's office.

  • Pensions for umpires retiring this season and later will rise substantially, with an umpire retiring at age 55 getting a 52 percent increase, from $47,723 to $72,746

  • Severance pay increases from a maximum of $400,000, $415,000 for 21-year veterans and $430,000 to umps with 22 or more years in the major leagues. For umpires with fewer than 10 years, instead of severance, owners will make payments to a new defined contribution plan.

  • Per diem for time on the road increases to $300 per day from $240.

  • Crew chief bonuses increase to $8,200 from $7,500.

  • All-Star Game bonuses increase to $5,500 from $5,000.

  • Division Series bonuses increase to $13,750 from $12,500.

  • League Championship Series bonuses increase to $16,500 from $15,000.

  • World Series bonuses increase to $19,250 from $17,500.

  • The annual bonus all umpires receive if the postseason is played goes up to $23,000 from $20,000.

  • In the event of a work stoppage, umpires get 91 days pay, up from 75 days.

  • The probation period for new umpires drops from five years to three.

  • For the first time, umpires get a seat on the Official Playing Rules Committee.

    In addition, owners and umpires will provide three people each to a new joint committee, which will develop a manual for umpires, "which will include rules of conduct for umpires, guidelines for interpreting the Official Playing Rules, mechanics and positions for umpires, and a comprehensive evaluation system."

    For the first time, owners must give umpires prior notice, and have an obligation to consult with them on, any new policies and directives, such as the size of the strike zone or making hitters stand in the batter's box.

    While owners may employ new evaluation techniques and machines, they can use them only on a trial basis, after which they will be assessed by the joint committee.

    Umpires fell short of their goal of gaining an arbitrator to review disciplinary decisions. Instead, an independent fact finder will investigate if umpires think discipline is unwarranted and will make a report to the commissioner's office, which still will have the final say.




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