Major League Baseball and the World Umpires Association have tentatively agreed on a new five-year contract through Dec. 31, 2014. The old deal was set to expire this Dec. 31 and the new one is expected to be ratified by the middle of January.
The owners meet in Paradise Valley, Ariz., on Jan. 13-14, while the umpires have their annual meeting in Scottsdale on Jan. 18-19. The owners and union have been in negotiations all year on this new deal, and for the second consecutive time have come to agreement without acrimony.
Both sides said they would not comment on the substance of the agreement until ratification, although it has been reported that MLB was seeking more flexibility in assigning umpires during the postseason, and in expanding instant replay.
Under the auspices of the old agreement, umpires can't work in consecutive playoff series, meaning that the crews which called the two League Championship Series can't do the same in the World Series.
As far as replay is concerned, it now covers boundary calls on home runs -- fair or foul, in or out. That issue was negotiated with umpires outside of regular collective bargaining in 2008, and the program was put in place in September of that year.
Commissioner Bud Selig said recently that he would consider expanding replay after a spate of missed calls plagued the first two rounds of this year's postseason.
The World Umpires Association was certified by the National Labor Relation board on Feb. 24, 2000, and became the negotiating arm of the umpires. Its first president was John Hirschbeck, who was replaced by veteran umpire Joe West this past April.
The certification came after the dissolution of the old union -- the Major League Umpires Association. In 1999, led by president Richie Phillips, 50 of the 66 umpires resigned as a negotiating ploy to move along collective bargaining. Some rescinded their resignations, but MLB ultimately accepted the resignation of 22 umpires, thus breaking that union.