Ralph's BIO
Nelson: We still have to define most of what we want to do. We held off on a lot until we finalized our agreement with the World Umpires Association (WUA). Now that we’ve got that agreement in place, we’re going to start to really structure this department. Underneath me I have a director of umpire administration, Tom Lepperd; a director of umpire evaluation, Phil Janssen; and a special assistant, Marty Springstead. There are three supervisors in (retired MLB umpires) Frank Pulli, Larry Barnett and Steve Palermo. We also have a lot of part-time evaluators and observers. Our philosophy is that there will be umpire input into all of our programs — training programs, evaluation programs, etc.
Referee: What will Pulli, Barnett and Palermo be doing?
Nelson: I’ve always believed that this department should be run in such a way that there are people who are administrative at the top, and that there would be a layer of umpire people between the administration and the umpires themselves. Those supervisors advise me and I listen to them very, very intently. Their job is to make sure that the philosophies, teachings and views of Major League Baseball get to the umpires and to make sure that the umpires have somebody they can talk to who has actually been there — been on the field. They serve as liaisons.
Referee: You have a unique opportunity to restructure MLB umpiring. Ultimately, what is your goal?
Nelson: We’ve got people who have dedicated their entire lives to this profession, and yet, for some reason, the image of MLB umpires has been tarnished. Over time it has evolved that MLB umpires are not given the credit and the respect that they really deserve. We’ve got the best baseball umpires in the world. I know that (NBA Director of Officiating) Ed Rush and (NFL Senior Director of Officials) Jerry Seeman would disagree with me, but I think we’ve got the best set of professional officials in the world. So our goal is to enhance the profession by giving them resources: giving them training, evaluation and make sure that the system is fair. Without question, the number-one goal that I have is to remove politics. I’ve said this more times than I can remember: Umpires will be promoted out of the minor leagues. They will be given assignments totally based on merit from this point forward. It will never be based on former league affiliations, affiliations with schools, relationships with supervisors, relationships with me — it will not happen.
Referee: With all the leftover tension from the union battles and the merging of the two staffs that traditionally haven’t always gotten along, how have the umpires responded?
Nelson: I cannot put into words the professionalism that has been shown by both sides of the union situation. Ninety-five percent of the umpires put politics aside and put umpiring first. We have people who were obviously very strong on the MLUA side, such as Jerry Crawford, Ed Montague, Bruce Froemming and Gerry Davis, who had people on their crews both from other leagues and the other union, the WUA side. And they were unbelievably professional. They accepted them. There was no “I’m not talking to that guy on my crew” stuff. It just made our jobs incredibly easy.
Referee: How did you decide who would be crew chiefs this year?
Nelson: We have certain views of what we think MLB umpires need to do. One is that we want people who hustle and are interested in the game of baseball. We believe that when you have four umpires on the field they should consult with each other if they can figure out a way to get together and get a play right. Crew chemistry was important. We also were asking them to stay away from confrontational situations, to be professionals. Those were all very important things to us. We respected the people who were crew chiefs prior to us taking over and we allowed all of them to remain, but we asked them to adhere to our philosophies. In selecting the seven new crew chiefs, it was important to us that they be willing to embrace our philosophies and agree with them.
Referee: You’ve talked previously about a plan for more efficient travel schedules. What is being done in that area to reduce or regionalize travel for the umpires?
Nelson: We will not regionalize the crews. The simple fact is that with crews working in both leagues, travel is significantly reduced. Umpires in 2000 traveled on the average of 15,000 fewer airline miles than they did in 1999. We got a lot of “thank yous” from all umpires regarding that. It has allowed us to redirect some funds that were previously utilized for travel into other areas that help umpires.
Referee: Do the minor league umpires fall under your jurisdiction?
Nelson: No, they do not. They fall under the jurisdiction of the Professional Baseball Umpire Corporation (PBUC) at this point, but we have a great relationship with PBUC. They understand that the objective of minor league umpires is to get to the big leagues and they have said that whatever we would like taught at the minor league level, they will teach. We were involved in the evaluation of Triple-A umpires this year.
Referee: Will you bring PBUC under your jurisdiction?
Nelson: I don’t know. Right now the system isn’t bad because of the relationship we have with them. I have informed them on every single thing we’ve done at the big league level and they are very appreciative of that. In exchange, they have not made any personnel decisions without speaking to me.
Referee: You’ve formed a committee to develop an umpires manual that includes a set of standards. What’s going on with that?
Nelson: I chair the committee and it includes three guys from management (Springstead, Lepperd and Pulli) and three working umpires (Randy Marsh, Mark Hirschbeck and Jim Reynolds). The goal is to develop a manual that has four sections: The first involves conduct and responsibilities of umpires so that there is no misunderstanding of what the expectations are for behavior and responsibilities for handling situations. The second involves procedures and interpretations — we’ll get the rule interpretations that have been spread out all over major and minor league baseball for years all in one place. The third section is standard four-man mechanics, which never has been published for MLB umpires. And the fourth involves the standards and evaluation system that will be used. Our goal is to have the manual done by January 1 and we intend to make it.
Referee: Will the manual apply to the minor leagues as well?
Nelson: It would be grossly unfair not to communicate to them what we’re trying to accomplish. So, every single minor league umpire will be provided with a version of the manual. Secondly, the manual will be available to amateur leagues, the NCAA, anybody who umpires at any level, because my view has always been that many amateur umpires have wanted to emulate MLB umpires.
Referee: It’s my understanding that you also have an umpire now on the rules committee. Is that correct?
Nelson: Yes, we’ve provided a place for an umpire on the rules committee, but we haven’t named who yet. It will be a joint committee. The umpires respect the fact that we’re the employer and that there are certain decisions that we have to make. And we respect the fact that they have so much experience that they can contribute to the process and that’s real important.
Vice President of Umpiring
• The new structure
in the majors
• 15,000 fewer miles
• Minor league umpires
• Developing an MLB
umpires manual
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